Behind the Scenes at the Museum

I laughed out loud a lot. This parental and sibling dysfunctional family is a hoot even though the underlying tragedies are heart wrenching. Ms. Atkinson has a real talent toward making tragedy comical.

I enjoyed the language Atkinson uses, after I got used to her style. It's not a book everyone will want to read, but if they can give it the time (which it needs to keep the characters straight), it's enjoyable.

Great read. Love author's skill at getting inside the mind of a young girl and verbslizing it so well. I admit I had to keep a drawing of the family tree nearby to keep everyone strarght and in the correct decade. I love Atkinson's skill. Her book Life after Life is my all time r favorite read.

This is an amazing first novel. Kate has written some other great book, but this first one is my favorite. She displays a portrait of a family from the view of a little girl and we live life through her eyes. This can be a make or brake in the world of novels and Kate made it. Every loose end is tied up by the finish of the book and there are twists and turns along the way you'll never think of. This little girl deserved my sympathy, and sadly, there are too many little girls living like her right now.

The title may lead you astray. The museum is not a building, per se, but the past as it bears on present and extends into future behavior in the generations of family surrounding Ruby Lennox and her emotionally dysfunctional mother and sisters. Dark, humorous and heart rending.

Kate Atkinson is my newest favorite author and this is the perfect introduction to her work. The book is a serious work of literature. Many accidents and deaths are part of the story and yet it is filled with marvelously funny descriptions, characters and situations. Most of the story is told through the eyes of a very young girl and she is the most enchanting narrator that I can imagine. The background of the many other characters is described by an omniscient narrator in alternate sections of the book that are labeled "footnotes". Behind the Scenes at the Museum is both moving and hilarious.

A very enjoyable book. The way it is constructed leaves you guessing to fill in the gaps - but the gaps get filled as you move through the book -- holds your interest - although the way the story is told is enough to hold your interest. It is highly amusing in places and very English - as an expat living in the US - odd details will be lost on those not familiar with "Etam" and other such references.

I'd read the reviews and with some anticipation was keen to read this book. But straight off the bat - keeping up with all the relatives and their exploits became a mission in itself. I really felt I needed some sort of diagram beside me so I could keep track. The lack of sentimentality felt a bit odd at times and resulted in slightly two dimensional characters for me. I wanted to understand these characters and go with them on their journey but I just couldn't manage it. No character ever seems to show any sort of personal insight into themselves or those around them (Patricia perhaps just being the exception in a long line). In trying to cover so much across the generations something is compromised. I think I hoped that each generation might learn something and that just having more of the same was a little too depressing for me. Having said that the truly black humoured parts (the family holiday in Scotland with the neighbours or the death of George) were very well done.

So much tragedy in the book...yet so beautifully told. There's something almost peaceful about it in the end. The big "secret" is easily guessable - the reader pieces it together long before the reveal - but yet I didn't feel cheated by the story at all. Some things are a bit too neatly tied up but all in all, it creates a funny, sad and real set of characters you'll carry with you for a while.

The rich, messy lives of generations of unhappy mothers and their damaged daughters somehow add up to a charming, funny and uplifting read. Though I typically enjoy much lighter fare, I was totally engrossed in this book.

Very clever writing. Witty and engaging tale of a rather disfunctional family. The literary technique is very inventive. The story moves slowly, so it is a little difficult to become completely engaged, but overall it is very well written and enjoyable to read.

A wonderful insight into family dynamics and the threads of history carried from generation to generation. The author conjures a very real sense of living in Ruby's home and the way a child views the actions of those around her. I loved this book.

Great character development in this book about Ruby's life from conception to adulthood. I very much enjoyed the mystery surrounding Ruby's childhood and the back and forth of the story between Ruby's story and that of her great grandmother's family.

I purchased this book many years ago, because it was on a list of "humorous books". I had a few laughs. Other reviewers have done an excellent job discussing the merits of the book along with the confusing format, I had to flip back and forth many times as I read. I am glad to move this one out of my library and ready to move on to a new read. I will be a bit more picky next time. No regrets, and a unique style.

Funny, beautiful, heartbreaking, riveting, terrific imagery and fresh use of language. Loved the way it uses time in non linear fashion. It is not always so easy to recall which character is which and keep all the relationships straight but this is only a minor annoyance. L.

Kate Atkinson describes the life of a British family starting from the fifties up to now. The story is moving, and hilarious at the same time. At the end of the book some strings come together and the whole story is understood. A must for anglophiles!

This was the first Kate Atkinson book I read some years ago and I enjoyed it as much on rereading.
What could be a tragic story is narrated by young girl from her point of view and with the author's wonderfully imagined
bizarre and offbeat characters the family misadventures become almost comic.

What a book ! Kate Atkinson writes with such charisma and charm. Behind the scenes has intricately woven tales that catch one in a very sweet web that makes it hard to extricate oneself until the tale is told.