Shrines of Gaiety: The Sunday Times Bestseller, May 2023
£5.70
‘Atkinson on her finest form. A marvel of plate-spinning narrative knowhow, a peak performance of consummate control.’ OBSERVER
‘This is the perfect novel for uncertain times.’ THE TIMES
‘I can think of few writers other than Dickens who can match it’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘Brilliant’ RICHARD OSMAN
‘Kate Atkinson is simply one of the best writers working today, anywhere in the world’ GILLIAN FLYNN
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1926, and in a country still recovering from the Great War, London has become the focus for a delirious new nightlife. In the clubs of Soho, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters, and girls sell dances for a shilling a time.
At the heart of this glittering world is notorious Nellie Coker, ruthless but also ambitious to advance her six children, including the enigmatic eldest, Niven whose character has been forged in the crucible of the Somme. But success breeds enemies, and Nellie’s empire faces threats from without and within. For beneath the dazzle of Soho’s gaiety, there is a dark underbelly, a world in which it is all too easy to become lost.
With her unique Dickensian flair, Kate Atkinson brings together a glittering cast of characters in a truly mesmeric novel that captures the uncertainty and mutability of life; of a world in which nothing is quite as it seems.
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‘Seduction, betrayal, and larger-than-life characters that will have you hooked until the last page’ SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
‘This book is one to savour, for the energy, for the wit, for the tenderness of characterisation that make Atkinson enduringly popular’ GUARDIAN
‘As vividly filthy, populous, dangerous as anything described by Dickens, but writing is closer to Thackeray’s…Atkinson is a novelist of unrivalled immediacy, authority, and skill.’ FINANCIAL TIMES
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Additional information
| Publisher | Transworld Digital (27 Sept. 2022) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 5279 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 440 pages |
by J. A. West
It took a while to get into this book as there are so many characters and story lines. Once engaged it is a good read, but it seems that Kate suddenly realised she had written quite a long book and decided to wrap it all up in the last 30 or so pages. It all felt rather rushed.
by helsbels
Starts at a cracking pace and love the story and characters. Ending doesn’t quite live up to the start but still a very entertaining read. Would recommend. Good book club choice or quality holiday read…or Christmas present!
by Ian Thumwood
As an avid reader I would say that there have been three books by Kate Atkinson that have taken my breath away with their shear brilliance when I completed them. I do not think that “Shrines of gaiety” quite matches “Scenes from the museum”, “Life after life” or “A god in ruins” but I found this book impossible to put down. The first hundred or so pages set the scene with the multitude of characters and , like alot of this author’s books, you think that you can predict how the story will pan out.
In this novel, two young girls run off to the bright lights of 1920’s London and we are simultaneously introduced to night club owener Nellie Coker and her rather disfunctional family who both the police and other members of the whose relationship with the law comes from a variety of backgrounds. The book is hugely compelling and I would argue probably one of Kate Atkinson’s faster -paced novels. By about page 300, all the various components are in place and things which had hitherto been alluded to start to become clear. I felt that the book then became impossible to put down and the various interactions between the various parties ensure that the story picks up it’s pace as the different characters seem to move from one peril to the other.
This book has many of the traits readers will be familiar with from KA’s books. As per usual, the writing is laced with her dry humour which really resonnates with me and makes the writing a delight to read. She also maintains the non-linear story line which resembles pieces of a jigsaw puzzle which, when finally assembled, does not resemble the picture on the box. There were elements in this novel which I had guessed would happen whereas some parts came as a surprise. It is intriguing that other reviewers commented on the conclusion of the novel because I did feel the same. A lot of effort had been put in constructing the story and weaving the complicated plot yet when the various strands reached their conclusion, they were dealt with quite rapidly. The closing pages then picked up the fate the characters when I felt that they had been sufficiently interesting to warrant another book. There is no real disappointment in the conclusion yet the writer alludes to further escapades and the fate of Gwendollen was certainly worth another novel. Never-the-less, this was a real page turner.
by JP
It took me a little while to get into this book, but when I did I found it impossible to put down. Absolutely fell head first into Nellie and Frobisher’s world and loved the experience (though it was occasionally terrifying in its coldheartedness). I will definitely have a look at Atkinson’s other books as this was superb, a real glittering gem.
by Amazon Customer
This book is so clever and truly invokes the period. I had this as an Audible book and it was really good. The descriptions of the night clubs and the people who frequent them are very cleverly written. I found that I listened to most of this book in one day, I just couldn’t put it down. There are so many twists and turns I felt if I put it down I wouldn’t remember them all. The main female character is really strong, you almost feel like you know her. I was really drawn in to the night clubs. Kate Atkinson never disappoints.
by Lucy Hayward
Kate Atkinson has got to be one of (if not the very) best authors writing today. All the characters were so well drawn and the atmosphere depicted in these ‘Shrines of Gaiety’ kept me gripped until the end.
Kate conjures up such a sense of time and place that is a joy to read….it’s easy to see why the book is already a well regarded best seller.
If you want to be transported back to the decadent life of the underworld in the UK between the wars then this is for you. I also like the fact that the book central character, Nellie Coker, is based on a real life
gangland ‘moll’ and nightclub owner.
If you only read one book between now and the end of the year, make it this one!
by Geraldine Croft
Nellie Coker rules supreme over the lawless underworld of swinging Soho in the 1920’s with her string of themed nightclubs until she finds herself doing a brief spell in Holloway following an unexpected raid.
Back on the outside the foundations of her ill-gotten empire are beginning to crumble as girls start disappearing, bodies are being hoiked out of the Thames into Dead Man’s Hole and the vultures are circling.
Corruption and abduction, serial street stabbings and gang warfare, arson attacks, blackmail and some very unsavoury characters plague the Coker clan and those around them.
Yet for me the plot was almost secondary to the sometimes scathing, often humorous descriptions of the full cast of characters, their backstories and the situations they find themselves. Personal favourites include Freda, Ramsey, Gwendolen and Frobisher – The Knits, The Baby Party, The Distressed and Pierrot.
An easy, entertaining and engaging read.
I love Kate Atkinson’s writing style and always enjoy reading her books, The Shrines of Gaiety being no exception.
by Malcolm R
A rewritten autobiography of a real 1920’s shady night club owner mixed with a murderous thriller, a search for missing teenagers, police corruption and a tale of revenge. The myriad of characters are not all relevant to the plot in all its parts but provide humour, entertainment and an awful lot of atmosphere, consequently Soho comes to life. The ending provides conclusions to the separate plots, succinctly which means the book finishes almost abruptly, only one couple are left in limbo, which will leave some readers unsatisfied or even dissatisfied. How much you enjoy the book depends on your love for the author’s writing and how much it places you under its spell – four stars so slightly mixed feelings.