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In her profoundly moving, uniquely comic debut, Kate Atkinson introduces readers to the mind and world of Ruby Lennox, born above a pet shop in York at the halfway point of the twentieth century, and determined to understand both the family that precedes her and the life that awaits her. Taking her own conception as her starting point, the irrepressible Ruby narrates a story of four generations of women, from her great-grandmother's affair with a French photographer, to her mother's unfulfilled dreams of Hollywood glamour, to her young sister's efforts to upstage the Queen on Coronation Day. Hurtling in and out of both World Wars, economic downfalls, the onset of the permissive '60s, and up to the present day, Ruby paints a rich and vivid portrait of family heartbreak and happiness.… (more)
User reviews
The story is narrated by Ruby Lennox and who better to tell the story of her life as well as that of her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and sundry other relatives. Ruby’s family, much like yours, mine and everybody else’s, is littered with rogues, crooks, cheats and scoundrels. As Atkinson moves the narrative back and forth in time, across the twentieth century, she drops one tidbit after another that attest to her narrative wiliness. Ruby’s mother, Bunty, is such a rich, vibrant character (although not a contender for “Mother of the Year”) and Atkinson plays her for all she’s worth:
”I love the smell of paraffin heaters, so warm and dangerous. ‘Be careful,’ Bunty warns automatically. In another life Bunty was related to Joan of Arc, constantly alert to the possibilities of fire….Paraffin heaters are even more hazardous than stakes to riches, and they never occur in a sentence without a cautionary warning attached. None of us….could be within five feet of one of the Shop heaters without being in danger of conflagration. The coal fire in the living-room is treated similarly and kept guarded day and night (lit or unlit); matches are lethal, of course; the burners on the gas cooker are alive and trying to grab you as you pass by; cigarettes are struggling to drop and smolder----and as for spontaneous combustion! Well, it’s just waiting to happen.” Page 182
So that’s what this book is like: laugh out loud moments followed by a history lesson or two (the section about Ruby’s great uncles during WWI was some of the most poignant writing on that subject that I’ve ever read) with Atkinson setting a frantic pace throughout the narrative. Pure delight from beginning to end and very highly recommended.
Foremost this is the story of Ruby Lennox’s life; told from her distinct viewpoint and in her unequivocal terms, beginning directly at the moment of her conception and following through many of the significant events of her next forty-or-so years. But as it would not be possible to rightly comprehend her family dynamics from this singular point-of-view, interspersed into the composition are chapters of explanations – designated cleverly as footnotes – accordingly fleshing out past, and sometimes present, crucial circumstances beyond Ruby’s direct sphere of engagement; enabling the reader to grasp the essence of this somewhat exhaustive arrangement of familial foundation. Consequently, within this context, Ruby reveals to the reader, from her rather odd childhood experiences, and therefore often immature perspective, a picture of family life filled with grit, grief and grand events reflective of the times it depicts. What unfolds is a twisted, elaborate, sweeping epic of the past four generations of Ruby and her family, through two world wars and by way of a Yorkshire emphasis, which evokes extraordinary poignancy, complexity and a comedy of manners difficult to expound in a simple review.
And the title… at first I was intrigued, as I read more I became confused – what could it mean; at the end I was astounded! The story of this family is a display, the truth carefully hidden behind a curious façade; but like any exhibit at any museum, when the layers are pealed back, what a saga there is to tell. Often it is only when the curator is tasked, to disclose the measures required from ‘behind the scenes’ to construct the show, does the true picture emerge. Ruby was, thus, an admirable custodian of this tale!
It was hard, at times, to like many of the characters in this chronicle and the stark, often harsh, reality of Ruby’s existence overwhelmed at others; but the honesty of it all could never be questioned. There were moments of absolute hilarity (the holiday in Scotland comes to mind), and there were times when I ached with despair for Ruby and her family’s lot; but overall I was compelled to read on to the final act. This is, after all, a story told oft-times from the magical aspect of a child’s innocence – both the good and the very bad – and it is so well-crafted, and uses such mesmerising imagery and wry discernment that, despite the horrors, and probably due to its rather pragmatic style, I was enchanted and totally enthralled from beginning to end.
This book is not at all what I had anticipated – except for the brilliance of the actual writing of the work – and as such, was another totally unexpected delight! And, it was my 50th read for 2008 to boot!
Ruby Lennox narrates her life story beginning with her conception in 1951. Each chapter provides a window to another year in Ruby's life. Ruby defines herself in relationship to her mother, her older sisters, her father, and her extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Each chapter concludes with a footnote that anchors Ruby to her family's past in the stories of her grandmother Nell's and her mother Bunty's youths.
