Case Histories

I've just finished Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. I very much enjoyed the first three-quarters of it. The book is, as the title advertises, a series of apparently disconnected 'unfortunate events'. Gradually, as the book progresses, these themes become intertwined until most of them are resolved. Somewhere fairly near the start, a detective, Jackson Brodie, enters the scene. He's a pleasant character, easy to identify with but one of those frustratingly passive men who can mentally articulate but cannot deal with events in his personal life. So, as with so many of his fictional predecessors and contemporaries, he takes refuge in detecting and kind of plods on in a straight line, until solutions to the various mysteries fall into his lap almost by default.

I don't mean to be harsh on the book, it is extremely well-written and I enjoyed it a lot (though I could have done without the rather constant sexual descriptions and references). The "case history" approach allows the author to create telling little short stories, which whet the appetite of the reader and make you want to read on. The book is permeated with sad events and melancholy characters.

But the last quarter was disappointing. The whole was not the sum of the parts. It is always a bad sign when a book suddenly switches style, as this one does nearish the end, messing around with time. Significant events are missed out of the narrative and told out of order or in retrospect (or both), which indicated to me an unnecessary loss of confidence by the author, as if she could not quite believe that the reader is on her side by then, and just let things carry on to the end. And eventually, the number of "neat" solutions is not believable, even if it is satisfying to know the outcome of many of the mysteries, the book has somehow lost the unique voice it had at the outset.

I'm very tempted to read the sequel, One Good Turn, which cannot be out yet in the UK as I called into Waterstones by the station on my way home tonight to see if it was on sale. It wasn't. However, Susan Balee says it is excellent so I will give it a shot when I can get hold of it. (Have just checked, you can buy it via Amazon UK.)

Comments

[Susan Balée]

Hi, Maxine--

Oh, I'm so glad you're reading K.A.'s books. You know, I also saw the curious alterations of time -- and, to a certain extent, events -- at the end of _Case Histories_, but it occurred to me that she was trying to do something else. I thought she meant to show that though you can have three people present at the same event, each will remember it differently. I saw the subtle alterations in "what happened" changed by these characters' gaining additional knowledge or also being changed by other factors (in the case of the sisters, growing up).

_One Good Turn_ is out here -- I just read it and in about five minutes I'm going to write my review of it. It's good, but not (I think) as good as CH. But it does make me want to go back to Edinburgh!

I read an interview with K.A. who said she knows Ian Rankin because they are at book 'dos together (probably the Festival of the Book at the end of the Fringe and other events). I can't help but think that any writer living in the same town with him cannot fail to be influenced by him -- his work, his opinions, his larger-than-life presence are ubiquitous there. Even a docent at the Museum of Scotland knew him and regaled Allan and me with tales of his visits. Anyway, the point I'm struggling to make is that it's interesting to me that with her last two books, Kate A. has turned from mainstream literary fiction to crime fiction with a detective. I am thinking it's The Rankin Effect.

[crimeficreader]

Ooh, Susan, may I interject here? Atkinson was interviewed by Peter Guttridge at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival in July this year, where One Good Turn was offered pre general release. She has to be one of the most independently minded people I have ever encountered and she certainly knows her own mind. Guttridge had a real challenge on stage and he coped admirably. Listeners gained many insights and enjoyed much humour.
She talked about the "genesis" of "Case Histories" and I did take some notes, which I posted here:
http://itsacrime.typepad.com/its_a_crime_or_a_mystery/2006/07/harrogate_crime_1.html
Alas, I was not as good at record taking this year as last, as it was one of the hottest days and in a hotel without aircon it felt like a sauna. But looking back, I did manage a few interesting parts of the discussion.
Atkinson impressed me immensely. She makes a damn good role model.

[Susan Balée]

Oh-- I just read your post about Atkinson at Harrowgate and it's wonderful, Crimeficreader! (We were in Glasgow on July 27 and melting -- we were staying in a B & B with no air conditioning -- and many Scots told us, There's no air conditioning because we've never *needed* air conditioning before now.

I have a memory of falling asleep beneath the statue of John Knox in the Necropolis -- too hot to go on after our hike through the tombstones -- and thinking that the old puritan was probably happy to gaze upon my suffering on the ground beneath him. A couple of Japanese boys, undaunted by heat, were throwing a frisbee nearby. Note to Kate Atkinson: This cemetery would be a marvelous setting for a crime novel!)

