Customer Reviews

Human Croquet

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read Kate Atkinson's first book somewhat reluctantly - "Behind The Scenes At The Museum" - and then read it all through in delight and fascination. If anything, Human Croquet is even better. A tighter narrative, a closer grasp upon the characters in her book, and an incredible wit and talent for characterisation have combined to greatly improve upon Atkinson's style. Behind the Scenes was an awesome debut. Human Croquet is a marvellous book. I fell instantly in love with the characters, even the ones you aren't really sure you're supposed to like, but do anyway (Aunt Vinny is an absolute black delight.). It explores realities and dreamlands, plays around with our expectations and thoughts, and eventually everything falls into place. You MUST re-read this book at least three times. It's the only way you will ever realise just what a superlative work of art it is - complex, deep, and very, very clever....

I have just discovered that Kate Atkinson's next book is out in June! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

Anyway... there is so much I could say about this book - it is a devastatingly devious whodunnit, that you don't even realise is a whodunnit until you realise it IS one; it is a extremely funny, barbed and ironic book; it is a character driven piece as well as a plot-driven piece. It is one of my top 10 books of all time. The only other book I can think of that comes even close to Kate Atkinson's style in this book is Jostein Gaarder's "The Solitaire Mystery"

I bought this book after reading Behind the Scenes at the Museum. I really like Kate Atkinsons writing style.

This is a story of much complexity and I couldn't put it down. The story is about a 16 year old girl, Isobel Fairfax and her story is sad, humorous, disturbing and compelling. I was transfixed with genius of the writing. You are taken through the past and present and are never sure what is real and what is not but before the book ends you quickly drawn to the reality of it all.

Finding the truth of what happened to Eliza, Isobels mother, is especially interesting. This book also goes into the world of all the people involved with Isobel. A lot going on here.

It is in much the same style as Fall on Your Knees, by Ann-Marie Macdonald.

Didn't give it 5 stars because I could have probably done without the Shakespeare part, but it was really a gread read!!!

Kate Atkinson has a quite unusual and creative style of writing. If you like very linear,unambiguous fiction, she is definitely not for you but if you are up for a challenging and extraordinary read, check this, her second novel, out. It's hard to describe "Human Croquet" without sounding unbearably pretentious or giving away too much of the plot. Simply put,"Human Croquet" is the story of Isobel Fairfax, a teenager growing up in northern England in the early 1960s -- but the book goes far beyond the traditional coming-of-age story, with its time-bending, imaginative plot. History is intermingled with the present, dreams with reality, and alternate realities are at war with what's actually happening in Isobel's life. The characters are vivid and real, the writing is funny and witty and fresh, and Isobel's story and voice grip you from the beginning. Thoroughly enjoyable, and well worth the trip.

Wow! This novel is incredible. I started it after dinner, and it was so good I stayed up all night to finish it - I literally couldn't put it down. This novel is witty and charming, and Atkinson gets everything right - Isobel's search for the truth about her mother, her infatuation with Malcolm Lovat...Trust me, you will love this novel. Atkinson's first novel, "Behind the Scenes at the Museum," is also wonderful. Read them both!

I found myself overwhelmed by this story and atmosphere in which it was told. Every now and then I had to just stop reading and absorb the newest information. Kate Atkinson's writing is multidimensional and stunning, as she interwove times, people, and plots so that they were overlaid upon each other...yet not. I am amazed that anyone can write like this. Now I will have to re-read the book to understand what was "really" happening. And I cannot see the final pages as an ending with "too much reality" because I'm asking myself 'is that how it really ended?' or how Isobel wanted it to end?

Atkinson is an extremely witty and clever author. Every page (often every paragraph or sentence) contains something to wonder at, to laugh at, to be surprised at. I am a sucker for time travel novels and this had every appearance of being one -- but then it wasn't quite that at all. The ending left me a bit less satisfied than the first nine-tenths, but even so, I read it all hungrily and will read more of this literary author's work. I especially liked, as I usually do, that things don't always turn out happy and that people are mixed -- both good and something far different. Even if you ignore the larger themes about time and how our world operates, you can enjoy the story every page of the way.

I started reading Human Croquet with a great sense of excitement (after all, I haven't read a good book since Behind the Scenes at the Museum). And Kate Atkinson certainly didn't disappoint me.

Once more, she manages to play with dream and reality, past, present and future in an extraordinary exercise of style. The easiness with which she describes people, places and times as if she had the ability to cut out a slice of time for you is remarkable indeed.

But above all, she manages to bring to life yet another truly great character. Isobel Fairfax is sensible, generous, she has a wonderful sense of humour and this amazing sense of reality whilst travelling through the magical depths of time. Although different from Ruby Lennox in Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Isobel displays the same essential characteristic; both are extremely lovable. Kate Atkinson makes you think with them, feel with them, and suddenly Ruby and Isobel become your friends.

Ruby is a precious stone, Isobel is a beautiful pearl; Kate Atkinson has the gift of a jeweller to turn raw material into a magical sparkle of life. I can't wait for her next masterpiece!

Although Shakespeare's play is never referenced, the symbolism of the Forest of Arden in As You Like It (where identity is a game and relationships are as mutable as time) is clear in this witty, wise, confusing, magically realistic novel that reminds one of Mervin Peake's Gormenghast trilogy and of Jane Eyre simultaneously. This is without a doubt one of the best books I've read this year, for the story, the characters, and Atkinson's marvelously fluid writing style. If I sound like I'm trying to write a literary assessment of the book, it's because it extends into so many areas and dimensions, successfully and in an entertaining way.

This was one of the strangest books I've ever read and believe me,I read alot. 16 year old Isobel of Arden,England expriences a series of strange occurances surrounding herself and her dysfunctional family. The action goes back and forth,hence the title. As you continue reading you see why but I won't give away the ending(of course). Atkinson writes beautifully and really pulls you in with her words. Her characters are fully realized as well,human beings that are both ordinary and unusual at the same time. Not an "easy" read at times but well worth the effort..

Kate Atkinson has done what no other author (that I have read) has been able to do: capture a dream on paper. Human Crouquet flows so effortlessly from one storyline to the next that the reader can actually sit down with it for an hour, or a day, and escape into someone else's dreams. It seems as though all the other reviewers prefered Atkinson's first book, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, to this one, but I can easily say that Human Crouquet is the best book ever written, in my opinion, and I can't wait for Kate Atkinson to write another one