Rating: 
Summary: Wacky and adorable
Review: I have to say, this is one of my all-time favorites. I've read Atkinson's "Human Croquet" and "Behind the Scenes at the Museum," and they are every bit as good as everyone says they are.But I adore the way she takes off here -- the hilarious academic parody, the deft weaving of two or three different texts into a whole and the compelling emotional story at the core. I giggle my way through this book every time I read it, but its far better than just straight comedy. I don't even think you necessarily need to be aware of the various literary styles and methods of criticism she skewers to find the humor in the book -- her slacker undergrads are funny enough to entertain all by themselves. (Bob, the brainless Trekkie who spouts bits of philosophy in his sleep, is my favorite.) Please read it. I really think you'll like it, especially if are or ever were an English major. And don't be put off by the title...far as I can tell, it was picked out of a hat. Just ignore it.
Rating: 
Summary: 'Weird,' indeed
Review: I loved "Behind the Scenes at the Museum," and I think that Kate Atkinson has yet to better herself. "Human Croquet" was not what I expected after "BTSATM" but was better than "Emotionally Weird," I am sorry to say. I think that Atkinson is being allowed to "get away with anything" after making a splash with "BTSATM". "Emotionally Weird" strikes me as an unfinished experiment in many respects. Yes, there are too many characters. And, yes, I hardly care about Effie's bizarre parentage because nothing in the previous 200 pages made me care about Effie at all, not for my lack of trying. If this is 3 stories in one, then why is it so dominated by the story of Effie at college? And this is a story filled with unnecessary sidetracks into co-op farms and m.j. experiences. It seems to be about anyone *but* Effie in many respects. I took 2 positives away from this book: (1) there were even bigger flakes than me in college who are now published authors, and (2) once you get one good book published, they will publish any unfinished thing you give them. I hope that Kate Atkinson's next book is more of a coherent whole with a purpose and a point. I really liked "BTSATM" so much that I will stick it out for yet another book ...
Rating: 
Summary: Emotionally disappointing
Review: I thought that I would find a funny, entertaining and extremely neurotic story in this one. The first few chapters of Emotionally Weird were done very well. I was getting what I wanted: a satire of college life in the 1970's, but then it got irritating and trite. Unfortunately I found the series of stories and character anecdotes annoying and misguided. Yes, it is very funny. But the comedy does not make up for the ludicrous and confusing situations. I am not going to say that you shouldn't buy this book, although you should know what you're getting yourself into. In the end, you will either love or hate it.
Rating: 
Summary: Emotionally Wierd - Kate Atkinson
Review: I will admit, it was really hard to continue reading Emotionally Weird by Kate Atkinson. You're immediately thrown into several stories -- stories that are told within stories and stories that aren't. It's hard to figure out what's going on when, who is who, why you're even reading the book. But believe me, you must continue reading...it's worth it in every way. I think the parts that I love the most are when Effie's "mother" Nora interrupts her story telling of her experience at the University. Nora's quips are perfect ("does this story have a plot?," "There are too many characters and I can't keep them straight," and "No! Don't kill of Olivia!") for how I felt as a reader. Effie's story (which is a huge chunk of the book) is really funny. Atkinson holds a dry wit that just continues to roll with each page. And the end...yes, there is an ending, and yes, everything pulls together more coherently than you could ever imagine. I won't say anything more about the ending. If your fear is that you won't be able to get through Emotionally Weird, then just take heed that it will all make sense in the end and you should just keep plugging along.
Rating:
Summary: Don't let the first 20 or so pages fool you
Review: I will admit, it was really hard to continue reading Emotionally Weird by Kate Atkinson. You're immediately thrown into several stories -- stories that are told within stories and stories that aren't. It's hard to figure out what's going on when, who is who, why you're even reading the book. But believe me, you must continue reading...it's worth it in every way. I think the parts that I love the most are when Effie's "mother" Nora interrupts her story telling of her experience at the University. Nora's quips are perfect ("does this story have a plot?," "There are too many characters and I can't keep them straight," and "No! Don't kill of Olivia!") for how I felt as a reader. Effie's story (which is a huge chunk of the book) is really funny. Atkinson holds a dry wit that just continues to roll with each page. And the end...yes, there is an ending, and yes, everything pulls together more coherently than you could ever imagine. I won't say anything more about the ending. If your fear is that you won't be able to get through Emotionally Weird, then just take heed that it will all make sense in the end and you should just keep plugging along.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific!
Review: If I could write a book, I'd want it to be this one. Atkinson's cast of characters provided me with more belly laughs than anything I've read for ages. I loved Professor Cousins, who appeared to be the only sane member of the faculty. He certainly has an inquiring mind. And Chick, despite his faults, has an eerie ability to be just where you need him at all times, unlike so many superficially more attractive characters. Atkinson's jaundiced eye is pure delight. I look forward to reading her other books.
