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Not the End of the World

By: Kate Atkinson
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Black Swan
ISBN: 0552771058
ISBN-13: 9780552771054
Released: 02 Aug 2006
RRP: £7.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

Breathtakingly pleasing read - By: D. Lee, 01 Dec 2007
I am an ardent admirer of Kate Atkinson's work, but must confess to being a little reluctant to read a collection of short stories as I most love her ability to expand & deliver storylines form the smalllest intrigue within her novels. I should not have been so reticent to read this work however as the stories beautifully collide with characters, themes & much more. Never before have I been lead to re-read a book immediately after finishing it the first time, but this I have done with Not the End of the World with great relish. Not only would I wholeheartedly reccommend this book to anyone but I have just bought copies for many friends & relations for Xmas!
Such a good read... - By: Sally Douglas, 13 Dec 2006
I loved this book: read it in the space of twenty-four hours, & then went back to dip into alll my favourite bits again, & make some more connections. People who have not enjoyed this book should brush up on their Greek myths, & on the short story as a genre, rather than blame Kate Atkinson!

Beautifully crafted, satisfyingly interwoven, wittily plotted...need I say more?
Simply Brilliant - By: J. Thomas, 07 Mar 2006
This is one of my alll time favourite books. While many of the stories have little substance or even a proper ending, the entire book is masterfully told.

I particuarly like the way that, unlike other short story books, the characters are alll connected in one way or another. Subtle details in one story will give you alternative insights & opinions of characters in another.

The greek mythology is simply hilarious, & creates the sense that the book is set in its own haphazard, unpredictable world.

If you enjoy the weird & wonderful, then I definitely reccomend this masterpiece to you. However, a sense of humour is required.

Read it for the storytelling not the story - By: F M Kay, 01 Sep 2004
I have read much of Kate Atkinsons other stories & as with this book I found that the real pleasure to be had is in the telling rather than the story itself. Her language & sense of humour are wonderful, her metaphors & descriptions are original & stick in the mind long after you have finished reading them.

However the only drawback I would say is you do get the feeling often that she has come up with a wonderful idea for a story, started off writing, got halfway through & then not known how to finish it (and it was highlighted here in the short stories where presumably she had to get in, tell the story & get out again in as few pages as possible!!)

If you can suspend the need to have a neatly tied up ending & can just enjoy the way the story was told these short stories are an interesting way to pass a few minutes without demanding too much headspace to follow a plot & I would say go for this. If you hate stories that just hang at the end, or suddenly take a turn for the absurd then best opt for something else!

Not the end of the world - just a major disaster. - By: , 29 Jul 2004
The excellent reviews on the cover & inside made better reading than the book itself but the Latin introductions to each piece - pretentious, moi? - would be very useful to any ancient Romans that read it.

The "stories" are dire: odd characters put together with a few things happening but no sense of plot, coherent narrative or depth of character. Pointless, & without any sense of direction or purpose, the pieces just faded away because the author was too lazy to think of an ending, or - just as likely - got bored with them. I did, too.

The publishers of this rubbish should be ashamed of cashing in on Kate Atkinson's name & publishing third rate dross like this. Possibly the worst collection of "short stories" by a published author that I have read.