- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Picador USA (Feb 1997)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0312150601
- ISBN-13: 978-0312150600
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 14.1 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 475,506 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Behind The Scenes At The Museum
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Product Description
The Times
'An astounding book…without doubt one of the finest novels I have read for years'
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
The Sunday Times
'Enchanting. It hops with sprightly omniscience from past to future and back again'
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
66 of 71 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Behind the Scenes at the Museum was Yorkshire mother of two, Kate Atkinson's first novel and this wonderful book it is definitely one to be celebrated.
Kate Atkinson was born in York and she chose the old walled City as the location for the tale of teenage Ruby Lennox and her family. The book starts from the moment of Ruby's conception in 1951, a moment grudgingly obliged by her mother, Bunty. Ruby starts the tale as a growing foetus, a baby inside her mother's womb. Boy, it sure did start to get uncomfortable in there after nine months, there sure wasn't a lot of room. Ruby was pushed into the world while her father George was in the Dog and Hare in Doncaster telling a women wearing a D-cup that he wasn't married.
Ruby tells the story of her family exploring complex family relationships, births, weddings, divorce, death, secrets and lies. She spends her childhood trying to placate her mother and playing with elder sister's Gillian and Patrica, under the shadow of the Minister, as they trundle along the old pebble-stone streets and in and out of the pet shop, the family business.
When she is just 5 Ruby is whisked away to stay with her Auntie Babs. She has no idea why, although she's sure that it's not a holiday. She has nightmares and begins to sleepwalk. When she returns no explanation is offered and her mother seems even more unhappy….
Atkinson divides Behind the Scenes at the Museum into Chapters and Footnotes: the Chapters focus on Ruby and her direct family life with her mother and father and her sisters. The Footnotes tie up unexplained information mentioned within the chapters, exploring the history of her family over the previous two generations further, starting with Ruby's great-grandmother Alice, who supposedly died giving birth. Although I liked the footnotes as a unique style of writing, they can cause the reader to lose the thread of the story somewhat, particularly if you are reading slowly.
The book is fluently written and poetic throughout. It is imaginative, thought provoking, hearth warming and funny. A lovely example of the poetic style of the story comes from Ruby's theory of the afterlife. She believes there must be a Lost Property Cupboard where all things we have ever lost have been kept for us - every button, every tooth, every lost library book and spare pen. Lost tempers and patience and innocence and the dreams we forget on waking…. A beautiful analogy.
As for the ending, it is unexpected and shocking, cleverly tying together previous events, fitting together the pieces of the puzzle.
I loved this book and I give it five stars. It is likely to be preferred by the ladies than the gents, although it is suitable for any ages. At 380 pages the book is a nice length, not too long but allowing time for the reader to get to know the characters and to understand Ruby's situation. It is a very British book, exploring life in the middle classes and if you are British, especially if you live in York, or the North, you simply must read it.
Behind the Scenes at the Museum was published in 1995 and it subsequently won the Whitbread prize for book of the year The novel also appears on the 2003 BBC Big Read at number 142.
Poor Ruby. Does anyone ever say that? No they don't. But they should and by the end of this book you will agree….
71 of 79 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I picked this book up as part of a 3 for 2 offer in a bookshop when I had already chosen my first two and was in a rush - I didn't even read the blurb on the back, I just vaguely remembered someone telling me how good it was.
What an absolute treat then to find that this ended up being the best of the lot - infact I can honestly say that I haven't enjoyed a book so much in a long time (and I read alot). From the very first paragraph I knew I was going to enjoy Behind the Scenes at the Museum; this book made me laugh and cry. The characters were all so real that I was desperate to know more about them, and I just love the way that the book jumps from present day to another time in the past of this strange but wonderfully fascinating family.
The story starts with the conception of Ruby Lennox in a drunken fumble with her parents in their House Above the Shop in York. Ruby narrates even before her birth and sets the scene with her family - a very disfunctional one at that. The second chapter then goes back in time to Ruby's Great-Grandmother, Alice and her 5 children and from here on in we flit back and forth between Ruby's life and those of her ancestors. All the characters in this book are so 3 dimensional it made me greedy to find out more about them and I found myself thinking about them even when I wasn't reading at the time.
I'm so glad I picked this book up and I am now desperate to read Kate Atkinson's other books. I just LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book and can't recommend it highly enough.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
What an absolute treat then to find that this ended up being the best of the lot - infact I can honestly say that I haven't enjoyed a book so much in a long time (and I read alot). From the very first paragraph I knew I was going to enjoy Behind the Scenes at the Museum; this book made me laugh and cry. The characters were all so real that I was desperate to know more about them, and I just love the way that the book jumps from present day to another time in the past of this strange but wonderfully fascinating family.
The story starts with the conception of Ruby Lennox in a drunken fumble with her parents in their House Above the Shop in York. Ruby narrates even before her birth and sets the scene with her family - a very disfunctional one at that. The second chapter then goes back in time to Ruby's Great-Grandmother, Alice and her 5 children and from here on in we flit back and forth between Ruby's life and those of her ancestors. All the characters in this book are so 3 dimensional it made me greedy to find out more about them and I found myself thinking about them even when I wasn't reading at the time.
I'm so glad I picked this book up and I am now desperate to read Kate Atkinson's other books. I just LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book and can't recommend it highly enough.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This has to be one of my favourite books because of its humour and unpredictable plot. Kate Atkinson writes brilliantly about such diverse aspects of life, subtly interlinked to form the an outstanding story. If you liked this, then I also recommend her other book 'Human Croquet'- it's fantastic too!! P.S I think that its inclusion on the A Level reading list detracts from the appeal of this book to potential readers of my age(6th form)- just in case any teachers or examiners read this!!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
This book begins in 1951 with Ruby Lennox's fumbled conception and follows her growing up in York, living above a pet shop with her parents, George and Bunty, and two older... Read more
Published 2 months ago by iandliz
Interesting but not engaging
I was given this by a friend at work to read and probably wouldn't have picked it for myself, but I'll try pretty much anything. Read more
Published 4 months ago by squinty mcconkers
A must read
If you are a more recent fan of Kate Atkinson's work but haven't yet read her very first book, then don't waste any more time. You will not be disappointed. Read more
Published 5 months ago by quizqueen
Her original and best
I'd forgotten how good this book is! It kick-started Atkinson's career and, in my opinon, is still her best work. Read more
Published 5 months ago by LiseZ
Evocative, heart- breaking and hilarious.
I loved this book. From the funny loose narrative, that develops beautifully as Ruby grows, to sense of character Atkinson develops. Read more
Published 7 months ago by F. Chiorando
One to read again and again
This was the first book I read by Kate Atkinson, and I believe it was actually the first book the York-born author ever wrote and published. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Kate
A good read, but took a while to get into it...
I have no idea why this is called what it is, it has nothing to do with a museum, not even behind the scenes of a museum. Read more
Published 7 months ago by A Moore
A LEVEL BOOK SET BOOK
This edition, which my grand-daughter had difficulty getting elsewhere, was bought for her A level studies. Read more
Published 9 months ago by S. Mercer
A total Gem
An excellent read. Funny and unbelievably sad. It was a hard job to put it down. The story follows different members of one family but primarily Ruby Lennox. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Barbara Cottier
Strange but good
I defiantly enjoyed reading it. The style was very unusual and it took a little while to get into it but overall it was good. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Joy C
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