The Group welcomed Carrie.
The God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
The book appears to be set in and after WW2, and in
particular concerns a rear-gunner in the RAF (so of considerable interest
initially to P.M. the son of such a man).
It is a companion, rather than sequel, to a previous
book by this author, Life after Life, but those that had read the earlier work
felt it was an advantage to have done so, both because the characters and
settings were familiar, and because they were to some extent prepared for the
unexpected structure of the novel.
The group was sharply divided about this book: “the
perfect book”, “confusing”, “enjoyable”, “irritating”, “clever”, “difficult”.
Although there was general agreement about the author’s ability to portray
characters, emotions, landscapes and happenings, there was outrage from several
members when they found that they had been deliberately misled about events,
and even some of the people who already understood that various scenarios were
imaginary, found them confusing. The enthusiasts were keen to convert the rest,
pointing out the quality of the writing, the way the time shifts exposed more
of the characters’ personalities, the vivid picture of the RAF camaraderie, the
strength of family bonds. They insisted that perseverance to the end of the
book brings real rewards.
Several members did not read enough to be entitled to
award marks, but the opinions of the rest were fairly represented by: 7, 8, 8,
8, and 10(!), Average 8.2
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