Kate Atkinson

WINNER OF THE 2015 COSTA NOVEL AWARD AND BESTSELLING LITERARY PAPERBACK OF THE YEAR 'Atkinson's finest work, and confirmation that her genre-defying writing continues to surprise and dazzle' Observer A God in Ruins relates the life of Teddy Todd – would-be poet, heroic World War II bomber pilot, husband, father, and grandfather – as he navigates the perils and progress of the 20th century. For all Teddy endures in battle, his greatest challenge will be to face living in a future he never expected to have. This gripping, often deliriously funny yet emotionally devastating book looks at war – that great fall of Man from grace – and the effect it has, not only on those who live through it, but on the lives of the subsequent generations. It is also about the infinite magic of fiction. Few will dispute that it proves once again that Kate Atkinson is one of the most exceptional novelists of our age. 'A dazzling read...ends on one of the most devastating twists in recent fiction' DAILY TELEGRAPH

A God in Ruins

Ursula Todd's brother Teddy is an old man trying to come to grips with his post-War life and with a modern world and family. Switching back and forth in time between memories of his childhood and his present, Teddy is an oblivious husband, a rueful father. He never quite got over the War and part of him never adjusted to having a future. Would-be poet, heroic pilot, husband, father, and grandfather, Teddy navigates the perils and progress of a rapidly changing world; his greatest challenge is living in a future he never expected to have. --

a novel

A god in ruins

Amy Place

4 stars because I know I would have liked it that much if I was actually able to focus on books right now

Brigid Hogan

ONE MILLION STARS
I love Kate Atkinson. She is smart and well read and allusions brilliantly but understand people and love and kindness and doubt and art and ugliness and Gerard Manley Hopkins. Ah! bright wings!

María Belén

Maybe more like 2.5, I don't know.

Teddy was one of my favourite characters from Life After Life so I was excited to read more about him, but this book wasn't what I expected. I found it to be a little sadder than Life After Life and the pace was slower. 

Nevertheless Atkinson's writing remains beautiful and the book is very good, it just didn't do it for me.

b.andherbooks

I adored Life After Life, so I was a bit nervous when I heard Atkinson was publishing a companion novel. Can't possibly be as great, no way. WRONG!

Reading Life After Life isn't necessary (although I heartily recommend it because it truly is amazing) to fully immerse yourself in Teddy Todd's story. The narrative jumps between Teddy's boyhood, his time as a RAF bomber pilot, and his life after WWII, as well as switching between POVs (mainly Teddy's but also his wife's, his daughters, and his grand-children's). The jumps are seamless and meaningful and help fully reflect the underlying thread of the story, what it means to live a life.

Unlike Ursula, Teddy only gets the one. Is it the one who hoped for?

"Kate Atkinson's dazzling Life After Life, the bestselling adult book this year to date in the UK, explored the possibility of infinite chances, as Ursula Todd lived through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. In A God in Ruins, Atkinson turns her focus on Ursula's beloved younger brother Teddy would-be poet, RAF bomber pilot, husband and father as he navigates the perils and progress of the 20th century. For all Teddy endures in battle, his greatest challenge will be to face living in a future he never expected to have. A God in Ruins is a masterful companion to Life After Life, and will prove once again that Kate Atkinson is one of the finest novelists of our age."

Laura Dobie

Another beautifully crafted, touching and, at times, laugh out loud funny read from Kate Atkinson. Sorry it's over!

Francine Corry

Gigi V

"Kate Atkinson's dazzling Life After Life, one of the top selling adult books of 2014, explored the possibility of infinite chances, as Ursula Todd lived through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. In A God in Ruins, Atkinson turns her focus on Ursula's beloved younger brother Teddy would-be poet, RAF bomber pilot, husband and father as he navigates the perils and progress of the 20th century. For all Teddy endures in battle, his greatest challenge will be to face living in a future he never expected to have. A God in Ruins is a masterful companion to Life After Life, and will prove once again that Kate Atkinson is one of the finest novelists of our age."

Ipek

One of the Best Books of 2015--TIME, NPR, Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Christian Science Monitor, The Seattle Times, The Kansas City Star, Kirkus, Bookpage, Hudson Booksellers, AARP The stunning companion to Kate Atkinson's #1 bestseller Life After Life, "one of the best novels I've read this century" (Gillian Flynn). "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.

A God in Ruins

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