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A God in Ruins (Todd Family, #2)

Kate Atkinson

Start date: March 15, 2016

Finish date: April 1, 2016

Discussion: Reading List

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Reading List

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What Members Thought

Feb 24, 2015 Kathy rated it really liked it

I'm curious about compared reactions to Life After Life and A God in Ruins. They are both beautifully written, but for me, Life After Life grabbed me from the beginning and was impossible to put down from reading. While I am most happy that I have read A God in Ruins, because I fell in love with Kate Atkinson's writing long ago, it didn't resonate with me like Life After Life. Most of the characters were unlikable or unhappy, and while I know that a war tends to cast a long shadow, they seemed p ...more

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Apr 15, 2016 Cheryl rated it really liked it

Power through the first 50 pages or so and then like magic, the story will come and take you away (or back). It's not necessary to read Life After Life and it might even confuse you a bit to do so but in the end, I enjoyed the book greatly. I would have given it a five-star rating had it not been for the time I spent reading and trying to find the place where the story would start for me.

You might have already read it and thought "but what does it all mean?" Well, that's up to you.
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Mar 22, 2015 Jessica rated it really liked it

Shelves: world-war-ii

More traditionally structured than Atkinson's unusual narrative device in Life After Life, and probably to the good for it. It's extraordinarily difficult to strike twice with an idea that intrigues largely because of its novelty, and I'm glad that Atkinson chose to go in a different direction here. The pacing feels a bit languid at times, but in a way that heightens the feeling that you're reading something to savor. One of my favorite authors in fiction right now. ...more

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Aug 03, 2015 Michelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, constant-reader, first-reads, audiobooks

Received thru GoodReads First Reads. I had really enjoyed Life After Life and was looking forward to this book. Although I still have mixed feelings about the ending (really upset at first, but now accepting/appreciating it since I've had some time to process it), I absolutely loved it. Up until the ending, which was very confusing and jarring to me, I was completely caught-up in the story. The stories and characters are so rich and interesting. Strongly recommend! ...more

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