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A God in Ruins

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A God in Ruins

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

The stunning companion to Kate Atkinson's number one best seller Life After Life, "one of the best novels I've read this century" (Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl).

Kate Atkinson's dazzling Life After Life explored the possibility of infinite chances, following Ursula Todd as she lived through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. Her new novel tells the story of Ursula Todd'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 is facing the difficulties of living in a future he never expected to have.

The stunning companion to Life After Life, A God in Ruins explores the loss of innocence, the fraught transition from the war to peacetime, and the pain of being misunderstood, especially as we age. Proving once again that Kate Atkinson is "one of the finest writers working today" (The Chicago Tribune), A God in Ruins is the triumphant return of a modern master.

©2015 Kate Atkinson (P)2018 Bond Street Books
Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Literary Fiction Suspense Military War Mystery
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What the critics say

National Best Seller
A New York Times Best Seller
Winner of the 2015 Costa Novel Award
A TIME Best Book of the Year
A Guardian Best Book of the Year
An NPR Best Book of 2015
A Telegraph Best Book of 2015
A Washington Post Best Fiction Book of 2015
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A Financial Times Best Book of 2015
A Seattle Times Best Book of 2015
A St. Louis Dispatch Best Book of 2015
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice

"This book is particularly lovely and melancholy.... [Atkinson] is one of those writers that really can make you weep on one page and laugh on the next.... She just has such a vast humanity for her characters, this incredible empathy.... I don't think I could ever write like Kate." (Gillian Flynn, author of number one New York Times best seller Gone Girl)

"This is a gorgeous novel.... Atkinson [has a] marvellously vinegary sense of humour...[and] extraordinary grace and control over the story.... It is unsettling and exhilarating, and reminds the reader that while the past lives with us at every moment, the future does, too, in every decision made or unmade.... Splendid." (The Globe and Mail)

"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, [reminds you] what a big, old-school novel can do.... 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." (Tom Perrotta, The New York Times Book Review)

What listeners say about A God in Ruins

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Amazing

A companion piece to Life After Life, which I also loved but I think I loved this one more. Amazingly written, humorous, insightful, devastating, sad, overall incredible. The performance was perfect. Highly recommended.

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well researched, cool theme

there were a few slow parts but it picked up at the end. it was a great companion to Life After Life. I would suggest that one first, and it make God in Ruins extra meaty

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Excellent, hummus, reflective and deep! Relatable characters. Everyone develops from their early childhood experiences. Love it.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

boring performance of an extraordinary story

I wish I had tackled the hard copy version of this story. The mostly-monotone performance really dragged it out and removed much of the wonder of Atkinson’s genius.
Despite that, it’s a stimulating listen. The author’s endnotes are helpful.

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