Up to now, my only experience with Kate Atkinson has been the Jackson Brodie novels. I liked Case Histories and loved the rest. I picked up her first novel with some trepidation. Would it live up to the Jackson Brodie novels? I'm happy to say that it exceeded my high expectations. Atkinson strikes a perfect balance between strong characters, vivid settings, and narrative pace in a distinctive voice. As she does in the Jackson Brodie novels, Atkinson follows chains of small events that propel characters toward major events that will change the course of her characters' lives. Atkinson is well on her way to becoming my favorite currently active author.
Ruby's own story is a delight to read: surprisingly so for something that contains so many unhappy people. Her mother Bunty, had married her father George (a serial womaniser) as the best of a bad lot after the Second World War and had regretted it ever since, her first choice being an American soldier called Buck who had carelessly blown his foot off with a hand grenade and was shipped back to the States never to be heard of again. Irritation is Bunty's normal state of mind, which very little is able to penetrate, and this does not make for a happy family life in the flat above the pet shop where the family live. I loved the beginning of the book (this is not a universal reaction as I found out from my book club) and the way the author establishes the characters of Bunty and George so quickly, as here when the newly conceived Ruby eavesdrops on her unsuspecting mother's dream:
'Given free choice from the catalogue offered by the empire of dreams on her first night as my mother, Bunty has chosen dustbins.
In the dustbin dream, she's struggling to move two heavy dustbins around the Back Yard … She is growing wary of one dustbin in particular; she suspects it's beginning to develop a personality - a personality uncannily like that of George.
Suddenly, as she heaves hard at one of the bins, she loses control of it and it falls with a crash of galvanised metal - CCRASH KERLUNCK! - spewing its contents over the concrete surface of the yard. … Despite the mess, the dreaming Bunty experiences a flush of pleasure when she sees how tidy her rubbish looks. As she bends down and starts picking it all up she becomes aware of something moving behind her. Oh no! without even turning round she knows it’s the George dustbin, grown into a lumbering giant and now towering over her, about to suck her into its grimy metallic depths …
Somehow, I can't help feeling that this dream doesn't augur well for my future.'
As the footnotes continue to introduce more and more members of Ruby's family, the reader can feel overloaded at times. Many people at my book group wanted a family tree to be provided, and apparently there is one on line. But one review of the book that I have read points out that to have a family tree provided would immediately expose the secrets and lies that are at the heart of the book, and so would remove the pleasure of piecing together the clues. And it did remind me of the sort of family that I grew up in, where there were numerous vague and more distant relatives that couldn't quite be placed but belonged there somewhere.
Despite more deaths than can be recounted on the fingers of one hand, and a set of unhappy and unfulfilled characters there are some very funny scenes in the book that really evoke a sense of time and place. The coronation where Bunty is too busy making food for her guests to watch any of the coverage on their new TV (and resenting every minute of it) and the wedding from hell booked for the day of the World Cup final in 1966 are wonderful.
The one weakness of the book, in my opinion is its ending. It does peter out rather than come to any definite conclusion. But the journey to get there was so much fun that I can forgive it that!
In the present, Ruby narrates a series of ingeniously constructed set-pieces – a drunken family get-together for the Coronation of the queen, a horrible and horribly funny co-neighbor vacation to Scotland, a comically dysfunctional wedding – as well as the everyday life of school, work, affairs, adolescence and deaths. In the past, we hear the stories of Ruby’s relatives which are described in the “footnotes” ostensibly to relate the origin and history of some object but really giving all the lives that have come before Ruby. Ruby’s family consists of her ineffectual philandering father, George, her difficult, frustrated mother Bunty, Patricia, the good sister who grows up to be a rebellious teenager, and cherubic brat Gillian. Bunty’s maternal line starts with her grandmother, spoiled Alice, who marries a drunken, neglectful husband and has too many children. The story of Alice’s children is told by her daughters Nell and Lillian who worry about their brother Albert during World War I and are both frustrated in their attempts to find love and build a family. Bunty, lost amidst another brood of children, tries to find an identity during WWII and also ends up settling for mildly unsatisfying married life. Besides these characters, many other relatives, friends, and partners work their way in. Life above a pet store, which is run by Ruby’s parents, also has its quirks. The setting, York from the 19th through the 20th century, is vividly described. Altogether very good and highly recommended.
