Aaaaaand, we're back. While I was away from my blogginess, one of the books I finished was A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson. I must admit, it was beautifully written, but I found it less immersive than her previous novel, Life After Life. This is not to say that it was bad, but I think Atkinson wrote a more engaging main character in Life After Life.
That being said, taken together, the two novels give an affecting impression of the horrors of World War II. I find that, when trying to convey the scope of such a massive tragedy, using the microcosm of a single character's experience can be much more effective than simply stating facts and figures. Through Ursula Todd, in Life After Life, and her brother Teddy in A God in Ruins, Atkinson does just this. Somehow, the personal aspect engages the reader in such a way that it seems more, I don't know, real. Both are definitely worth a read, but if I had to choose one or the other, it'd be Life After Life, no contest.
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