Rating:
Summary: not nearly as good as her first two
Review: kate atkinson is a funny, witty, woman. i saw her speak recently, and read from one of the chapters of this book, and it was highly enjoyable. i especially love the fact that she has a penchant for buffy the vampire slayer, and would love to write an episode... great stuff! unfortunatly, emotionally weird does not live up to her other 2 novels. it's funny, and clever, and enjoyable, but the ends don't meet as nicely at the end, and in her books, some tying up is necessary after you've been scattered all about. i would still say read this, but read her others first, they're better, and then, when you love her (and inevitably you will) read this one, you'll be hungry for more at that point, and while this isn't a full course meal it is a nice light snack!
Rating:
Summary: Even Being an English Major Doesn't Help...
Review: Like many others, I, too, found the first part of this book tough going. In fact, I almost gave up on it completely. Fortunately, after about page 40, things start to pick up. But... I still don't understand exactly where Atkinson is going with this book. Like many others who have majored in English, I have had professors who attempted to force their interpretation of the "meaning" behind authors' words down helpless students' throats (fortunately, I finished school long ago and don't have to put up with that any longer). However, as I replied to one rather stubborn Lit. prof., who firmly stated that my differing interpretation of a book was "not what the author meant": "unless the author told you personally, you don't know for sure either." That goes for me as well. Therefore, I can offer only my own opinion on the one and only "hidden meaning" (if, indeed, there was one at all) I found within Atkinson's words: Effie consistently describes food as rancid, etc. All very negative, even repulsive, descriptions. Food can easily be associated with life... something for which these students seem to have a healthy disregard (see the complete lack of interest in Proteus' well-being as another example of this, as well as their own overindulgence and slovenly lifestyles). So, we have a group of selfish, self-indulgent, careless people. And so many of them!!!! While I did not have a problem keeping one character straight from another, I agree with those who felt there were completely too many "non-essential" characters in this novel. Admittedly, many of the word plays are well spun, but others only grew pointless. For example, why is Watson Grant alternately Grant Watson? (note: I am not completely finished with this book, so I apologize if this becomes clearer in the end. Normally, I would finish a book before reviewing it but in this case I'm not sure the book is worth any more of my time). And all I can say about the many stories-within-stories is that they became daft after a while and I pretty much gave up on them. Further, Atkinson's semi-dreamlike narrative seems to me, at least, an attempt to copy Margaret Atwood's lyrical style (okay... I'm a tremendous Atwood fan, and even she wrote some clunkers, so I'm trying to give Atkinson the benefit of the doubt and will assume that her other writing endeavors are better). If this is the case, she fails miserably; to me, it comes off as bored and lazy. I will admit, though, that Atkinson was a good judge of her readers' criticisms... well voiced, in that aspect, at least, by Nora. As soon as I thought it, Nora said it. Still, that doesn't save this book. Additionally, we are to believe that Effie is narrating this tale to Nora. Why, then, is the story at times referred to as being "written down" and at others a "narrative"? Parts of the story are -by Effie's own admittance- fiction and others... are we to assume they're real? Or is it all imagined? As a side note, biological or not, I really can't imagine a young girl of 20 or 21 happily describing to her mother tales of her sex life and drug use... not to mention academic sloppiness - even if Nora IS a bit of a space cadet herself (and as a side note, if this tale is indeed being written down by Effie, why, then, would she stick with poorly-written, half-baked detective novels when she clearly has a better grasp on the English language than can be found in those pitiful lines?). Finally... do we really need to read "my mother is not my mother... etc." over and over to get the point? Quite frankly, Atkinson doesn't develop Effie enough as an individual for me to really care whether she was spawned under a cabbage leaf or dropped by a stork. Nora's history interests me even less which, to me, demonstrates Atkinson's ineptitude (at least as far as this novel is concerned). If the reader has no interest in the characters, why should she feel compelled to finish the book? It becomes very clear that Bob is more intelligent than Effie (my suspicion is that he downplays his intelligence to match that of Effie's - a person who is so academically unspectacular she is really in no place to judge Bob so harshly), as well as the better human being. In all, he's the only character I enjoyed reading about (and I am neither slouch nor druggie). As for the many other characters in Atkinson's little zoo... with the exception of Professor Cousins, who cares? They're all shallow, slovenly, mean spirited and trite. Again, however, I will assume that Atkinson has an agenda here. Unfortunately for her readers, however, I can't even begin to imagine what it is.
Rating:
Summary: It's life, Captain...
