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Behind the Scenes at the Museum

by Kate Atkinson

ISBN13: 9780312150600
ISBN10: 0312150601
Condition: Standard

All Product Details

$11.95

List Price:~~$17.00~~

Used Trade Paperback

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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.

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

A deeply moving family story of happiness and heartbreak, Behind the Scenes at the Museum is bestselling author Kate Atkinson's award-winning literary debut.

National Bestseller

Winner of the Whitbread Book of the Year

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. Kate Atkinson's first novel is a multigenerational tale of a spectacularly dysfunctional Yorkshire family and one of the funniest works of fiction to come out of Britain in years (The New York Times Book Review).

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.

About the Author

Kate Atkinson is the author of Behind the Scenes at the Museum, winner of the Whitbread Book of the Year, Human Croquet, Emotionally Weird, Not the End of the World, Case Histories, One Good Turn, and Life after Life. She lives in Edinburgh, England.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating 4.4 (7 comments)

`	sharrona , February 06, 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 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 01, 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
Binding:: Trade Paperback
Publication date:: 11/12/1999
Publisher:: ST MARTINS PRESS
Pages:: 336
Height:: .87IN
Width:: 5.54IN
Thickness:: 1.00
UPC Code:: 2800312150602
Author:: Kate Atkinson
Author:: Kate Atkinson
Subject:: General Fiction
Subject:: Domestic fiction
Subject:: Family
Subject:: Yorkshire (England) Fiction.
Subject:: Literature-A to Z
Subject:: England
Subject:: Historical fiction

$11.95

List Price:~~$17.00~~

Used Trade Paperback

Ships in 1 to 3 days

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2	Hawthorne
1	Local Warehouse

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`	Karen Finlay , January 01, 2010 I LOVED this book. I had read "Case Histories" first and expected more of the same, and was surprised to find how different -- and unique -- "Behind the Scenes..." was. As I was nearing the end, I was reading as slowly as I possibly could to savor every word, already missing the characters. And when I finished, I cried. That hasn't happened to me in a book in a long, long time -- and certainly not in the past decade, which is why I'm nominating this for the Puddly Award. Official winner or not, please pick up this book. It will be a gift to yourself you'll never forget... and that will fit perfectly.
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`	stephen anderson , March 29, 2009 (view all comments by stephen anderson) One of the most compelling books I've read in years, the characters and situations are so real.....you begin to realize how seemingly unrelated events bring you to this world.
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`	Lucy Little , August 19, 2007 (view all comments by Lucy Little) This book flowed for me. I love her writing style. It was funny, poignant and heartbreaking at different times and all it once. My book club was divided in half with loving this book or not caring for it. I was enthralled from beginning to end with the characters and Atkinson's way with words. I still haven't figured out the meaning of the title, but the book is one of my favorites.
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`	hornbecksmith , July 21, 2007 (view all comments by hornbecksmith) I haven't loved a narrator like I love Ruby Eleanor Lennox in a very, very long time. Kate Atkinson has written such a little treasure here. The book is hilariously funny, but the tragedy of Ruby's family is breathtaking. Atkinson sneaks up on you and takes you by surprise. You imagine that you are along for the fun of it (and what a lot of fun it is!) and then you realize how deeply you care about this girl, her mother, her mother's mother, and so on. I'm smitten! I have Case Histories by the bed to read next, and I can't wait to be swept away again.
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