Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
Reviewed by L.D.Y.
Hardcover (available in trade), 304 pages, 2004
Rating: 10/10
Reason for Reading: I’ve been in love with Atkinson’s writing since I read her
first book, Behind the Scenes at the Museum.
Synopsis: Private investigator Jackson Brodie has three cases on his hands:
there’s Amelia and Julia, middle-aged sisters pushed by the death of their father and a
subsequent discovery to finally find out what happened to their sister Olivia, who was just
three when she vanished; a woman searching for her niece; and a devastated father still
hoping to track down his daughter’s killer a decade later. Can Brodie help close their open
wounds, or have the passing years taken away the possibility of redemption?
Why you should read this book: Most literary authors seem to avoid the ‘less
prestigious’ crime/mystery genres like the plague, but that’s left the door wide open for
Atkinson to do an amazing job with her topic. It’s the story of what happens to crime
victims’ families years down the road, long after everyone else has forgotten and moved on with their lives. Heartbreakingly unable to turn their backs on their pasts, these charactors cannot or will not give up the hope that answers may one day soothe their wounded souls. Atkinson pulls the
reader through the book’s mysteries with fully-formed characters that come alive in their frailities, determination, and inquisitiveness. Case Histories explodes with emotions, from the desperate hope of a last resort to the anguish of wishing you’d done things differently to the quieter joys of finding something you might not have even been searching for. A must-read whether you prefer
straight-forward literary fiction or mystery novels, because Atkinson blends them
beautifully.
Why you should avoid this book: Not for the mystery reader wanting the thrills and
suspense of chasing a ‘fresh’ crime. The ending might be a little too pat for some,
considering the arduous circumstances Brodie is facing.
Opening paragraph:
How lucky were they? A heat wave in the middle of the school holidays, exactly
where it belonged. Every morning the sun was up long before they were, making a mockery of
the flimsy summer curtains that hung limply at their bedroom windows, a sun already hot and
sticky with promise before Olivia even opened her eyes. Olivia, as reliable as a rooster,
always the first to wake, so that no one in the house had bothered with an alarm clock since
she was born three years ago.
Fabulous quotes:
Sometimes Michelle tried to remember what it was like before the baby came, when
it had been just the two of them and they could lie in bed all day, and have feverish,
exhausting sex and then eat toast and jam and watch television on the tiny black-and-white
set that they used to have at the foot of the bed until Michelle knocked it over because
Keith was watching the snooker (on a black-and-white set, what was the point of that?) and
the baby was screaming and she just couldn’t do it any more.
She did love them,she really did. She just couldn’t feel it.
They weren’t bonded together, they were likemolecules, molecules that couldn’t bond together into stable elements and instead bounced
around like bingo balls. She should have done science, not spent all her time with her head
in novels. Novels gave you a completely false idea about life, they told lies and they
implied there were endings when in reality there were no endings, everything just went on
and on and on.
‘More tea, Mr Brodie?’ Julia asked, pouring the tea without waiting for an
answer. ‘”And is there honey still for tea?” Yes, there most certainly is and we shall have
it on our scones. Milly, do you want honey on your scones?’
At least the tea in theOrchard Tea Rooms was decent, unlike Binky’s. Julia’s little finger had a scar, like a thin
silver ring, than ran all the way round it. She had it crooked, in a very ladylike way, as
she drank her tea. She caught Jackson looking at it. ‘Chopped it off,’ she said breezily.
Amelia snorted. ‘Accidentally,’ Julia added. Amelia snorted again. ‘You’ll turn into a pig
if you carry on like that, Milly,’ Julia said.
Also recommended: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides; Mercy Among the
Children by David Adams Richards; The Effects of Light by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore.
Also by this author: Behind the Scenes at the Museum; Human Croquet;
Abandonment; Emotionally Weird; Not the End of the World.
Fun tidbit: Ooo, Kate Atkinson’s
href="http://books.guardian.co.uk/top10s/top10/0%2C6109%2C144195%2C00.html">top ten favourite novels
Would I read more by this author? Yes, yes, and yes! I love this woman! Her
writing just gets better and better - she’s definitely one of my favourite authors.
© Lisa Yanaky 2003-2005