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Behind the Scenes at the Museum
  
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Behind the Scenes at the Museum (Hardcover)

by Kate Atkinson (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover
  • Publisher: Transworld (2 Mar 1995)
  • ISBN-10: 038540607X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385406079
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,851,608 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #59 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > A > Atkinson, Kate

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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 the Paperback edition.

The Sunday Times

'Enchanting. It hops with sprightly omniscience from past to future and back again' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
See all Product Description

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Customer Reviews

80 Reviews
5 star:
 (50)
4 star:
 (12)
3 star:
 (9)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (6)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (80 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the gems in recent years, 4 May 2005
By A Customer
This review is from: Behind the Scenes at the Museum (Paperback)
This book has to be one of my favourite books of recent years. It was just such a pleasure to read from beginning to end, that like most good books you just don't want it to end.

The characters were beautifully written, the plot even better, and there was such genuine wit and humour that it was very easy to laugh and cry at the same time.

The plot centres around the life of Ruby. Right from her conception we follow her in her life with her very disfunctional family.

If there's one book you're going to buy today then make it this one. You won't regeret it, and if for some reason you don't buy it today then make sure you do at some point, otherwise you'll be missing out something quite special.

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59 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An Absolute Gem!, 15 May 2007
By Boof (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: Behind the Scenes at the Museum (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.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Book Truly Worth The Whitbread Prize, 15 Oct 2008
By A. Rose (Devon & Menorca) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Behind the Scenes at the Museum (Paperback)
I first read this book in 1996 after a lovely friend bought it for me, and I remember thinking what a good book it was. A couple of months ago this book was given to me as `this months book' at my local library reading group - by the bottom of page 1 I was absolutely hooked. I'd only remembered odd bits from over 10 years ago but after reading it a second time I think it will stick with me for a lifetime. It's very well written both in style and grammar and is packed full of all emotions possible. The storyline is written in a `double style', with Ruby (being the main character) being in present time and going back to her grand-parents in war-time. The two timelines meet up, in that the `older generation' are also included in Ruby's younger years. There's so much sadness, humour, regret and secrecy that there's something for everyone in this wonderful story.

I got so much more out of it second time round and would recommend this book to anyone and everyone, it really is a fabulous read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars 76 Pages of Rambling
I don't usually award anything only one star as I feel it's a little too harsh and I like to think anything that deserved such a low score I would have had the common sense to... Read more
Published 20 days ago by Greensides

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Enjoyed the story very much, a little confusing with the alternating 'footnote' chapters but very enjoyable all the same.
Published 24 days ago by W. border

4.0 out of 5 stars Sparkling first novel of Kate Atkinson
This has been the second time I have read 'Behind the Scenes at the Museum'; I only read it a second time because my book group is discussing it. Read more
Published 28 days ago by Lorraine Harding

5.0 out of 5 stars one of my all time favourites.
I have read this one about 4 times now... Somehow i always read something
different from it each time. Read more
Published 29 days ago by Simone Smith

3.0 out of 5 stars Forget the chapters, I'll just have the footnotes please
I was given an assignment to choose a book from the Costa Book Awards and to review it. From the list I looked at I decided to choose `Behind the Scenes at the Museum' by Kate... Read more
Published 29 days ago by Amy L. Buckley-Roberts

5.0 out of 5 stars Behind the Scenes at the Museum
A really good read - page turning but also thought provoking, and well written. Her other books are pretty good too, so if you like this one, there are more!
Published 1 month ago by Arthur 1

3.0 out of 5 stars It says nothing to me about my life
This is going to be a subjective review. I know it's a good book; I couldn't write it. A modern family saga spanning over four generations, taking us through two wars, giving us... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Lou Ice

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!
I read this book when it first came out and enjoyed it so much I recommended it to all my friends. Having read a collection of short stories by Kate Atkinson recently and "One... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Uf Cotter

5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant
I genuinely found this book moving at times and funny at times. It is fundamentally about the lives of ordinary people and I can't believe that I am alone in recognising... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Graham R. Hill

3.0 out of 5 stars Moments of Brilliance
My first impression of this book was that it had too much noise. It was the literary equivalent of being talked at by someone who speaks too quickly and has too much to say, but I... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Book Scout

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