I expect that is because I do not often read detective stories, which, prior to the novels that are the subject of this review, had been Atkinson’s oeuvre. That said, I should confess that prior to a recent NPR piece featuring Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn’s enthusiastic take on A God in Ruins, I had never heard of Kate Atkinson.

Both novels present the reader with such an engaging, well-constructed-and challenging-literary abode that it is difficult to vacate the premises on the last page. I believe that Kate Atkinson is a writer who deserves as much praise as she can get likewise, her latest novel, A God in Ruins, and its predecessor, Life After Life.

And yet, I can’t help thinking that occasionally some books, and some authors, deserve a shout out from ordinary readers like me, book junkies who, unlike professional critics, do not receive comp copies (and are not remunerated for their time and efforts) and thus, have a real investment in the work they praise or pan. What can one reader-let alone one functioning as an obscure blogger-say to another that is likely to influence his or her reading experience? Book reviews-even the most intelligent-generally boil down to opinion, which, as the saying goes, is the cheapest commodity in the world. I don’t particularly enjoy writing book reviews. And this is possible because the story’s voice makes everything its own. What is to happen next will take place within the four walls of the story. The covers of the book are like a roof and four walls. Urquhart (Twitter 1580 words “ When we read a story, we inhabit it.

Kate atkinson a god in ruins review