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Behind the Scenes at the Museum
Ruby Lennox begins narrating her life at the moment of conception, and from there takes us on a whirlwind tour of the twentieth century as seen through the eyes of an English girl determined to learn about her family and its secrets.
384 pages
Published
January 3rd 1998
by Black Swan
(first published 1995)
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Behind the Scenes at the Museum is really a very good book, marred by one gimmick that frustrates me because it's so unnecessary to the story Kate Atkinson is telling.
For the most part, however, I enjoyed this one immensely. Atkinson has a knack for turns of phrase that are amusing and piercing and unexpected, and I loved these in particular. The story is meandering, and weaves back and forth in time, but it was the sort of meander I greatly enjoy.
This is a story about uneasy relationships bet...more
For the most part, however, I enjoyed this one immensely. Atkinson has a knack for turns of phrase that are amusing and piercing and unexpected, and I loved these in particular. The story is meandering, and weaves back and forth in time, but it was the sort of meander I greatly enjoy.
This is a story about uneasy relationships bet...more
26 likes · like · see review
view all 3 comments
This is very reminiscent of "Stone Diaries," but it has its own unique flavor. And stylistically it establishes the technique of intertwined stories that Atkinson's later novel, Case Histories, will also employ.
Ruby Lennox narrates her own life from the moment of her conception. She is a remarkably perceptive and knowledgeable zygote, and then she's a rather neglected little girl, and finally she's an unhappy teen-ager and a woman embarking on The Rest of Her Life.
Each chapter describing Ruby's...more
Ruby Lennox narrates her own life from the moment of her conception. She is a remarkably perceptive and knowledgeable zygote, and then she's a rather neglected little girl, and finally she's an unhappy teen-ager and a woman embarking on The Rest of Her Life.
Each chapter describing Ruby's...more
Jul 05, 2007
David
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
hideously-vile-protagonists
God, I can't even begin to express my depth of loathing for this book. I forced myself through to within about 60 pages of the end, but then I just couldn't bear it any more. I just didn't want to know any more about the vile people in this ridiculous family with all their dark, dirty, entirely predictable secrets.
Gaaaah! I left it behind on a plane somewhere. Should have attached a toxic warning label.
Gaaaah! I left it behind on a plane somewhere. Should have attached a toxic warning label.
22 likes · like · see review
Atkinson’s first novel is a multi-generational family tale layered on to the story from conception to adulthood of one Ruby Lennox. Atkinson has since written another four novels, the last two at least of which are mystery-thrillers, though this one is decidedly not. More a domestic melodrama with some late, though well-seeded plot twists. The crimes here are all of the hearth and heart, not of the prosecutorial sort, but considerable nonetheless. Some parts of this book are incredibly well-writ...more
Jan 22, 2008
Siria
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
20th-century,
british-fiction
This is a first novel, and it does show in a couple of places--the early chapters struggle to maintain the plausibility of such an adult authorial voice being refracted through the experience and understanding of a child, and there's at least one plot twist towards the end of the novel which I thought it could well have done without. Despite that, I really loved this book: the humour of it is just right for me, balanced right on the edge of tragedy. The prose achieves moments of real loveliness,...more
7 likes · like · see review
May 18, 2012
Dolly
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of historical fiction
Shelves:
2012,
english,
cooking-recipes,
fitness-sports,
military,
historical-fiction,
ocean-seashore,
pets,
australia,
africa,
aviation,
canada,
birthday,
easter,
france-french,
christmas,
gardens-flowers,
education-school,
germany,
jewish-israel,
other-usa,
poetry-song-music,
religion-philosophy,
relationships,
scotland-scottish,
south-central-america,
the-netherlands,
wales
I found this book while passing through England and I thought it would be a good read. I am so glad I discovered it. The story weaves its way backward and forward through time, tracing the path of several people's lives - their loves, their deaths, their experiences. I love that it primarily tracks the women of one family and it's fascinating to see the way in which their lives intertwine.
It takes place primarily in England in the early 1950s and 1960s, but the story reaches from the late 1890s...more
It takes place primarily in England in the early 1950s and 1960s, but the story reaches from the late 1890s...more
This is Atkinson's first novel, and I loved it for its complicated, funny coming-of-age story. The narrator's voice is right on, and led me through all the twists of the book.
