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A review by chrissie_whitley
Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
5.0
"The past is a cupboard full of light and all you have to do is find the key that opens the door."
Kate Atkinson's first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, is a gorgeously written story about four generations of Yorkshire women. The delicate construction of this narrative is remarkable and a perfect example of what Atkinson later accomplishes with [b:Life After Life|15790842|Life After Life (Todd Family, #1)|Kate Atkinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1358173808l/15790842._SY75_.jpg|21443207] and its companion book, [b:A God in Ruins|3722183|A God in Ruins (Todd Family, #2)|Kate Atkinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451442002l/3722183._SY75_.jpg|42652219]. I have yet to read her Jackson Brodie series, but have marveled at the risks Atkinson has been willing to take in her novels.
Behind the Scenes at the Museum begins with the conception of Ruby Lennox in 1951 from her own point of view, à la [b:David Copperfield|58696|David Copperfield|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461452762l/58696._SY75_.jpg|4711940]: I exist! Thus, we have swiftly been introduced to three characters at once and Atkinson makes use of this babe in the womb as a quiet observer to lay the groundwork of the household in which she will later arrive. As is typical of Atkinson, her characterizations are fantastic. Each person, down to even an unimportant party guest, comes to life — unique and dynamic.
The main theme Atkinson deals with is as simple as Life and Death and all the messiness that comes in between. But her multilayered approach, complex and as beautifully written as it is woven together, also takes on the sometimes astonishing way families have of hiding histories, accidentally and on purpose.
I come from similarly ridiculous family — and have happened upon previously untold stories that forced me to refocus everything framed with that family member. Sometimes delivered with the shocked line of, "I can't believe you didn't know this," and other times with the nonchalant air of a house cat, "Huh, no. That's wrong." So to read Atkinson's embedded footnotes that detail additional family histories from previous generations in Ruby's family was a delightful plus.
Carefully planted at the end of chapters, these footnotes chronicle the lives of Ruby's great grandmother, Alice; Alice's daughter, Nell; and Nell's daughter, Bunty — Ruby's own mother; along with other family members and some wartime flashbacks from the point of view of the male family members. Atkinson has created an incredibly intricate family tree (one that rivals my own), and brought it to life with her absolutely lovely writing.
"Patricia embraces me on the station platform. 'The past is what you leave behind in life, Ruby,' she says with the smile of a reincarnated lama. 'Nonsense, Patricia,' I tell her as I climb on board my train. 'The past's what you take with you.'"
Audiobook, as narrated by [a:Pearl Hewitt|8079368|Pearl Hewitt|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: I have listened to all but one of Atkinson's novels on audio ([b:Transcription|37946414|Transcription|Kate Atkinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1521173471l/37946414._SY75_.jpg|64175388] is the only one at this point I have read in print), and her stream-of-consciousness adjacent narratives for those three books, seem to work beautifully with this medium. Hewitt did an amazing job — her voice was perfectly suited to Ruby's narration and her family's story. The variance in voices for each character was subtle and yet distinct. I would not hesitate to listen to another audiobook with Hewitt as the performer.
Kate Atkinson's first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, is a gorgeously written story about four generations of Yorkshire women. The delicate construction of this narrative is remarkable and a perfect example of what Atkinson later accomplishes with [b:Life After Life|15790842|Life After Life (Todd Family, #1)|Kate Atkinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1358173808l/15790842._SY75_.jpg|21443207] and its companion book, [b:A God in Ruins|3722183|A God in Ruins (Todd Family, #2)|Kate Atkinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451442002l/3722183._SY75_.jpg|42652219]. I have yet to read her Jackson Brodie series, but have marveled at the risks Atkinson has been willing to take in her novels.
Behind the Scenes at the Museum begins with the conception of Ruby Lennox in 1951 from her own point of view, à la [b:David Copperfield|58696|David Copperfield|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461452762l/58696._SY75_.jpg|4711940]: I exist! Thus, we have swiftly been introduced to three characters at once and Atkinson makes use of this babe in the womb as a quiet observer to lay the groundwork of the household in which she will later arrive. As is typical of Atkinson, her characterizations are fantastic. Each person, down to even an unimportant party guest, comes to life — unique and dynamic.
The main theme Atkinson deals with is as simple as Life and Death and all the messiness that comes in between. But her multilayered approach, complex and as beautifully written as it is woven together, also takes on the sometimes astonishing way families have of hiding histories, accidentally and on purpose.
I come from similarly ridiculous family — and have happened upon previously untold stories that forced me to refocus everything framed with that family member. Sometimes delivered with the shocked line of, "I can't believe you didn't know this," and other times with the nonchalant air of a house cat, "Huh, no. That's wrong." So to read Atkinson's embedded footnotes that detail additional family histories from previous generations in Ruby's family was a delightful plus.
Carefully planted at the end of chapters, these footnotes chronicle the lives of Ruby's great grandmother, Alice; Alice's daughter, Nell; and Nell's daughter, Bunty — Ruby's own mother; along with other family members and some wartime flashbacks from the point of view of the male family members. Atkinson has created an incredibly intricate family tree (one that rivals my own), and brought it to life with her absolutely lovely writing.
"Patricia embraces me on the station platform. 'The past is what you leave behind in life, Ruby,' she says with the smile of a reincarnated lama. 'Nonsense, Patricia,' I tell her as I climb on board my train. 'The past's what you take with you.'"
Audiobook, as narrated by [a:Pearl Hewitt|8079368|Pearl Hewitt|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: I have listened to all but one of Atkinson's novels on audio ([b:Transcription|37946414|Transcription|Kate Atkinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1521173471l/37946414._SY75_.jpg|64175388] is the only one at this point I have read in print), and her stream-of-consciousness adjacent narratives for those three books, seem to work beautifully with this medium. Hewitt did an amazing job — her voice was perfectly suited to Ruby's narration and her family's story. The variance in voices for each character was subtle and yet distinct. I would not hesitate to listen to another audiobook with Hewitt as the performer.