Behind the Scenes at the Museum
A Novel

"As a family, we are genetically disposed towards having accidents." First and foremost, this is a challenging ambitious book, more so than Life after Life. The narrative is a labyrinth of twists and turns, false trails, loops and double helixes. There’s also an awful lot to remember because for som......more

Kate Atkinson's critically and reading group lauded 'masterpiece' covering the intricate lives of a Yorkshire family from the end of the 19th century to the 1990s... which I found good, but nowhere near as good as many others found it. A solid Three Star, 6 out of 12. As ever, after reading an Atkin......more

4.5★ (January 2018) “At the moment at which I moved from nothingness into being my mother was pretending to be asleep - as she often does at such moments. My father, however, is made of stern stuff and he didn't let that put him off.” And this, dear reader, is how we meet Ruby Lennox. During her life,......more

I really enjoyed this read but am finding it very hard to review without it making me sound like a rambling old biddy. There are so many things I liked about that are running through my head like little soundbites, but I can’t seem to write anything coherent about it. But I will try. Ruby Lennox is n......more

Behind the Scenes at the Museum is really a very good book, marred by one gimmick that frustrates me because it's so unnecessary to the story Kate Atkinson is telling. For the most part, however, I enjoyed this one immensely. Atkinson has a knack for turns of phrase that are amusing and piercing and......more