Thanks to a memory lapse, I picked up this book again and though I recognized I'd already read it, I liked it just as much the second time. I think that's the mark of a very good book. --3/31/13
Thanks to a memory lapse, I picked up this book again and though I recognized I'd already read it, I liked it just as much the second time. I think that's the mark of a very good book. --3/31/13
2 likes · like · see review
I really liked this book. I have read other books by this author, and have enjoyed them, too. This one is my favorite of hers, as well as being her first novel. The narrator is telling the story of growing up in a pretty dysfunctional family, and gives hints along the way about a surprise the reader finds at the end of the book. There is a lot of unhappiness in this story, as seen from the point of view of the narrator (through most of the book she is a very young girl), and it would be interest...more
Nov 04, 2012
Leanne Hengesbach
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audiobooks
Initially I downloaded only the first half of this book--so I thought I was almost done when it was really only half over. A few times I wished I had an actually book so I could go back & look up one of the ancestors but by the end I kept them straight. So many of the young men died in war. I was quite distraught each time. And the DOGS in war. It was heartbreaking. I'm a little younger than the narrator but I remember childhood when children were more "taken for granted" than today. Ruby's...more
One of the more enjoyable book I read this year. I had no trouble getting into it whatsoever and liked the story from the get-go.
*may contain SPOILERS*
The book is rather morbid and ocasionally very sarcastic (and so am I!) but I had a huge smile on my face through most of it, although at times I felt a bit guilty about enjoying myself. If the writting style wasn't that light-hearted it would be a very, very sad story.
Things like Ruby (the narrator) actually considering splitting up her dead sist...more
*may contain SPOILERS*
The book is rather morbid and ocasionally very sarcastic (and so am I!) but I had a huge smile on my face through most of it, although at times I felt a bit guilty about enjoying myself. If the writting style wasn't that light-hearted it would be a very, very sad story.
Things like Ruby (the narrator) actually considering splitting up her dead sist...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The stories of Ruby’s life and family history are adeptly intertwined through the use of footnotes. Each chapter of Ruby’s life contains a footnote that is later illuminated in a sub-chapter giving you more of an insight as to the significance of an object or phrase. Atkinson successfully blends four generations of the Lennox family through this method taking you through two World Wars and various battles closer to Ruby’s own family.
The use of the footnotes acted...more
The use of the footnotes acted...more
May 13, 2007
Lisa Vegan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
if you have a warped sense of humor and enjoy novels about families
I enjoyed this book much more than most of the members of my book club. I loved Ruby, the narrator, especially as a child, and I thought that the intricate story was very clever and hilarious. The funniest parts were when Ruby was scathingly commenting about her family members, especially her sisters and parents. Terribly traumatic events happen to this family but they’re told in such a light and breezy manner (by Ruby during and before her actual lifetime) that I didn’t find the book at all dep...more
7 likes · like · see review
This is one of those books i just can't get thru. The first 100 pages had so many characters, brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunts, etc...Too many names and characters to keep track of.
The second part of the book is way more interesting and funny when the character Ruby comes into play. The family is very corky and very colorful. However, i find myself never wanting to continue to read and finish this book. I also can't wait to get to read Soldier of A Great War or Middlesex.
I realize that eve...more
The second part of the book is way more interesting and funny when the character Ruby comes into play. The family is very corky and very colorful. However, i find myself never wanting to continue to read and finish this book. I also can't wait to get to read Soldier of A Great War or Middlesex.
I realize that eve...more
3 likes · like · see review
I finished Behind the Scenes at the Museum at 6 o'clock this morning. I have to give it an enthusiastic four stars out of five (but then again, I love books about messed up families). Kate Atkinson has a lot to live up to after this first novel.
The story spans the family history of Ruby Lennox, starting with her great grandmother in pre-WWI England and ending with her and her sisters, but not in chronological order. Atkinson introduces so many characters in this relatively short book that you th...more
The story spans the family history of Ruby Lennox, starting with her great grandmother in pre-WWI England and ending with her and her sisters, but not in chronological order. Atkinson introduces so many characters in this relatively short book that you th...more
Feb 17, 2008
Diane
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Diane by:
Patricia Ketchum
Shelves:
diane
I didn't want this book to end, which is one reason it took me so long to read it. Another reason is that it was so intense that I had to stop reading and bring myself back to the real world. I found myself chuckling throughout the book despite the pile-up of corpses, both human and pet. Death, the inevitable result of living, comes along as suddenly and as naturally as a rainstorm on a sunny day. Ruby, the main character, is hemmed in by death, yet her wry humor always seems to carry her throug...more
Sep 21, 2007
vladimir
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of unconventional novels, quirky narrators...
