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Human Croquet
 
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Human Croquet (Paperback)

by Kate Atkinson (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £5.79 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

Human Croquet + Behind the Scenes at the Museum + Case Histories
Price For All Three: £15.73

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Product details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Black Swan; New edition edition (7 Mar 1998)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 055299619X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552996198
  • Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 12.7 x 2.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 2,184 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

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

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Product Description

Independent
'Vivid and intriguing…fizzles and crackles along…a tour de force'

Observer - Cressida Connolly
'Vivid, richly imaginative, hilarious and frightening by turns'

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Human Croquet
51% buy the item featured on this page:
Human Croquet 4.4 out of 5 stars (19)
£5.79
Behind the Scenes at the Museum
17% buy
Behind the Scenes at the Museum 4.3 out of 5 stars (69)
£4.75
Case Histories
16% buy
Case Histories 4.0 out of 5 stars (57)
£5.19
One Good Turn: A Jolly Murder Mystery
10% buy
One Good Turn: A Jolly Murder Mystery 3.4 out of 5 stars (79)
£5.59
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Customer Reviews

19 Reviews
5 star:
 (13)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
41 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book, 13 Jun 2004
By A Customer
Human Croquet is about a girl, Isobel Fairfax, who lives with her father who left her when she was eight(?) and then came back, seven years later, Vinny, who's her emotionless and grumpy aunt, her stepmother, Debbie, who's nearly the same age as her, and her alien-obsessed brother. Her mother disappeared little before her father left her and her brother.
Human Croquet is a wonderfully bizarre book, full of twists and fascinating, deep characters. It is confusing in a good way, and when I finished it, I just felt like reading it again to notice every single little detail that, if I'd been more clever, would've maybe given the ending away.
I'll have to start looking for Kate Atkinson's other books
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23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An usual style for a very british novel, 14 Sep 2003
By Elizabeth Taylor "Barsine" (France) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)      
Its hard to describe what this book is about other than a chunk of the life of an individual at a particular place in time. The herione of our tale is a teenage girl filled with self-doubt about herself and her looks with a strange bag of misfit friends, a brother who is obsessed with aliens and bizarre events and who lusts after the best looking boy in town. Her rather strange world is described in very simple language like an old fashioned fairy tale so we hear about her aunt vinny and her cats, the creepy lodger and her parents. The main thread of the book is how the disappearance of her mother haunts both herself and her brother and how they believe this has landed them in the frankly surrealist world they live in. There are also other characters in the pot, the great forest which once dominated the landscape of england and some of the major characters that lead to the creation of the town.

Throughout the book we hear the voice of the girl describing the events around her with an innocent eye, however, these chapters are interspersed with flashbacks during which we discover over time the truth behind all the characters past and present. Her father the ex-war hero, her mother who she sees as a beautiful elusive figure, her step-mother, her grandmother and so on. In doing so we receive a very different view which is far from innocent on the desires and weaknesses of the characters and a world a lot darker, more real and much more dirty than hers.

Some of the book is very funny, and the characterisations told in simple language very interesting but if you're looking for humour be aware that this is a typical english thing, a black comedy with some sad truths. It is a very different book, in its style and approach and certainly grips you with a desire to know the truth behind all the people you meet and I stayed up late at night reading away. Its probably not everyones cup of tea and I'm not sure I'd want to read lots of this type of writing but its unusual, funny and worth the investment for long plane rides and train rides.

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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary book - truly magical, 18 Sep 2000
By G. E. Langridge (Surrey, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I could hardly bear to put this book down. I don't usually like fantasy and reality intertwined in such a way that it is difficult to tell truth from fiction. But every page of this book was a delight.

Atkinson's use of language and her characterisation are superb. I felt that she was teasing the reader with the story, which winds in and out of past and present, but such a playful teasing that I felt drawn right in.

Definitely a book that I shall re-read.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Just plain odd
I don't think I am alone in thinking that this book is very weird. The story keeps jumping about in time, something that appears to be popular with modern authors, but which I... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Speedle

3.0 out of 5 stars VERY Kate Atkinson
Kate's style of writing is an acquired taste, as nothing you read can ever be accepted as what you might call a "story". Read more
Published 2 months ago by Fay Farrell

5.0 out of 5 stars Human Croquet
This is the story of two children, Charles and his sister, whose mother goes missing in the nearby ever-present Glebelands woods. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Ciara Roche

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written novel that effortlessly combines fantasy and reality
After reading 'Behind the Scenes at the Museum' by Kate Atkinson, I was desperate to read more of her work. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Lauren Thomas

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating start to the novel but flagged a bit in the middle
I enjoyed this book particularly the start and finish, although found that the middle section seemed to drag a little but couldn't really decide the reason. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Janie U

5.0 out of 5 stars Even The Bard makes an appearance...
This is one of my all-time favourite novels. With characters I can really relate too and wonderful situations that made me laugh out loud, this book cleverly weaves several... Read more
Published 21 months ago by V. A. Crouch

5.0 out of 5 stars 'Call me Isobel (it's my name) . . . '
This book was amazing, and written in such a way that it was very easy to read - succinct, but at the same time embellished, and alternating between the first and third person... Read more
Published on 13 Feb 2007 by Sephie Poulter

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant - definitely in my top ten
I loved this book. The characters are so well developed and the descriptive passages, particularly of the trees and forests are great. Read more
Published on 28 Mar 2001

3.0 out of 5 stars Well written study of the complexity of human relationships
Extremely well,written with well defined characters . The book showed the difference views of relationships via the perspectives of the characters. Read more
Published on 17 Nov 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars Enthralling and wonderfully written
I'll never be able to thank my mum enough for introducing me to Kate Atkinson's books. This one was amazing - and kept me guessing all the way through. Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2000

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