Digressions
But this is no sentimental cliched family saga novel. Often it's very, very funny as chaos is heaped on catastrophe and it collapses into farce. The writing is sharp, witty, well observed, and full of life. Atkinson writes with a strange kind of hard-nosed pitiless compassion.
This book is a brilliant interweaving of past and present. I loved the "herstory," with events unfolding through a matriarchal line. I enjoyed Ruby's cocksure narration, even when she turned out to be incredibly unreliable, because the reason for it made perfect sense (I can't say more without spoilers). And Atkinson is very funny. My favorite scene was her description of a wedding that occurred during the legendary 1966 FIFA World Cup Final. Here the behavior of a drunken wedding guest is juxtaposed with television commentary of the match:
Everything seems to go into slow motion as Ted pitches and reels, his arms flailing like windmills, in a desperate attempt to regain his balance and avoid the irresistible, inevitable accident which we can see hanging before our eyes. The tiny bridal couple on top of the cake sway and totter as if they were sitting on top of a volcano. Some people are on the pitch -- they think it's all over-- Ted moans as his feet go under him and in one dreadful slapstick movement he falls, face first, into the wedding cake. It is now! (p. 260)
Yet despite the humor, it's clear all is not right in the Lennox family. The pieces just don't all fit together; that is, until a significant event is revealed that sheds new light on everything that came before. The drama and emotion escalate as Ruby sorts through her family's history and tries to heal wounds to lead a normal adult life. This was Kate Atkinson's debut novel, and is highly recommended.
The alternate chapters (told in third person) give the backstory of Ruby's mother's life during the second Great War. The writing is not as humorous, nor as witty as when Ruby gets to speak. Over all the reading is a rollercoaster of ups and downs, twisting you through life's crazy moments.
Aside from all the secrets, this book is populated by a vast and confusing cast of characters. Told in alternating chapters between the life of Ruby Lennox (who narrates her own story from the moment of conception) and the stories of her maternal antecedents (told in the third person), we learn about several generations of women who make bad decisions in marriage and what happens to them as a result. Needless to say, this isn't a particularly cheerful book.
The book provides interesting glimpses of life in other times and places. Since I am in USA, even ordinary life in England is novel to me. The book also exposes the pain, heartache, and disappointments which abound in all families and talks about the secrets which are kept and the effect they can have on the lives of everyone.
As far as my own reaction to this book - I thought it is better done than most of this type. I usually don't care for much introspection and analysis. I prefer lots of plot. The sections when things were happening were much more enjoyable for me than the sections when Ruby was telling us that things had happened. There were lots of characters and towards the end I began to confuse the relationships (Was Tom Nell's brother or her uncle?) But in the end, I think it didn't matter. The point is that families are tied together, even if the genealogical relationships are unclear. I found my self thinking about this book over and over after I had finished it - a sign that it did touch me at some level - but I'm just as happy not to still be reading it.
Recommendation? Yes, definitely, for those who enjoy these relationship stories. The plot driven types should save this one for a time when you want something more touchy-feely than normal.
In Museum, the precocious narrator Ruby Lenox takes us behind the scenes of
This is a book about parents, children, sisters, love, marriage, infidelity, war, death, pets and the general hodgepodge of family life. Ruby is a beguilingly effervescent narrator, finding humor in the darkest cubbyholes of her family’s past and, eventually, finding her own place in the family gallery.
Also posted on Rose City Reader.
Atkinson's prose has both a levity and a gravitas that balances beautifully between hilarity and pathos. A few passages could have profited from editing and compaction, but overall she uses language wonderfully without becoming too overburdened with words.
This is a story about history and destiny and the patterns of life, and the ways in which women can choose between living and surviving. Recommended.
But Ruby is, as many narrators are, unreliable, albeit unwittingly, and in her quest to make sense of her family, she finds herself.
Atkinson's prose is fluid and in turns humorous and moving, in a way that kept me reading (even if it took me a long time). The words sucked me in and I came to fully believe in these characters. They became real, especially Ruby. This is definitely going to make my list of all-time favorite books.
I enjoyed this book much more than most of the members of my book club. I loved Ruby, the narrator, especially as a child, and I thought that the intricate story was very clever and hilarious. The funniest parts
To quote another reviewer: "a treasure chest bursting with the painful, pitiful, sad, always
I loved this book.
Erica Kline, 5/1/2003
While I believe this book is really well written - it does contain a lot of disturbing things - I enjoyed it - but its not a book I would read over and over. At some points I really felt like it was just a catalog of all the deaths in one family.
Anyway - if you are reading it and about to give up - I'd say - give it 150 pages before you decide to pack it in.