When Will There Be Good News? Pdf Summary
Three lives come together in unexpected and thrilling ways in Kate Atkinson’s When Will There Be Good News?
On a hot summer day, Joanna Mason’s family slowly wanders home along a country lane. A moment later, Joanna’s life is changed forever…
On a dark night thirty years later, ex-detective Jackson Brodie finds himself on a train that is both crowded and late. Lost in his thoughts, he suddenly hears a shocking sound…
At the end of a long day, 16-year-old Reggie is looking forward to watching a little TV. Then a terrifying noise shatters her peaceful evening. Luckily, Reggie makes it a point to be prepared for an emergency…
These three lives come together in unexpected and deeply thrilling ways in the latest novel from Kate Atkinson, the critically acclaimed author who Harlan Coben calls “an absolute must-read.”
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When Will There Be Good News? Review
5.0 out of 5 stars Happiness is discovering a great new author
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2014
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Several years ago when I worked in the entertainment industry, I learned never to trust one of those tag lines that you see on the cover of a book. I’m referring to something like:
“An awesome read! I couldn’t put it down!” – John Grisham
Usually you see this on books by authors who aren’t household names. I discovered that 99% of these were fake. I had authors tell me themselves that they never read these books that were hyped with their name splattered over the front cover. It was all a publishing ploy to sell more books.
Well, this book was a bit different. This author (who has only been widely known in some circles for only the last couple of years) was highly touted by none other than Stephen King. King has even gone out of his way in several interviews to praise this author and much of her work. After reading this, my first book by her, I’m not surprised that Stephen King holds her in such high regard. She is amazing. Her prose is very similar to King’s. She has a way of hooking the reader in – regardless of the topic, and proceeds to be very clever and witty, and manages to emulate an occasional guffaw from the reader even the overall atmosphere of the book might be a bit gloomy.
In this case, it’s a lot more than a “bit” gloomy. This book is very gloomy (hence the title). Yet most of the ugliness has happened in these characters’ past as opposed to the present situation as we’re reading about them. This book focuses on four key individuals living somewhere in Scotland. Their lives may have crossed each others’ path in a small way, but as a reader, you’re unaware of this until well into the book. At first, it seems as though you’re reading four different stories rolled into one novel.
These people in these different stories have had pretty rough experiences during their lives. I couldn’t keep up with all of the bad stuff that happened to these pour souls – from kidnapping to cancer, deadbeat dads to delinquent kids. It’s all here. Yet Atkinson somehow keeps the mood lighter than one would expect and, more importantly, interesting enough to where you really can’t wait to find out what happens yet.
It’s a bit unnecessary to describe the actual plot of this book. Yes, we do eventually find out there is actually a plot, but it’s not the story in and of itself that’s done so well, but rather the dialog and the intricacies of the characters and how they all interact with one another (think of a Robert Altman movie such as “Nashville” or “Gosford Park”). I wouldn’t mind reading another book that features many of these same people featured in this book(I think one of them actually does appear in several pieces by the author), but she simply does a magnificent job at telling a tale, that I’m betting I would easily enjoy more, if not all of her works.
Although, as I mentioned, her style is very similar to Stephen Kings’, keep in mind that I’m referring to style of her actual prose. There are some things that King does that many (including me) find hard to stomach some time. Things such as his “disgusting” factor, and his belief that every person on the entire planet uses about 200 four-letter words in every five minute conversation. So, fortunately, things such as that are not present within these pages.
Happiness is discovering an awesome new author. Thank you, Ms. Atkinson, for your brilliant book.
VINE VOICE
4.0 out of 5 stars Well worth the wait, and then some
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2011
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Kate Atkinson’s gripping 2008 Jackson Brodie novel “When Will There Be Good News” is a humdinger of a read even if it isn’t easy keeping events synchronized and then weaving together its many tangled threads.
What can I add new to these many reviews, some good and some not so good, that may be useful if you’re thinking about choosing this particular book as your next read? For one thing, it’s a good pre-read to the author’s newest Jackson Brodie adventure “Started Early, Took My Dog” (March 2011).
