The New York Times Book Review - Tom Perrotta
…you read a novel like Kate Atkinson's A God in Ruins, a sprawling, unapologetically ambitious saga that tells the story of postwar Britain through the microcosm of a single family, and you remember what a big, old-school novel can do. Atkinson's book covers almost a century, tracks four generations, and is almost inexhaustibly rich in scenes and characters and incidents. It deploys the whole realist bag of tricks, and none of it feels fake or embarrassing. In fact, it's a masterly and frequently exhilarating performance by a novelist who seems utterly undaunted by the imposing challenges she's set for herself…Atkinson's a sly and witty observer, with a gift for finding the perfect detail…
The New York Times - Janet Maslin
Structure, and its way of coalescing from the seemingly casual into the deliberate, has been a main attraction in other Atkinson books. In this one, the main attraction is Teddy, and the way his glorious, hard-won decency withstands so many tests of time. Everything about his boyhood innocence is reshaped by his wartime ordeals, which are rendered with terrifying authenticity thanks to the author's research into real bombers' recollections…Ms. Atkinson has one huge trick up her sleeve, but she saves it for the book's final moments to make it that much more devastating. She gets you to that final moment on faith and through writerly seduction. Just know that every salient detail in A God in Ruins, from the silver hare adorning Teddy's pram to the queen's Diamond Jubilee, is here for a fateful reason.
From the Publisher
"A novel so sublime I would nominate it to represent all books in the Art Olympics. The afterword deserves a literary prize all to itself. It is, as claimed on the sumptuous proof, even better than Life After Life."—The Bookseller
"Only as the book unfolds is each character more fully revealed. Ms. Atkinson's artistry in making this happen is marvelously delicate and varied."—Janet Maslin, New York Times
"If you loved Atkinson's Life After Life, you're in luck. If you're one of the, say, five people who didn't read it: You're still in luck—Atkinson is a master at the top of her game. A quiet, moving portrait of a guy navigating life's small pleasures and painful failures."—Marie Claire
"Gorgeous, thought-provoking...once again, Atkinson explores the concept of paths not taken versus those that are. Her hero's journey has its trials...but also joys and deep love. Quiet, humble Teddy is easy to root for. At the end of this tender story (a weeper, by the way), you won't want to let him go."—Good Housekeeping
"Dazzling."—People
"A sprawling, unapologetically ambitious saga that tells the story of postwar Britain through the microcosm of a single family, and you remember what a big, old-school novel can do."—Tom Perotta, New York Times Book Review
"Atkinson's genre-bending novels have garnered critical praise, but nothing on the order of a Rushdie, or even an Ian McEwan. A God in Ruins should change that."—Amy Gentry, The Chicago Tribune
"Atkinson writes the way LeBron dunks or Stephen Hawking theorizes; she can't help but be brilliant."
—Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly
"Transcendent."—Moira Macdonald, The Seattle Times
"A staggeringly gorgeous book, offering through the story of one small, good, imperfect life, the chance to grieve and cherish so many more."—Ellis Avery, Boston Globe
"Ms. Atkinson rises beautifully to the challenge of dramatizing the raids, capturing the virtually suicidal nature of these operations in muscular, unsentimental prose."—Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal
"A novel that takes its place in the line of powerful works about young men and war, stretching from Stephen Crane's Red Badge of Courage to Kevin Powers's The Yellow Birds and Ben Fountain's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk."—Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post
"A sprawling, epic novel...A God in Ruins expresses the ways lives can be seen close up, in seemingly unconnected individual moments, or from a distance, as a series of through-lines."—Tasha Robinson, NPR.org
"...more subtly postmodern, shifting between past, present, and future in ways both subversive and perfectly organic."—Boris Kachka, New York Magazine
"As finely crafted as Life After Life...Having spun one great novel out of second, third and 50th chances, she's spun another out of the fact that in reality, we get only one."—Lev Grossman, Time
"A God in Ruins bills itself as a companion piece to Life After Life, rather than a sequel. In trying this, Atkinson joins some of the most innovative and impressive authors on both sides of the pond, including Hilary Mantel, Marilynne Robinson, and Jane Smiley, who are busy constructing high-brow trilogies and ambitious spinoffs of their own. Atkinson more than lives up to the challenge and proves herself worthy of her company."—Ester Bloom, BarnesandNoble.com
"A brilliant follow-up."—Katy Waldman, Slate
"A novel for people who love novels."—Tom Beer, Newsday
"Ms. Atkinson's thrumming imagination runs on premium prose, a perfect vehicle for conveying characters to new futures."—Susan Balée, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Magnificent...Atkinson fluidly executes these chronological loop-de-loops, leaving a reader to marvel at that most banal of epiphanies—how fast life goes by."
