Number 81- A God In ruins- Kate Atkinson

 The last Kate Atkinson novel I read was a detective type story where one of the characters was introduced with the words “Character name had never harmed a living thing in his life”- or words to that effect.  One thing was certain, this guy was harmless and had never hurt anyone or anything.  At the end of the book, we found out that, previous to the events of the book and his introduction, he had once accidentally killed a Russian lady of the night and thrown her off a hotel balcony into a skip. Although it was an enjoyable read, such a lack of attention to detail in the writing put me off her books somewhat.

This book is entirely different.  It tells the life of Edward "Teddy" Todd, a WWII bomber pilot, from his early childhood to his death in the early 21st century.

Teddy is apparently the younger brother of the lead character in Life After Life, but, as far as I can tell, it doesn't impact on this story. This was my book group read and those who'd read both books made no mention of any Easter eggs between the novels.

The title is derived a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson which defines a man as a God In Ruins.  

The story took a bit of getting into due to the constant time leaps. Even in the first chapter, which deals with Teddy's childhood, there are references to his life as a pilot, as a 50 something and a pensioner. This made it quite hard to follow for several chapters until the characters were properly established and all the time periods were fixed in my head.

Ted and his family become very real characters. I found myself totally absorbed into the intricacies of his life.  I hated his daughter Viola and had endless sympathy for poor misunderstood Sunny, who only had his grandad on his side.

The final chapter created a huge split in the book group. Half hated it and the rest loved it.  I was definitely in the loved it group.  

The style of writing, once I'd tuned into the time periods and characters, was compelling. There are some gorgeous sections of the book, some heartbreaking sequences, and thrilling accounts of the bomber raids teddy flew on in the war.

This has changed my opinion of Kate Atkinson after the annoying errors in the other book of hers I've read. I will be seeking out a copy of Life after Life to find out more about Ursula and her many lives...