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Original Essays | June 17, 2013

Richard Melo: IMG The Outer Sunset

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Her name was "Waterloo Sunset," and she wasn't a girl (or a boy for that matter) but rather a song by the Kinks, and I fell in love just the same.... Continue »
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Behind the Scenes at the Museum

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Behind the Scenes at the Museum Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

National Bestseller

Winner of the Whitbread Book of the Year

Kate Atkinson’s dazzling debut novel is a deeply moving story of family heartbreak and happiness.

Ruby Lennox begins narrating her life at the moment of conception, and from there takes us on a whirlwind tour of the twentieth century as seen through the eyes of an English girl determined to learn about her family and its secrets.

Review:

"Stunning....[A] treasure chest bursting with the painful, pitiful, sad, always fascinating details of the most ordinary of lives." Los Angeles Times

Review:

"Well received in England, where it won the Whitbread award, Behind the Scenes at the Museum... marks the debut of a distinctive new voice that should appeal to readers who enjoy the panache of a Fay Weldon or the witty inventiveness of a Carol Shields. And it strikes a nice balance between fantasty and reality." Christian Science Monitor

Review:

"Remarkable...full of the grimness, grit, and grandeur of Yorkshire life...one of the funniest books to come out of Britain in years." New York Times Book Review

Review:

"This first novel is, as far as I can tell, perfect. Behind the Scenes at the Museum is a marvelously constructed, well-writeen, fast-moving chronicle of four generations of women in a Yorkshire family....It's hard to do justice to this lovely novel....Funny, engrossing, passionate." Trenton Times

Review:

"Breathtaking...Atkinson's luminescent imagery is sure and sophisticated, poetic and darkly comic. That such an ambitious and brilliantly realized novel is also the author's first is absolutely astonishing." Amanda Heller

Synopsis:

Ruby Lennox begins narrating her own life at the moment of her conception, and from there takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of the twentieth century as seen through the eyes of a girl determined to learn more about her family and the secrets it keeps.
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About the Author

Kate Atkinson was born in York, and now lives in Edinburgh with her two daughters.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 7 comments:
sharrona, February 6, 2013 (view all comments by sharrona)
This book was quite boring. Within the first few pages (when Ruby describes her own birth) hints were dropped about the ultimate "big secret" of the book. By the time I'd read a quarter of the book, there were so many hints it wasn't a secret any more. By the time I got to the end, I was disappointed that there wasn't anything more to the story than that. None of the characters were particularly likeable, nor were they bad enough to hate.

The book was billed as "darkly funny and satirical" in one review. I saw no humor except for the brief slapstick physical mishaps at a wedding reception late in the book. On reflection, I gained nothing from reading this book, and got about a half-minute of laughter from that one scene. It truly was a waste of my limited reading time.
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Kim McCary, November 26, 2011 (view all comments by Kim McCary)
This is one of the best books I have read in a long time (and I read incessantly). At the beginning, it took a bit to get a sense of the style, of the narrator's voice, but once it began, I was already mourning the fact that this book would come to an end. The characters are unforgettable, one moment you are laughing out loud and the next, you are swept into an area of your heart you had forgotten existed.
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Lisa Ellis, January 1, 2010 (view all comments by Lisa Ellis)
I adored this book. The characters were wonderful, the plot was believeable, and it richly deserves a Puddly!
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780312150600
Subtitle:
A Novel
Author:
Atkinson, Kate
Publisher:
Picador
Location:
New York :
Subject:
General
Subject:
Women
Subject:
Family
Subject:
England
Subject:
Gay
Subject:
Historical fiction
Subject:
Yorkshire (England) Fiction.
Subject:
General Fiction
Subject:
Domestic fiction
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Subject:
Literary
Copyright:
1995
Edition Number:
1st Picador USA ed.
Edition Description:
Trade paper
Series Volume:
no. 97-329
Publication Date:
19991112
Binding:
Electronic book text in proprietary or open standard format
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
336
Dimensions:
8.26 x 5.51 x 0.885 in
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Related Subjects

Featured Titles » General
Featured Titles » Miscellaneous Award Winners
Fiction and Poetry » Literature » A to Z
Reference » Bibliography and Library Science

Behind the Scenes at the Museum Used Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$6.95 In Stock
Product details 336 pages Picador USA - English 9780312150600 Reviews:
"Review" by , "Stunning....[A] treasure chest bursting with the painful, pitiful, sad, always fascinating details of the most ordinary of lives."
"Review" by , "Well received in England, where it won the Whitbread award, Behind the Scenes at the Museum... marks the debut of a distinctive new voice that should appeal to readers who enjoy the panache of a Fay Weldon or the witty inventiveness of a Carol Shields. And it strikes a nice balance between fantasty and reality."
"Review" by , "Remarkable...full of the grimness, grit, and grandeur of Yorkshire life...one of the funniest books to come out of Britain in years."
"Review" by , "This first novel is, as far as I can tell, perfect. Behind the Scenes at the Museum is a marvelously constructed, well-writeen, fast-moving chronicle of four generations of women in a Yorkshire family....It's hard to do justice to this lovely novel....Funny, engrossing, passionate."
"Review" by , "Breathtaking...Atkinson's luminescent imagery is sure and sophisticated, poetic and darkly comic. That such an ambitious and brilliantly realized novel is also the author's first is absolutely astonishing."
"Synopsis" by , Ruby Lennox begins narrating her own life at the moment of her conception, and from there takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of the twentieth century as seen through the eyes of a girl determined to learn more about her family and the secrets it keeps.
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