In this book and others in the series, Atkinson has a great capacity and apparent interest in killing people and subjecting others to great threat and violence. Life and society viewed through her prism are full of worry and dread.
There are many murders in Atkinson’s Great Britain and all are gruesome and most are over the top. Add the attempted killings to the real thing and the body count is substantial. Even the headlines in the sleepy towns outside Edinburgh where the action is set are screaming “Carnage!” The incidents of treachery and mayhem are compelling because they’re sardonic and always a hoot if violent death can ever be characterized as funny. It’s death as Tarantino does it.
Trust me, it is not a spoiler to reveal that Brodie is among those who turns up dead, although only for a little while. Brodie, now a “security consultant” is pretty much sliced and diced in a spectacular, grinding train wreck that leaves him lying in a ditch with his lifeblood quickly ebbing away. “Jesus his arm really was bleeding, pumping the stuff out like there was no tomorrow,” he says to himself, a last thought.
Atkinson lets us follow along as Brodie closes his eyes and heads into the white tunnel leading to a Celestial City of “very bright light.” He’s led back from the other side by Good Samaritan Reggie Chase, 16, who administers expert first aid by giving him artificial respiration and tying off a severed artery. Days later while still recovering Brodie asks a doctor, “I died?” He gets the response: “Yes. Technically dead. Very briefly.”
Unlike the other incidents of violence there is nothing remotely humorous or light in the first vicious act, which happens in the past and has a strong influence on the present. Walking along a country path a mother, young daughter and infant son, even the pet dog, are viciously attacked for no reason and knifed by an itinerant passer-by. Six-year-old Joanna Mason is the only one to escape alive. Young Jackson Brodie, then a new member of the constabulary, is the one who finds the lost girl who has hidden herself in a nearby field.
Thirty years later Joanna is threatened and disappears again and once again Jackson becomes involved in solving the disappearance. Another similar case of murder and disappearance has the local police force, including DCI Louise Monroe who is married to someone else but lusts after Brodie, searching for another suspected killer.
Everything is very chaotic and everything is connected, is happening fast, and for the most part taking place over the span of two days. Atkinson does an amazing juggling act keeping so many stories and plot lines aloft. And she accomplishes a lot by tying up some loose ends from the previous Brodie book “One Good Turn” (2006) and opening a few new windows for him to jump through in the newest installment.
At the end of the day, all the loose threads are woven together and the good news you’ve been waiting for is within sight. All the work you’ve done keeping events and characters sorted out pays off. Reading “When Will There Be Good News” requires work. In the end it’s worth it, and then some.
About Kate Atkinson Author Of When Will There Be Good News? pdf Book
Kate Atkinson Author Of When Will There Be Good News? pdf Book, She was born in York and now lives in Edinburgh. Her first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and she has been a critically acclaimed international bestselling author ever since.
She is the author of a collection of short stories, Not the End of the World, and of the critically acclaimed novels Human Croquet, Emotionally Weird, Case Histories, and One Good Turn.
Case Histories introduced her readers to Jackson Brodie, former police inspector turned private investigator, and won the Saltire Book of the Year Award and the Prix Westminster.
When Will There Be Good News? was voted Richard & Judy Book Best Read of the Year. After Case Histories and One Good Turn, it was her third novel to feature the former private detective Jackson Brodie, who makes a welcome return in Started Early, Took My Dog.
When Will There Be Good News? pdf, Paperback, Hardcover Book Information
- ASIN : 0316154857
- Publisher : Little, Brown and Company; First Edition (September 24, 2008)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 388 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780316154857
- ISBN-13 : 978-0316154857
- Item Weight : 1.37 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.63 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,393,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #15,958 in Traditional Detective Mysteries (Books)
- #52,647 in Women Sleuths (Books)
- #98,841 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews: 4.4 out of 5 stars 2,206 ratings
Get A Copy Of When Will There Be Good News? pdf Or Paperback By Kate Atkinson
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