Re:
Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bookpossum
I think you have missed out by doing this, gmw, but I suppose we all feel differently about books. I enjoyed Behind the Scenes at the Museum very much indeed, and thought Atkinson pulled off the difficult feat of writing a book that was very funny and absolutely heartbreaking at the same time.
You may enjoy her Jackson Brodie books, starting with Case Histories, but they aren't conventional mysteries.
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I knew you had enjoyed it, that was one of the factors in my deciding to try it.
I loved the opening of the book, it was intriguing and evocative ... and I loved various other bits and pieces as I hit them, but there didn't seem to be anything driving it forward. Each element just "was", without much (of any importance) to connect it to what came before or after (besides being the same cast of characters). I was surprised to see how many speak of the humour. Yes, I smiled in places where it was cute, but I would not have called it funny (or maybe the real fun doesn't start until the second two-thirds?). One of the reasons why I stopped reading was that by a third of the way through I didn't care enough about any of the characters that were left to feel much heartbreak.
I am looking forward to trying another of her books, because I did enjoy many of the individual elements of this book, I just didn't enjoy the whole (well, the third of the whole that I read). So I'm thinking that something a bit more story-like may work better for my tastes ... but I'll probably leave off trying another of her books for a while to avoid carrying over any unwanted influence.