"I am a jewel. I am a drop of blood. I am Ruby Lennox"
Taking a bit of inspiration from that meta-fictional classic Tristram Shandy, Atkinson's irrepressible creation/narrator, Ruby, begins her story with her own conception.
From there it's tales of familial woe and dysfunction; tragedy with an eccentric and uplifting undercurrent. Footnotes cleverly fill the gaps in the generational record; tiny mysteries abound, yet they aren't the point of the story--it's about 'British-ness' and the generation...more
Taking a bit of inspiration from that meta-fictional classic Tristram Shandy, Atkinson's irrepressible creation/narrator, Ruby, begins her story with her own conception.
From there it's tales of familial woe and dysfunction; tragedy with an eccentric and uplifting undercurrent. Footnotes cleverly fill the gaps in the generational record; tiny mysteries abound, yet they aren't the point of the story--it's about 'British-ness' and the generation...more
Mar 04, 2008
Juliana
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anglophiles, war buffs, sisters.
I loved this book so much that I slowed down in the middle for fear of finishing it. That was probably a mistake because there are a ton of characters to keep track of and random things are always happening to them, and I'm sure there were a few witty twists that I missed. By the time I finished, I just wanted to start over again.
Even though the story follows a tragic family, Kate Atkinson keeps her sense of humor and I caught myself laughing out loud during death scenes and mourning periods. At...more
Even though the story follows a tragic family, Kate Atkinson keeps her sense of humor and I caught myself laughing out loud during death scenes and mourning periods. At...more
This book follows a family through multiple generations of realistic, often funny, sometimes deeply tragic characters. There were tons of storylines, and each chapter illustrates a different generation. This made it a bit difficult for me to follow (I was reading it in ten-minute increments), but it was extremely gratifying to watch it all pull together in the end.
This book was a lot like "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," (which will always have a place in my heart) set in York, England. I think someo...more
This book was a lot like "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," (which will always have a place in my heart) set in York, England. I think someo...more
This is a story in which most of the characters are trapped in dreary lives, cursing their fates, filled with regrets, having their lives ruined (or ended) by world wars, and treating each other horribly -- and I was surprised at how deeply pleasurable it all was to read about. I couldn't stop rooting for our main character, I couldn't stop reading it, and I couldn't stand the fact that eventually the book would end. Atkinson's writing is observant and funny, and in this books she makes dire cir...more
Behind the Scenes traces the life of Ruby Lennox from conception through her life with her immediate family. Interlaced Ruby's history are flashback chapters of the lives of her great-grandmother, grandmother and mother's families. There is a dark humor to the way she describes her family's interactions, but it is mostly lost on me. Because of this miss, the middle of the book had some major drag for me but just when I'm ready to stow the book on the shelf, it picks up and seduces me with a gorg...more
Fans of Brit-Lit, disappointed yet hopeful chick-lit readers who always think chicks should really have more to say... these are the folks I'd recommend this one to first. The narrator is very appealing, and the setting and peripheral characters are depicted with enough detail to be satisfying but not distracting in a who's-that-guy kind of way.
Having just had a passionate discussion with my sister about the amoral nature of the plot spoiler, I am hesitant to say more...It's about a girl growing...more
Having just had a passionate discussion with my sister about the amoral nature of the plot spoiler, I am hesitant to say more...It's about a girl growing...more
Kate Atkinson's first novel sets the stage for her powerful work to follow. Beginning with the moment of conception of the central character, the story moves forward through her childhood, adolescence, and adulthood while reaching back in alternating chapters with stories from the lives of her ancestors, tracing the generational connections, disconnects, and unexpected interrelationships that only history can know. And capital-H History is another key character, with wars, coronations, and the s...more
1 like · like · see review
I read this entire book on the eternal flights home from my trip to South Africa and I really loved it. I read Kate Atkinson's book Case Histories a few months ago and was hoping to recreate that experience. This book didn't disappoint. It was similarly mysterious and clever, with an added dose of humor about middle-class British life in the 1950's/60's. I loved reading the stories about the main character's ancestors and seeing how they fit into the narrative. I definitely wonder about the auth...more
2 likes · like · see review
I have to admit I was expecting a different book. And it took me a long time to read this one. I was originally put off when the novel started with the main character in the womb.
