Human Croquet: A Novel
A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year
Part fairy tale, part mystery, part coming-of-age novel, this novel tells the story of Isobel Fairfax, a girl growing up in Lythe, a typical 1960s British suburb. But Lythe was once the heart of an Elizabethan feudal estate and home to a young English tutor named William Shakespeare, and as Isobel investigates the strange history of her family, her neighbors, and her village, she occasionally gets caught in Shakespearean time warps. Meanwhile, she gets closer to the shocking truths about her missing mother, her war-hero father, and the hidden lives of her close friends and classmates. A stunning feat of imagination and storytelling, Human Croquet is rich with the disappointments and possibilities every family shares.
Human Croquet is a game in which some people act as hoops while others propel a blindfolded "ball" around the course. Though the game is never actually played in Kate Atkinson's remarkable novel, Human Croquet, the parallels between plot and pastime are undeniable. Atkinson, winner of the 1995 Whitbread Award in Britain, tells the story of Isobel Fairfax and her older brother, Charles. The children's parents vanished when they were young, leaving them to the care of their grandmother, now dead, and their Aunt Vinny. Recently their father has returned with "the Debbie-wife" in tow, and they all live in Arden, the family's ancestral home built on the foundations of the original manor house that burned to the ground in 1605. According to family legend, the first Fairfax took a wife who mysteriously disappeared one day, leaving in her wake a curse on the Fairfax name. More than 300 years later, Fairfax descendants are still struggling with this painful legacy. Atkinson's novel is obviously not rooted in dull reality. Narrator Isobel has an uncanny knowledge of past and future events; Charles is obsessed with the concept of parallel universes and time travel; and a faery curse hangs over everybody. Fortunately, Kate Atkinson is a masterful writer who manages to keep her world of wonders in check. Human Croquet is no ordinary novel, and readers who venture into the Fairfax universe are in for a magical ride.
Human Croquet: A Novel Accessories
 Behind the Scenes at the Museum: A Novel
Emotionally Weird: A Novel
One Good Turn: A Novel
Case Histories: A Novel
Not the End of the World
When Will There Be Good News?: A Novel
Abandonment
The Gathering (Man Booker Prize)
Death in the Garden
Careless in Red: A Novel
Human Croquet: A Novel Reviews
If she could keep the momentum going throughout the book I would definitely be a fan. The plot of this book was unique and interesting and I liked how she brought it all together near the end. The story had many areas that just dragged on and on and on. She spent extreme amounts of time focusing on insignificant details. Kate Atkinson has the potential to be a great story teller. There was one section of the book (about 50 pages) that was execeptional and I wanted to continue reading.
Although I like the author's language and writing in general, this book did not live up to its promise. I wouldn't recommend this book. I liked Emotionally Weird very much, though, and look forward to her other books. The story plods along and then skips suddenly somewhere else, and somewhere else again.
I am not the type of reader that only likes linear, neat storylines. I don't think the story came together in any logical way. I felt like it's unfinished and in real need of some editing, particularly all the run-ons and comma splices. But, it's really the shifting narrators that bothered me. Far from it. Some of the dream sequences were interesting and well-developed. I really liked "Case Histories" and was quite excited about starting this one.
Atkinson's sense of humor is really funny. I liked parts of it quite a bit. So, I can't say I recommend this one. But, as a whole, the book just didn't work for me. As an English teacher, these really annoyed me, and made me want to bring out my grading pen. In fact, I like the challenge of a non-traditional novel, but this one didn't work for me.
Where was once the great forest of Lythe, is now the Street of Trees. A book totally captivating and engrossing, it may abound in laugh-out-loud moments, but in its heart of hearts is dark, with sadness, despair, helplessness and pain resonating from every page. What was once the grand Fairfax Manor is now, simply, "Arden" at the end of Hawthorne Close. Full of endless twists and turns, travels through time and space, surprises and unexpected developments, it completely draws the reader in, it forces them to remain alert all through to the very end.
Rivetting, forceful, compelling, I could use tons of other such adjectives to describe it. Her mother has made a runner, or so Isobel was told. Apparently. What was once the great Fairfax family, is now missing half its members, with the other half forced to endure a parody of normality. Atkinson has pulled off a formidable feat of imagination.
Read it It's one of those books that reading them makes you feel like you're actually departing your body and are being transported into a whole other reality, a different dimension. She's still waiting for her to return. Her father is dead. Isobel Fairfax is the daughter.
I didn't even finish reading the book, although, I must admit, I did read the last chapter. It goes back and forth between dreams and reality and it is hard to tell which is which. Although I normally enjoy Kate Atkinson's books, I didn't like this one.
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