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.
Ruby's non-emotional mother, Bunty, features more and more as the story progresses and flashes back and forth from past to present. Many siblings and relatives of Ruby, Bunty and their predecessors take centre stage at various times in the story, and through these flashbacks we learn about the many sad and tragic events which led to the various deaths and disappearances of family members, which in turn shape the uneasy relationship which Ruby and Bunty display. None of the women in the various intertwined stories are successful in marriage and the men in their lives leave them feeling trapped, used, taken for granted or abused.
Verdict: Kate Atkinson is a fine author and this book is very well-written. However, it is an adult book and contains various scenes and themes which are sure to raise the heckles of many parents, should their child be asked to read this for schoolwork (extra-marital sex scenes and many, many anti-marriage slurs). This is more a book which should be on a third-level English Feminist Literature reading list.
I enjoyed this book immensely .........as a 40-something yr-old Mother! I don't think it is fair to promote such a blatantly anti-marriage story in the classroom to a group of young impressionable teenagers. All the men in this book are portrayed as ineffective, useless or abusive. I wonder how the female population would feel if asked to read a book which portrayed all married women in such a negative light.....
Sandra T. Co.Clare
Great story, wrong audience (teenagers ??!!) . I would hate to try to teach this to some of my lively classes of adolescent lads! BORING.........
James L Teacher Co. Cork
Some of the material in this book is not suitable to be studied in a classroom at secondary school. It promotes sex for teenagers as normal, sexual relationships outside of marriage (at a time when it would NOT have been the norm) and portrays Mothers as people who just leave their husbands and children, if they feel they have "had enough" and need to change their lives. These are not positive or helpful messages to be giving to our teenagers about the role of marriage or motherhood.......
Elaine, Co.Clare
This is a wonderfully written story which weaves past and present family secrets together and explores what factors could contribute to the breakdown of the Mother-daughter bond etc . BUT there is too much negativity surrounding marriage and family, for this to be a good choice for young people to study at this impressionable stage of their lives.
Karla M, Parent Co. longford