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A God in Ruins

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A God in Ruins

By: Kate Atkinson
Narrated by: Alex Jennings
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About this listen

Kate Atkinson’s dazzling Life After Life, one of the top selling adult books of 2014, explored the possibility of infinite chances, as Ursula Todd lived through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. In A God in Ruins, Atkinson turns her focus on Ursula’s beloved younger brother Teddy – would-be poet, RAF bomber pilot, husband and father – as he navigates the perils and progress of the 20th century. For all Teddy endures in battle, his greatest challenge will be to face living in a future he never expected to have.
A God in Ruins is a masterful companion to Life After Life, and will prove once again that Kate Atkinson is one of the finest novelists of our age.

 20th Century Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction War & Military Heartfelt Inspiring Tear-jerking Thought-Provoking

Critic reviews

Triumphant...such a dazzling read...Atkinson gives Teddy's wartime experiences the full treatment in a series of thrilling set pieces. Even more impressive,though, is her ability to invest the more everday events with a similar grandeur...almost as innovative as Atkinson's technique in Life After Life - a possibly more authentic as an expression of how it feels to be alive...it ends on one of the most devastating twists in recent fiction...it adds a further level of overwhelming poignancy to an already extraordinarily affecting book.
This is a novel about war and the shadow it casts even over generations who have never known it, but it is also a novel about fiction...this is a novel that cares deeply about its characters and about the purpose of fiction in making sense of our collective past. A God in Ruins, together with its predecessor, is Atkinson's finest work, and confirmation that her genre-defying writing continues to surpise and dazzle. (Stephanie Merritt)
With A God in Ruins she, once again, proves herself to be a writer of considerable talent. Her command of structure is extraordinary...She writes with terrific compassion for her characters...also shows off a brilliantly brittle sense of humour that on several occasions made me laugh out loud...to my mind, A God in Ruins stands as an equally magnificent achievement. (Matt Cain)
Horribly funny...every page has some vividly original phrase...But the tour de force is her treatment of Teddy’s experience as a bomber pilot, recreated as memorably as the Blitz scenes in Life After Life... nothing can quite account for the imaginative leaps she has made...nailbiting...a really affecting memorial to the huge numbers of bomber crew who died.
Better than most fiction you'll read this year...Atkinson's prose is as bright as gunfire in the Second World War sections...I can't think of any writer to match her ability to grasp a period in the past. No, not even you, Booker-winning Hilary Mantel.
An amazing accomplishment, a breathtaking literary sleight of hand but, unlike chilly experimental novels, this one is brimful of heartbreaking emotion and with characters that mean the world. This is an unmissable book.
Hugely impressive and immensely moving...Atkinson portrays intricate family conflict, the horrors of war and the terrors of illness with a candour coloured by kindness...Atkinson's descriptions of the life of a pilot in Bomber Command are harrowing, edge-of-the-seat stuff. Yet there is plenty of the sharply observed humour that makes Atkinson's work a treat...The twist, when it comes, is well earned and revelatory. "The bottom line is that it's fiction," Atkinson reminds us after the novel ends. Fiction of the very best kind. (Erica Wagner)
All stars
Most relevant

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. It was a good follow on from the last book and I like the way it weaved parts together. It was also an excellent historical account and I know have a much better understanding of the Battle of Britian.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Teddy. A hero - enough said

What about Alex Jennings’s performance did you like?

Good pace and characterisation

A good book & excellent historical account

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This is a truly wonderful book by a genius. It's so emotionally engaging. There were scenes that were hard to read but were so beautifully written you had to. My only (tiny) criticism is that I felt a little depressed by the end, no-one has a really wonderful life, or even long periods of happiness.

A master storyteller

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Have patience though as there is a lot to the story and lots of information... Worth doing it slowly...

Beautiful!

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I really enjoyed this novel when I first read it and to listen to this audio book was a great pleasure. The narration is superb. Highly recommended.

Superb narration of an excellent, multi-layered story

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This is the first Kate Atkinson novel I've read and although the chronology of the plot confused me at times it was an entertaining and enlightening read.
The performance by Alex Jennings was excellent.

Well researched and very well written

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