Sorry for the digression, but I'm really glad you like K.A., CFR. In my review, I mentioned that I thought she'd hit upon a wonderful narrative device integral to detective fiction: Once you have a detective as a main character, you have a reason to bring the most disparate cast of people together. A crime can link them and you've got license to explore and juxtapose characters who otherwise wouldn't belong in the same story. Atkinson exploits that narrative opportunity brilliantly.

Again, many thanks for the link.

[crimeficreader]

Thanks Susan. I'm glad you appreciated it. (Maxine is a generous soul I know, and she's provided many links to my own blog, including a main in the sidebar, but I still hate posting a link in a comment! It seems intrusive and opportunistic somehow...)

The hotel in this case was even more of a disappointment as they'd recently had a refurbishment of a couple of million pounds apparently. I wasn't the only one asking "so why not aircon?", I can assure you.

Where is your review Susan?
I see a link in the comment that relates to email only. I'd be interested to see your review.
Someone (I trust implicitly when it comes to crime fiction taste) recommended "Case Histories" to me and I started it, but was flummoxed by the format. I skipped to the end, was not surprised by the outcome, and essentially, my actions ruined the book for me. I need to start it all over again with patience. Thus, I am very interested in a review that tells me more about what I missed on first inspection. And, having listened to Atkinson, I have too much respect for the author than to let this opportunity see the dust.

[Maxine]

My dear friends, I am absolutely delighted that you are having this fascinating discussion in my comments - I am reading and learning! Crime Fic, post as many links as you like in my comments! Susan, you are so clever compared with me --- this is the difference between a mere dilettante reader (me) and a proper Eng. Lit. person (you) -- that point about the time effect being able to tell the same event from three different memories of it completely passed me by. Thanks!
And Crime Fic, thanks for your notes about the interview/genesis of Case Histories, I feel very honoured and pleased that you have written all this in the comments, both of you, thank you!

[crimeficreader]

Thanks Maxine - a friend always!
For me it was good to actually be there when Kate Atkinson was interviewed. I'd never have gained those insights otherwise!
What a woman!

[Susan Balée]

Oh, Maxine -- you are much cleverer than me: You know so much about science *and* literature *and* theatre. (I wish, wish, wish I had never said anything about my degree in that other thread -- it was a lame attempt to bolster my own argument with a credential and I regret it.)

CrimeFic, I wonder if what you didn't like about _Case Histories_ is similar to what bugged my husband about it. He really enjoys crime fiction, particularly the funny kind (Carl Hiassen, et al) and I think it bothered him that Atkinson's novel had this very long, literary beginning before it began to turn into a detective novel. (Also, obviously, it had a lot of tragic stuff that wasn't funny at all!) On the other hand, he's now reading the sequel I just finished, so he obviously liked her style enough to go to the next one.

My review of _One Good Turn_ will run in The Philadelphia Inquirer, though when is up to Frank Wilson. Maxine can post a link if she wishes because Frank always does a post citing all the reviews he's published.

Wow, it's so nice to comment in a thread where the participants are so civilized and friendly! Thanks, ladies, very much.

[Maxine]

Look forward to reading your review, Susan. yes, we try to maintain the decencies over here (though we do have our moments, eg the 10 "best" detective authors).

A couple of the commenters in that post at Frank's were not only out of line but certifiable, Susan. It must have been a very unsettling experience, hope you have recovered OK. I think those two characters are off the scale, I haven't come across that kind of behaviour much -- I mean, I've visited blogs that I've never wanted to return to as the people there are clearly in a different universe to me. But I've not experienced that level of vitriol before. I think those "vitriolics" are the exception that prove the rule (I hope, anyway).

[crimeficreader]

Thanks Susan. I'll keep an eye out for it.
I think I was jarred by a longish first chapter followed by something completely new and seemingly unrelated in chapter 2, just after I'd started getting to know one band of characters. I skimmed to chapter 3 and then lost patience and headed to the end to see the resolution. My impatience spoilt it for me I suspect! But if I leave it long enough I can try it again...

[Dave Lull]

A link to Kate Atkinson's interview on the Bat Segundo Show #85 can be found here:

http://www.edrants.com/?p=5080

[Maxine]

Thanks, Dave. I've also just written a post linking to Susan's review of Kate Atkinson's "sequel" to Case Histories. "One Good Turn".