—Maureen Corrigan, NPR's "Fresh Air"
"This follow up [to Life After Life] tracks Ursula's brother, Teddy, a favorite son who flies an RAF bomber during the Second World War and remains kind, thoughtful, and patient through a life of quiet sadness...Teddy, unlike his sister, lives only one life, but Atkinson's deft handling of time, as she jumps from boyhood to old age and back, is impressive."—The New Yorker
"Nothing short of a masterpiece. Elegantly structured and beautifully told, it recounts the story of Teddy Todd, the brother of the protagonist of Atkinson's 2013 novel, Life After Life, in his attempt to live a 'good, quiet life' in the 20th century. Characteristically perceptive and poignant, like its predecessor it also gives a vivid and often thrilling account of life during the second world war—seen this time from the air rather than the streets of London."
—Paula Hawkins, Author of The Girl on the Train
Entertainment Weekly
Atkinson writes the way LeBron dunks or Stephen Hawking theorizes; she can’t help but be brilliant.”
New York Times
Only as the book unfolds is each character more fully revealed. Ms. Atkinson’s artistry in making this happen is marvelously delicate and varied.”
Good Housekeeping
Gorgeous, thought provoking…Once again, Atkinson explores the concept of paths not taken versus those that are. Her hero’s journey has its trials…but also joys and deep love. Quiet, humble Teddy is easy to root for. At the end of this tender story (a weeper, by the way), you won’t want to let him go.”
People
[A] dazzling novel.”
BookPage
Disillusioned by war and haunted by the fact that he survived when so many did not, Teddy tries to reconnect with his poetic nature. Atkinson is an unparalleled storyteller who conveys the repercussions of Teddy’s life choices in dazzling prose.”
Marie Claire
Atkinson is a master at the top of her game. A quiet, moving portrait of a guy navigating life’s small pleasures and painful failures.”
AudioFile
Fortunately for the listener, narrator Alex Jennings is a master. From the opening lines, his impeccable British accent establishes the scene and captures the persona of the main character, Teddy, and the rest of the diverse cast. Jennings’s clear diction and pace advance the action through richly detailed accounts of Teddy’s adventures as a WWII bomber pilot as well as quieter dramas of his daily life and family relationships. Although this work is a companion to Atkinson’s Life after Life, the story is thoroughly enjoyable on its own. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
The New Yorker
This follow up [to Life After Life] tracks Ursula's brother, Teddy, a favorite son who flies an RAF bomber during the Second World War and remains kind, thoughtful, and patient through a life of quiet sadness...Teddy, unlike his sister, lives only one life, but Atkinson's deft handling of time, as she jumps from boyhood to old age and back, is impressive.
The Bookseller
A novel so sublime I would nominate it to represent all books in the Art Olympics. The afterword deserves a literary prize all to itself. It is, as claimed on the sumptuous proof, even better than Life After Life.
New York Times Janet Maslin
Only as the book unfolds is each character more fully revealed. Ms. Atkinson's artistry in making this happen is marvelously delicate and varied.
The Wall Street Journal Sam Sacks
Ms. Atkinson rises beautifully to the challenge of dramatizing the raids, capturing the virtually suicidal nature of these operations in muscular, unsentimental prose.
Time Lev Grossman
As finely crafted as Life After Life...Having spun one great novel out of second, third and 50th chances, she's spun another out of the fact that in reality, we get only one.
Slate Katy Waldman
A brilliant follow-up.
New York Magazine Boris Kachka
...more subtly postmodern, shifting between past, present, and future in ways both subversive and perfectly organic.
The Chicago Tribune Amy Gentry
Atkinson's genre-bending novels have garnered critical praise, but nothing on the order of a Rushdie, or even an Ian McEwan. A God in Ruins should change that.
Newsday Tom Beer
A novel for people who love novels.
The Washington Post Maureen Corrigan
A novel that takes its place in the line of powerful works about young men and war, stretching from Stephen Crane's Red Badge of Courage to Kevin Powers's The Yellow Birds and Ben Fountain's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk.
Entertainment Weekly Leah Greenblatt
Atkinson writes the way LeBron dunks or Stephen Hawking theorizes; she can't help but be brilliant.
The Seattle Times Moira Macdonald
Transcendent.
Top Pick!) RT Book Reviews (4½ stars
Atkinson’s masterful followup to her epic Life After Life is honestly breathtaking. It’s difficult to put into words how amazingly she creates character after character—even someone we meet just once!—and fills them with such life…Prepare to feel bereft once it’s over, as we wait for Atkinson to write another masterpiece.”
Boston Globe Ellis Avery
A staggeringly gorgeous book, offering through the story of one small, good, imperfect life, the chance to grieve and cherish so many more.
