Author vs Author to infinity: Kate Atkinson
This is gonna be a long one #110
First off, a deep and sincere apology. I genuinely don’t know how we’ve found ourselves here 110 little ol’ newsletters in without a Kate Atkinson head to head. While I’ve talked about some of my favorites, she’s an obvious Head to Head choice and I’ve plainly let you down, especially given that she has a recent book out, Shrines of Gaiety. I can only thank you for kindly keeping your incredulity at this unimaginable lapse to yourselves. Truly, civility on the Internet is not all lost.
If you’re not familiar, “author vs author” is my convention wherein we talk about a given author whilst unscientifically but cheerfully ranking a chaotically incomplete overview of their books as though we were a Buzzfeed listicle, but with marginally fewer GIFs! Past head to heads include TJR, Celeste Ng & Yaa Gaasi, Colson Whitehead, and Candace Carty-Williams & Meg Howrey. (Is 2x Pulitzer winner Colson Whitehead somehow wondering how he got on that particular book stage?) Anyway:
Why Everyone Should Love Kate Atkinson, by Kerry Bennett, Age [Ain’t Nothin’ but a Number]:
She writes in the same cool, blazingly intelligent, wry and funny, slightly melancholy but still buoyant voice across her whole canon. She just always chooses the unexpectedly most best rightest words while also
Creating a lot of different kinds of books, with a freewheeling approach to structure, but which are all
Supremely researched and observant such that whatever her time frame or setting, it’s exquisitely depicted and deliciously immersive.
So hydrate and do some deep knee bends, because she has written a lot of books and I’m talking about some of ‘em. Clear your next four hours and let’s go.
PS these are basically all three lamb books. Sometimes witty, sometimes despairing, people die, people fall in love. Life Imitates Art!
Contender 1
Yes, babies, of course we’re starting with Life After Life, not only my favorite of hers but amongst my favorite novels EVAH.
Power summary: Hitler is murdered. Then in 1910, a baby named Ursula is born and dies. That same night, she’s born again but lives … and then dies. Over and over she’s reborn and lives many lives leading up to, and potentially changing the course of, the second World War.
Endless paragraphs here on why I like it but in short: it’s an unusual format that allows for incredible breadth of characterization and themes. It’s beautifully, cinematically rendered; darkly funny; whip smart; and it raises the important questions of destiny, free will, sacrifice against the grand horror of war meets the quiet intimacy of quotidien life. SO good.
Contender 2
A God In Ruins is a sequel/companion piece to Life After Life and sure, it has all these breathless accolades all over the cover but you know what? Agree to somewhat disagree. Felt a bit like Atkinson suffered a tragedy in her life that made her say, “no, actually, life is pretty disappointing and people are all terrible so that’s what this book is going to be about.” Which isn’t necessarily wrong but for me, it was pulling all the emotional heartstrings without relief. A weeper. A lot of people loved it but I was not one of those people.
Contender 3
Shrines of Gaiety is her latest and maybe not her greatest but I still really enjoyed this Jazz Age take of recently incarcerated nightclub impresario, Nellie Coker, she of many secrets and even more wiles; her six children of various temperaments, motivations, and capabilities; the police assigned to corral her; and the glittering, corrupt, seductive and enthralling nightlife world. In the Rules of Civility vein, it brings to life the fizzy, hustling world after the Great War. It tackles fewer of the Big Questions and has a regular old narrative structure - it’s not as ambitious nor as profound as some of her others - but it’s a fun champagne cocktail of a Kate Atkinson book.
Contender 4
As a first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum is pretty incredible, and had it been the first book of hers that I’d read, I probably would have loved it. It’s about a supremely dysfunctional Yorkshire family as told by daughter Ruby Lennox from the moment of her conception in 1959. As a later read, I see the same beats of a gruesomely Dickensian tragic-comic family, the manipulation of narrative, a palette of deliberately off-putting characters (a favorite trick of Atkinson’s) - all things she’d explore in later works but understandably without the even more confident voice and skill she would develop. But still a bravura debut.
Contender 5
Transcription is on one hand, a WW2 spy thriller with a woman protagonist, if you like that kind of thing. But of course it’s Kate Atkinson, so there’s a lot of time-jumping as well as pondering the consequences of our actions on a global and individual scale, the weight of secrets, and what our “true identity” really means. Suspenseful, tightly constructed, and pretty engaging.
Contenders 6-10
Last but cerrrrrrtainly not least, one must talk about Case Histories and all of the subsequent Jackson Brodie mysteries. Because sure! Why not just go ahead and be a writer who can craft stunning treatises on war, family, and identity, and then also create a compelling series of detective novels? Who gave you permission to be so talented, Miss Kate?
Anyway, you know your girl loves a mystery series (if one is good, ten are better, is my rule for French fries and pop fiction) and this is a good one. It hits all the common notes - murders, suspects, sleight of hand and misdirection, taciturn investigator - but say it with me now, because it’s Kate Atkinson, it’s also more layered than the average mystery with irresistible characters.
And the Winner Is …
All of us, because we get to read Kate Atkinson. But also:
Uberwinner: Life After Life, lol, obviously, I sure didn’t bury the lede here
Other winners: Case Histories, Shrines of Gaiety
Okay: Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Transcription
Not for me, maybe for you: A God in Ruins
But enough about me, let’s talk about you. What do YOU think of me? JK, what do you think of Kate Atkinson? What’s your favorite and why am I wrong about A God In Ruins?
Finally a Few Words NOT about Kate Atkinson for Crying Out Loud
If you’re new here, welcome! This is not only a Kate Atkinson fan page; every week (or so) there’s a different theme and recommendation. Check out the archive for other genres or books you might love.
All links go to Bookshop.org because shopping for books on Amazon is like eating sushi from a grocery store. Sometimes it’s your best option, and it probably won’t kill you, but maybe there’s a better way?
Shrubbery. Velvet. Mesmerize. These are all good, nice-to-say words that are not about Kate Atkinson.