Yet it grew on me with the footnotes that take the reader back in time. And the material things -- the photographs, the locket, the tea cups, the clocks and the houses -- that bring the past into the present. The things connect this quirky family pain, sadness, and death.
"The past is what you leave being in life" and...more
Yet it grew on me with the footnotes that take the reader back in time. And the material things -- the photographs, the locket, the tea cups, the clocks and the houses -- that bring the past into the present. The things connect this quirky family pain, sadness, and death.
"The past is what you leave being in life" and...more
2 likes · like · see review
This is an excellent book. Atkinson's Case Histories was the last book I read for my 2005 list and was so good I almost put it in my top ten. Behind the Scenes at the Museum is the story of one British family, told from the perspective of Ruby, its youngest member. Ruby's tale is intertwined with lengthy "footnotes" that tell the stories of her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, winding back through until, at the end, you have the whole story of the family, from about 1870 to 1970, as we...more
Apr 29, 2013
Helen
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
historical-fiction
Books which jump around in time can be quite annoying and this one could have been, too, but somehow it is possible to keep the generations and events fairly clear, especially as the "footnotes" come at roughly the same place in each chapter so you know that when you jump back you'll have just enough material left to replace you in the more current part of the story. There is a mystery connected to the feeling of emptiness, loneliness that Ruby feels and it isn't until right at the end we find...more
Apr 17, 2013
Elaine
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
barnesandnoble-nook-book,
ebooks
I feel like a Grinch when I read the other reviews. all raving with praise. I gave it 3 stars because it is a good read, but it's far from being all that wonderful. It starts with an embryo at the moment the sperm penetrates the ovum. The ovum introduces herself and describes the family she'll be a part of. Of course, anti-abortionists will love this, since they preach that a fertilized egg is already a person. Well, it isn't. It has no brain, no senses, no consciousness, nothing. Just a sperm t...more
Apr 03, 2013
Mary
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Mary by:
NY Times
Shelves:
fiction
I don't give 5 stars to many books, but this one wowed me. I've read 2 other books by her and plan to read them all. The main character is bold, funny, fun, witty. She's a star. And has a haunting tale. Yes, the dysfunctional family in this book was getting me down. But I guess there wouldn't be anything to write about if the family was perfect. (Which no family is.)
I don't usually write summaries of plots. I figure you can look it up elsewhere on Goodreads or Amazon.
Kate Atkinson is a star an...more
I don't usually write summaries of plots. I figure you can look it up elsewhere on Goodreads or Amazon.
Kate Atkinson is a star an...more
I have read the first two books in Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie mysteries, and enjoy her quirky characters. So I checked this book out of the library. It had won the Whitbread Prize and sounded a bit quirky as well. The narrator is Ruby Lennox and this is her story - from the moment of her conception through middle age. As she tells of her life, we also learn about the prior three generations of her family - their problems, disappointments and losses. Ruby's humor and sarcasm offset the sadnes...more
My favourite thing about this book is that it has an awful lot of words in it, with very little space between them. It reminds me of the stranger Victorian literature, streams of words, great illustrative paragraphs, rolling narrative which doesn't stop for logic and progresses at its own pace.
Alas, whilst I loved the way this was written, the content did little for me. I've read many of Kate Atkinson's now, and I think my favourite by far has been Human Croquet, for its much more bizarre, obsc...more
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| BP to be Lead Sponsor of Historic Exhibition Bringing Masterpieces From the Hermitage to Britain | 2 | 3 | Apr 09, 2013 01:39am | |
| curious about this book | 14 | 104 | Feb 19, 2013 02:39pm |
Kate Atkinson was born in York and now lives in Edinburgh. Her first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and has been a critically acclaimed international bestselling author ever since.
She is the author of a collection of short stories, Not the End of the World, and of the critically acclaimed novels Human Croquet, Emotionally Weird, Case Histories, and...more
More about Kate Atkinson...
She is the author of a collection of short stories, Not the End of the World, and of the critically acclaimed novels Human Croquet, Emotionally Weird, Case Histories, and...more
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“In the end, it is my belief, words are the only things that can construct a world that makes sense.”
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