New York Times Book Review Tom Perotta
A sprawling, unapologetically ambitious saga that tells the story of postwar Britain through the microcosm of a single family, and you remember what a big, old-school novel can do.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Susan Balée
Ms. Atkinson's thrumming imagination runs on premium prose, a perfect vehicle for conveying characters to new futures.
BarnesandNoble.com Ester Bloom
A God in Ruins bills itself as a companion piece to Life After Life, rather than a sequel. In trying this, Atkinson joins some of the most innovative and impressive authors on both sides of the pond, including Hilary Mantel, Marilynne Robinson, and Jane Smiley, who are busy constructing high-brow trilogies and ambitious spinoffs of their own. Atkinson more than lives up to the challenge and proves herself worthy of her company.
NPR's "Fresh Air" Maureen Corrigan
Magnificent...Atkinson fluidly executes these chronological loop-de-loops, leaving a reader to marvel at that most banal of epiphanies—how fast life goes by.
NPR.org Tasha Robinson
A sprawling, epic novel...A God in Ruins expresses the ways lives can be seen close up, in seemingly unconnected individual moments, or from a distance, as a series of through-lines.
Author of The Girl on the Train Paula Hawkins
Nothing short of a masterpiece. Elegantly structured and beautifully told, it recounts the story of Teddy Todd, the brother of the protagonist of Atkinson's 2013 novel, Life After Life, in his attempt to live a 'good, quiet life' in the 20th century. Characteristically perceptive and poignant, like its predecessor it also gives a vivid and often thrilling account of life during the second world war—seen this time from the air rather than the streets of London.
Library Journal - Audio
★ 08/01/2015
The best novels reward readers at every level of engagement, from the casual listener seeking an engrossing audiobook with great characters to others in pursuit of a more intellectual study of structure and craft. Atkinson's latest, a companion to Life After Life, succeeds on all levels. While the two books speak to each other in ways that will entertain fans of both, A God in Ruins, the story of Teddy Todd, an RAF pilot in World War II, stands on its own. The novel presents an epic, kaleidoscopic view of Teddy and his family over the course of nearly a century. A single event is often recalled in several different ways, both from the point of view of different characters and through Teddy's subtly differing perspectives on a single event from the vantage point of multiple stages in his life. The result is a profoundly moving meditation on memory, perception, and time. Atkinson is a master of detail and character, and plot points are revealed skillfully and with purpose. The controversial ending delivers a gut punch that should remind readers what's at stake in war, in real life, and in fiction. Alex Jennings's subtle, affecting performance does Atkinson's powerful novel perfect justice. VERDICT A must-listen! A God in Ruins gives fiction lovers reason to proclaim that the demise of the novel has been greatly exaggerated. ["Beautifully written but emotionally withheld; there's more to disappointed lives then just disappointment": LJ 5/15/15 review of the Little, Brown hc.]—Heather Malcolm, Bow, WA
Library Journal
05/15/2015
"If he did survive then in the great afterward he would always try to be kind, to live a good quiet life." So muses Teddy, Ursula's brother in the sensational, time-spinning Life After Life, now given his own voice in a novel that unfolds seamlessly yet doesn't hit the operatic high notes of its predecessor. Teddy, likable yet tentative, a poet manqué working grudgingly in a bank, finds the start of World War II something of a relief. In well-wrought passages, Atkinson admirably shows the momentousness of Teddy's wartime work as a pilot without glamorizing it. Postwar, Teddy settles into the quiet life he imagined, marrying childhood sweetheart Nancy, ending up writing for a local paper, and (sadly) having just one child, Viola. Contentious and irritable (indeed, irritating), the grown Viola barely tolerates her own children or her poor old dad. Why she might be so awful emerges late and a little unsatisfactorily as we finally learn what happens to the rather aloof Nancy, whose loss to the family is hinted at throughout. Teddy, though, remains decent to the end of his long life. Or is it? The final chapter leaves one wondering. VERDICT Beautifully written but emotionally withheld; there's more to disappointed lives then just disappointment. [See Prepub Alert, 11/3/14.]—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal
MAY 2015 - AudioFile
The much-anticipated continuation of the Todd family saga features the author’s hallmark scope of action and complexity of character. Fortunately for the listener, narrator Alex Jennings is a master. From the opening lines, his impeccable British accent establishes the scene and captures the persona of the main character, Teddy, and the rest of the diverse cast. Jennings's clear diction and pace advance the action through richly detailed accounts of Teddy's adventures as a WWII bomber pilot as well as quieter dramas of his daily life and family relationships. Although this work is a companion to Atkinson's LIFE AFTER LIFE, the story is thoroughly enjoyable on its own. M.O.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2016 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