Review: Nora and Effie Stuart-Murray are sitting on an island off the west coast of Scotland, telling each other stories. Effie's tale is of her recent life as a student at Dundee University, whilst Nora tells of Effie's murky family history, with the announcement that she is not, in fact, Effie's mother. The hyphenated 'Stuart' is the only clue left that Nora and Effie have royalty as ancestors. However, you do begin to worry about this novel when Effie's audience, Nora, gets bored and decides to go to bed. If a fictional character has been diagnosed with ennui, then what chance have we of following this novel to its conclusion? We get to see the fascinating acts of feeding cats, the boiling of kettles in Effie's life story, but we do also get occasional glimpses of the invasion of Vietnam. Effie quotes large chunks of Archie McCue's abstract lecture, as if to prove how boring the man is, when one or two words would have sufficed. Archie's lecture appears to happen in real time, and it seems as though Atkinson is writing the antithesis of a crime novel, by having all her main suspects meet up in the beginning, rather than at the end. But Archie McCrue is no detective. Chick Petrie is, and so is Madame Astarti, the heroine of Effie's attempt at fiction. Practically everyone who is anyone turns up at McCrue's lecture, an unlikely scenario for an early morning lecture during a power cut in the strikes of 72. Emotionally Weird takes a long time to get going. There's something wacky about all the characters, but none of them are truly amusing. In a recent interview in the Observer, Kate Atkinson commented that she found it very difficult to get going on this novel, and to achieve the right tone, and I'm afraid it shows in these early pages. Compared with Joanne Harris' Blackberry Wine, with which Emotionally Weird shares some themes, Atkinson's novel seems quite poor indeed, to begin within. This book hasn't really come close to universal praise in the press, despite a very enthusiastic piece in the Scotsman. I approached this book warily since a Star Trek fan is a very prominent character (Effie's boyfriend, 'Magic Bob'). Oh no, I thought, Atkinson's pitted all her wits against a very easy stereotype. My prejudice came from the fact that, like Bob, I'm also a fan of Cult TV (although not quite as drugged or sluggish as him). At the beginning of the novel, Effie is trying to work out how she can leave Bob. But you've only got to look at her narrative to see how far she's been infected. A couple of Effie's similes come from Doctor Who (the obvious 'Dalek' and 'Tardis'), whilst her supporting cast have been given the names of minor, but significant characters from Star Trek: Christopher Pike, Janice Rand, Kevin Riley, and even Gary Seven turns up as the author of some obscure paper. Purists should note that the novel occurs during the broadcast of the Doctor Who adventure, The Curse of Peladon. Maybe Effie should get out more. Maybe I should get out more. Around about 50% of Effie's male acquaintances seem to be writing fantasy novels, boring the pants off everyone with varying degrees of success. However, Atkinson does present Magic Bob much as Russell T. Davies would: as sad, but lovable. As to what genre Kate Atkinson would like to work in, I would stab a guess at the crime novel. No doubt her style would be unique, but still far more competent than Effie's novels starring Madame Astarti. My favourite character from the novel is Professor Cousins, who interrupts fatuous McCrue with the observation that all fiction could be tied down to the questions surrounding identity, citing Oedipus Rex as an example. You do get the feeling that Atkinson would tend to agree with the professor, whilst wondering when the scourging of eyes is finally going to arrive. But as with any novel with a phenomenally long cast list, you have to be patient, you have to wait for Emotionally Weird to wield its magic, to endure before the blockbuster ending arrives. Kate Atkinson employs a variety of styles and fonts in this book which she claims to be about 'words' (as she said in her Observer interview). I've done much the same myself when I've been writing. The reasons why I used such techniques was that I was being defensive, placing the expected critics of my work into the text itself, as Atkinson does here, in the voice of Nora. No doubt Emotionally Weird means much to Atkinson, and she fears that it will not mean much to anyone else. Martha Sewell and her creative writing class ponder that old cliché, that everyone has a novel within them. Maybe the relevant question should be: does anyone have a third novel within them? After a shaky start, Emotionally Weird answers in the affirmative, with a resounding conclusion that does leave you wanting more.
Rating:
Summary: If you like a well told story, this is the book for you
Review: This book succeeded for me on two levels. I read because I enjoy a good story and this book has several. It has stories within stories within stories. And I found that to be a fun concept. It is sort of like the old play within a play carried to extremes. I kept turning the pages to see how it would all turn out, and how the author was going to bring everything together. I enjoyed the multiple plots and the author's use of language. I found the descriptive narrative wonderful. It also was a very funny picture of university life in the early seventies. The characters resonated for me - I think I met a version of most of them during my years at university. And I certainly attended the same philosophy classes. I kept assocciating the various characters with people I knew. It was great fun. The first few pages are a bit confusing, but it is worth carrying on. It was a fun book.
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