A God in Ruins
Books | Fiction / Historical / 20th Century / World War II
3.9
(134)
Kate Atkinson
This stunning companion to Kate Atkinson's #1 bestseller Life After Life, "one of the best novels I've read this century" (Gillian Flynn), follows Ursula's brother Teddy as he navigates an unknown future after a perilous war. "He had been reconciled to death during the war and then suddenly the war was over and there was a next day and a next day. Part of him never adjusted to having a future." Kate Atkinson's dazzling Life After Life explored the possibility of infinite chances and the power of choices, following Ursula Todd as she lived through the turbulent events of the last century over and over again. A God in Ruins tells the dramatic story of the 20th Century through Ursula's beloved younger brother Teddy -- would-be poet, heroic pilot, husband, father, and grandfather -- as he navigates the perils and progress of a rapidly changing world. After all that Teddy endures in battle, his greatest challenge is living in a future he never expected to have. An ingenious and moving exploration of one ordinary man's path through extraordinary times, A God in Ruins proves once again that Kate Atkinson is one of the finest novelists of our age.
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More Details:
Author
Kate Atkinson
Pages
480
Publisher
Little, Brown
Published Date
2015-05-05
ISBN
031634155X 9780316341554
Ratings
Google: 4
Community ReviewsSee all
"After reading Life after Life I wanted to know more about Teddy and his war and I got that, but Atkins has a knack for creating miserable characters, even turning one's I enjoyed in her previous novel into dislikeable people, or at the very least people that do horrifying things, which in the end is very human.<br/>The book evoked qurie a bit of emotion but even with that, in the end I kind of felt like, "so what". I stuck around for Ted's story, and Bertie was interesting, but Viola was just disagreeable and I found myself dreading her chapters. Being inside the head of someone so entitled and self absorbed is unpleasant and exhausting.<br/>There are some lovely redemption arcs, but it seems they come too late to really redeem anything for me. <br/>Decent story but 3 because I would not read again."
Stacy Davis
"A real collection of likeable and despicable characters following entire lifelines set around World War 2. I got quite nostalgic for the England I arrived in in the 70s. Great character build-up and dialogue. It was well-paced despite constantly jumping around time. I really liked her style of writing and the little tricks like having other characters joining in on one person's inner dialogue. Lots of amazing detail about life as a member of a bomber crew and the horrors of life and death in war."
John Woakes
"Not a sequel to LAL but more a companion novel, as it tells Teddy's story. Hated the daughter, she was so ungrateful and inconsiderate and possibly the world's worse mother, even though she had somewhat of an epiphany later, all the time she wasted...The ending was a surprise!"
Liz Thurman
