Normal Rules Don't Apply

Reviews

A deftly interconnected short-story collection [that is] varied and inventive Dazzling ... Most striking of all is the abiding sense of infectious, slightly bonkers fun. What really binds these stories is their underlying theme, which has perhaps always been Atkinson’s true subject: the nature of storytelling itself. She can be very funny, but she is highly serious about the idea that human existence is bound up with words… If you’re thinking about what fiction means, no invocation could be more thought-provoking or ironically complex Hilarious, breathtaking, horrific, irresistible ... [Atkinson is] always in command ... Heart in mouth, I never wanted this book to end Funny, erudite and profound What joy! A loosely connected collection of short stories from Kate Atkinson. Life in all of its surreal, tragic and comic glory is perfectly captured within these pages. Atkinson has the happy knack of capturing the nature of her characters with arch aplomb Sublime … showcases her superb storytelling and the wit of her writing Here you will find lots of tricks, lots of playfulness, clever narrative engineering. All kinds of stories are inside these tales – fairy stories, creation myths, fantasy, Bible stories, tabloid headlines, soaps, movies and crime. Atkinson’s sly humour percolates all the way through, but there’s also humanity, hope and forgiveness... The simplicity of the short story form belies the book’s multi-layered approach. As soon as you get to the end, you’ll be tempted to just start at the beginning again to see the nuances you missed first time round, and tease out the threads that run between each tale. Expand reviews