Rating: 
Summary: A Book so warm you might want to wear it....
Review: A scene in the recent movie "As Good as it Gets" finds an editorial intern asking Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) how it is that he "writes women" so well. One might ask Mrs. Atkinson how she writes men as well as she does. I was reading this book at our club, when I was chided by a colleague that I was in possession of a "chick book", inferring that its content might be appropriately read only by other women. While similar perceptions might discourage other (most) men from buying this title, those few who take the time to do so and to read it will discover a marvelous little book. Never have I been so involved in the fictional lives of those of whom I read, so much so that I closed the book wondering if I might find in a Greenlandic telephone book a listing for a Ruby Lennox, such that I might continue my friendship with her for years and years to come. A "gem" of a book.
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Summary: Delightfully creative from the opening sentences!
Review: It is rare to find a novel so unique and creative in its plot, characters and use of words. It has stayed with me, my copy is loaned out as I speak. I get the feeling the author is a born story teller; I trusted where she was taking me and treasured the trip!
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Summary: Touching, funny, interesting, a great story!
Review: Excellent construction and inventive narration. The reader can really experience the randomness of life and the possibilities and potential of wrong corner turned, a love affair not realized and words not spoken in a family. Also, it was simply laugh out loud funny!
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Summary: A colossal mistake to miss this one
Review: In a first novel that is as technically daring as it is candid and radiant, Kate Atkinson has created one of the most intrepid first person narrators of contemporary literature. Sparing no one, seeing everything, telling all, Ruby Lenox of York, England, begins speaking at the moment of her conception in 1951 and does not stop until she has unraveled a family history that spans generations and includes a widespread and idiosyncratic cast of characters. Defying the limits of human knowledge and focusing a sharp and unflinching eye on the secrets and enigmas of her large clan, Ruby is everywhere. She fits herself into the cracks of human nature, hides in the corners of every room , and lingers on the borders of every generation. She is generous with what she knows, ruthless in her tracking of humanity's flaws, and wry in her observations and commentary. She is far from humble, she is neither deferential nor demure, and she is as willing to celebrate life as she is to unmask its hidden tragedies. She is Ruby Lenox, and she requires your attention
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Summary: You'll never forget Ruby...
Review: This is simply one of the most original stories I have
ever read. Ruby Lennox is instantly remarkable, not always
likeable. I read this book in England last year, and I
laughed out loud at some passages while I waited for trains.
The chapters narrated by Ruby alternate with chapters about
earlier generations in her family, and it fills in the history
while we move toward knowing some of the dark chapters in
Ruby's history. Very moving, sad and disturbing in places,
I highly recommend this book. I am thrilled to see it getting
a good reception here in the United States. I haven't read
anything since that remotely approaches how strongly I feel
about this book.
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Summary: A Great Voice Creates a Great Book.
Review: Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson.
In "Behind the Scenes at the Museum", Kate Atkinson has created one of the most original first person narrators of recent years. Her character, Ruby Lennox, is at once witty, fragile, sad, and sassy. Ruby's sharp eye for detail, and the way in which she brings alive the interior and exterior fabric of her life through her voice, engages us with its immediacy.
The novel begins with Ruby's conception in 1951, charts her exit from the warmth and safety of her mother's body, and her arrival into a very strange and alienating world. Her family is eccentric but engaging, living above the pet shop in York that they own and run. Her parents, Bunty and George, are well meaning, but have cracks in their psyches that play themselves out through interactions with their children. Ruby is not an only child: her older sisters Patricia and Gillian are her constant companions, as bizarre as their parents. The novel takes us through the early part of Ruby's life, constructing a magical world where the strangest events seem inevitable and manageable. Increasingly Ruby becomes aware that there is something about her family that she is not being told and, in a brilliantly realized moment of revelation, Atkinson allows Ruby to discover what that secret is, then we watch her come to terms with it.
The past is a strong presence here. Atkinson tells much of the quirky family history through separate chapters called "Footnotes", which take us back to pre-Ruby days, and they do much to explain why her family is as it is, and why Ruby develops as she does.
This novel is never predictable, constantly delighting by the way that Ruby's world-weary sardonic view of adults is wittily expressed. The independence of the voice here is powerful and new. Atkinson has found a way to express the young Ruby's viewpoint without sacrificing the older Ruby's knowledge. This achievement means that even within the grimmest passages of the novel there lurks a longing for the past, and an irrepressible need to find the humor and humanity in every situation. In the narrative, for example, Ruby's parents let her down in many ways, but they are never less than loved, and the older Ruby never lets us forget that fact.
The vigor and passion of this book comes from the language and the forcefulness of its life-affirming voice. At no time do we think that Ruby's life is easy, yet her resilience and refusal to be miserable carries us on with her. The novel begins with Ruby declaring "I exist!" and ends with the words "I am Ruby Lennox." The pages in between the two statements justify the second completely. By the time we reach it, we know exactly who Ruby Lennox is, and we feel reluctant to leave her. This is a mark of Atkinson's success: she has made us love her character.
Some of the cultural references and events that Kate Atkinson utilizes in this novel may be alien to some American readers, but they are not impediments to understanding. "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" is an exhilarating and hilarious read, and its humanity transcends the Atlantic barrier. Ruby Lennox is a unique character, and to let her pass you by would be a great loss.
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Summary: This was a great book!
Review: It was marvelous fun to read something written by a British author. I especially enjoyed discovering the hidden secrets that were alluded to throughout the story
Rating:
Summary: Witty, engrossing, enjoyable read
Review: With a fine eye for detail and nuance, Jane Atkinson introduces a fine cast of characters in her multi-generational saga of family disfunction. Whiile many will recognize (wince?) at the details of family life and relationships, Jane pushes narrative boundaries and character studies almost, but not quite, out of control. A thoroughly enjoyable read I will recommend to my book group, and will likely appear on my Best Picks of 1997
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Summary: Absolutely brilliant!
Review: I read this book in one sitting. It is both moving and thought-
provoking and it had me laughing in places and crying in others.
The sort of book I will want to read again and again.
Rating:
Summary: An inarticulate WOW! for this novel...
Review: I've found a new "favorite" novelist. Behind the Scenes is an enjoyable read, packed with all sorts of familial dysfunction, pathos, mystery, labyrinthine relationships, and laced with honest humor. In short, all the elements I thoroughly enjoy and which make for a marathon reading. I do recommend, however, that one have access to a British dictionary (I used the OED) to decode the Yorkshire argot and Olde English vocabulary that Atkinson occasionally and enticingly utilizes.
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