Normal Rules Don't Apply cover art

Normal Rules Don't Apply

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Normal Rules Don't Apply

By: Kate Atkinson
Narrated by: Paterson Joseph
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The first story collection from Kate Atkinson in twenty years, Normal Rules Don't Apply is a dazzling array of eleven interconnected tales from the bestselling author of Shrines of Gaiety and Life After Life

In this first full collection since Not the End of the World, we meet a queen who makes a bargain she cannot keep; a secretary who watches over the life she has just left; a man whose luck changes when a horse speaks to him.

With clockwork intricacy, inventiveness and sharp social observation, Kate Atkinson conjures a feast for the imagination, a constantly changing multiverse in which nothing is quite as it seems.

‘What really binds these stories is their underlying theme, which has perhaps always been Atkinson’s true subject: the nature of storytelling itself’ Times Literary Supplement

‘Life in all of its surreal, tragic and comic glory is perfectly captured within these pages’ Red

‘Sublime’ Good Housekeeping


©2023 Kate Atkinson (P)2023 Penguin Audio
Fantasy Fiction Literary Fiction Magical Realism Short Stories Witty Funny Mind-bending
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

A Bird in Winter cover art
The Archers: Home Fires at Ambridge cover art
Letters from Brenda cover art
Everyday Kindness cover art
The Carer cover art
Furies cover art
Coming Home to Puddleduck Farm cover art

What listeners say about Normal Rules Don't Apply

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    63
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    62
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    54
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    6

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Shine!

What a dizzy ride! I must remember to listen to this one again. I feel I missed many intriguing nuances. Don't forget to shine!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Perfectly narrated

So enjoyed this and the way the diverse stories were pulled together at the end. Funny, strange and clever.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

loved this!

Back on top form! Intricately woven and amusing. Very enjoyable.
I hope for similar in the future.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining and thought-provoking

Normal Rules Don't Apply is classic Kate Atkinson. A series of short stories that are somewhat related, the writing is wonderful. The author's wit and empathy are evident, and the well-paced narration is a perfect match.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow!

First time ever that I have read this author. Incredible and so unlike anything I have read before in terms of story line -despite so many nods within this story to other stories. It blew my mind frankly, but in an extremely good way. I feel a bit like the universe after reading this …ever expanding.
I need to read it again.
When I find a unique book that I love, I buy a hardback copy to keep. This will be one of them.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Different!

I am a huge fan of KA ever since ‘ Behind the Scenes at the Museum’ . I love her style- always original and flowing- and her intelligent observation and wonderful wit. The stories are engaging and sometimes bizarre but always well crafted and pacy. The narrator is quite superb and really does capture the author’s wry asides.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

i inhaled this

Such a beautiful set of linked stories. Gorgeous writing as you'd expect from this author. an utter delight

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Delightful collection

Paterson Joseph a great narrator, really captures the wry tone of Kate Atkinson’s writing.
I was apprehensive about this collection having read some middling reviews. However, Kate Atkinson doesn’t miss, lovely stories, clever and intricately worked. Already looking forward to the next work. Strong recommend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Expect the unexpected.

Strangely captivating, witty and compelling. I have nearly given up after first couple of chapters, as the story felt rather dispiriting. Glad that I've persevered and now all I wish is to go back and re-listen the whole thing again. The short stories are somehow connected and the author's ability to tie hilarious with the surprisingly mundane is remarkable. Very good narration too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

I love Kate Atkinson and this collection is outstanding. Clever, funny, magical. I laughed out loud at parts and cried at others. Thank you!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!