Author: Kate Atkinson, narrated by Pearl Hewitt
Year published: 1997
Category: Adult fiction
Pages: 332 pages
Rating: 4 out of 5
Location: (my 2024 Google Reading map): UK
Summary: Ruby Lennox was conceived grudgingly by Bunty and born while her father, George, was in the Dog and Hare in Doncaster telling a woman in an emerald dress and a D-cup that he wasn’t married.
Bunty had never wanted to marry George, but here she was, stuck with three little girls in a flat above the pet shop in an ancient street beneath York Minster.
Ruby tells the story of The Family, from the day at the end of the nineteenth century when a travelling French photographer catches frail, beautiful Alice and her children, like flowers in amber, to the startling, witty and memorable events of Ruby’s own life.
Review: I think my virtual book group needed something a little more light and fun than we have been reading so we picked a Kate Atkinson. Finally, I've read one of her books!
The narrator's voice was really good for this character; she had the northern accent and the right attitude. Her voice reminded the reader/listener that a child was narrating the story and that we were witnessing this family through a child's eyes. And the fact that Ruby, the child, uses sophisticated adult vocabulary and ideas totally worked for me.
This novel has so many characters. They flit in and out, a number die (the story does cover the years of WWI and WWII), but I like that we get funny insights into each one as events are described. And all the insights are from the perspective of Ruby who has a great sense of observation.
One of my friends asked "what is the plot? Where is this story going?" and I think the answer is, nowhere. This is a story of one family's life through the generations, how they interact, how outside events affect them, and where they end up. No climax, no moral lesson, just observations. Funny observations and poignant observations.
Challenges for which this counts: none
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