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Human Croquet: A Novel Paperback – August 21, 1997

4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 2,712 ratings

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From the award-winning author of Life After Life comes Kate Atkinson's Human Croquet, part fairy tale, part mystery, part coming-of-age novel

New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year

Human Croquet tells the story of Isobel Fairfax, a girl growing up in Lythe, a typical 1960s British suburb. But Lythe was once the heart of an Elizabethan feudal estate and home to a young English tutor named William Shakespeare, and as Isobel investigates the strange history of her family, her neighbors, and her village, she occasionally gets caught in Shakespearean time warps. Meanwhile, she gets closer to the shocking truths about her missing mother, her war-hero father, and the hidden lives of her close friends and classmates.

A stunning feat of imagination and storytelling, Kate Atkinson's
Human Croquet is rich with the disappointments and possibilities every family shares.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A novel which will dazzle readers for years to come.” ―Hilary Mantel, London Review of Books

Human Croquet offers further proof that Kate Atkinson is off and running in quite a fantastic direction of her own devising.” ―Katharine Weber, The New York Times Book Review

“[Kate Atkinson] writes such fluid, sparkling prose that an ingenious plot almost seems too much to ask, but we get it anyway.” ―
Salon.com

“A literary tour de force.” ―
San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle

“Intelligent, sympathetic, and terribly funny, this is simply a wonderful book.” ―
Kate Tuttle, Boston Book Review

“Vivid and intriguing . . . [
Human Croquet] fizzes and crackles along.” ―Penelope Lively, The Independent (London)

About the Author

Kate Atkinson is the internationally bestselling author of the novels Life After Life, Human Croquet, Case Histories, One Good Turn, the short-story collection, Not the End of the World, and the Jackson Brodie crime series, which was adapted into the BBC TV show Case Histories. She lives in Edinburgh, UK.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Picador; First Edition (August 21, 1997)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312186886
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312186883
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 0.73 x 7.95 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 2,712 ratings

About the author

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Kate Atkinson
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Kate Atkinson is an international bestselling novelist, as well as playwright and short story writer. She is the author of Life After Life; Transcription; Behind the Scenes at the Museum, a Whitbread Book of the Year winner; the story collection Not the End of the World; and five novels in the Jackson Brodie crime series, which was adapted into the BBC TV show Case Histories.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
2,712 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers praise the book for its unique storytelling style and well-written writing. They find the humor witty and the characters interesting. The plot features time travel and a sense of time shifting. Overall, customers enjoy the engaging story and character development.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

81 customers mention "Storytelling style"64 positive17 negative

Customers find the storytelling style engaging and unique. They appreciate the author's crafty writing, descriptive passages, imaginative plot, magical realism, drama, and wonderful rendering of family dynamics.

"...Her writing is so superb. I loved the story and how she got into the mind of the main character. There was laugh out loud humor...." Read more

"...The book plays with reader expectations, genre, the notion of secrets, and in doing so examines the minutiae of the everyday, and explores the adult..." Read more

"...Some comments on this book called it weird - I found it sad, strange and captivating...." Read more

"...Unlike the later structured mysteries, this book is a riot of magical realism, full of literary allusions, and impressive, though something of a..." Read more

53 customers mention "Writing quality"41 positive12 negative

Customers find the writing quality of the book engaging and well-crafted. They appreciate the author's language and style, describing it as readable, sophisticated, and a light read. The themes are clearly presented with vivid imagery and detail. Readers also appreciate the clever use of linguistic references to time. Overall, the writing is described as poetic, comical, cruel, and delicate.

"...The prose is simply lovely and some of the ideas expressed are timeless and erudite and have you reaching for a highlighter in order to recall them...." Read more

"I love Kate Atkinson and even in this book she writes well, draws compelling characters and her book structure cannot be faulted, but I found the..." Read more

"...characters say or mostly think something amusing it's so real & relatable not forced...." Read more

"...have probably done without the Shakespeare part, but it was really a gread read!!!" Read more

34 customers mention "Humor"34 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the humor in the book. They find the prose humorous, witty, and entertaining in a dark way. The author adds subtle humor through her astute writing style.

"...There was laugh out loud humor. There were moments I went, "What!? Did that just happen?" I highly recommend this book to all." Read more

"...Moving, haunting, at times funny, always strange and yet familiar, the novel shifts points of view from first to third person and a cocky omniscient..." Read more

"...But I must say I really loved this book - Kate Atkinson's wry sense of humor tickles me...." Read more

"...It’s confusing but impressive and surprisingly funny." Read more

27 customers mention "Character development"23 positive4 negative

Customers enjoy the character development. They find the characters interesting, with complete changes of scenes. The plots are rich and complicated, with drama and wry humor. The narration is described as cocky and omniscient, with a great drama and good characterisation.

"...novel shifts points of view from first to third person and a cocky omniscient narrator who through Isobel also functions like a Greek chorus, or a..." Read more

"I love Kate Atkinson and even in this book she writes well, draws compelling characters and her book structure cannot be faulted, but I found the..." Read more

"...As always, her writing is exquisite, her character sketches are brilliant, and reality gets a bit fuzzy...." Read more

"...Her main character was still well drawn and very absorbing. I felt as though she fell back on clichés for the secondary characters...." Read more

9 customers mention "Time travel"9 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the time travel in the book. They say it's supernatural, schizophrenic delusions or dreams, and that the main character can slip through time back to the Elizabethan era. The sense of time shifting rather than outright time travel is appreciated by readers. The loopy chronology and humor add to the excellent plots, which include mystery, suspense, history, and a coming-of-age story.

"...Unlike Charles, Isobel appears to have the ability to slip through time, back to the Elizabethan period, and thus her life becomes this peculiar..." Read more

"In this peculiar novel Kate Atkinson flirts with parallel worlds, time travel, shape shifting, aliens, an ancient curse, madness, and more than one..." Read more

"...I liked the sense of ‘time shifting’ as opposed to outright time travel. This story is very subtle and multi-layered...." Read more

"...with elements of science fiction (time travel), mystery/suspense, history, and a coming of age story...." Read more

6 customers mention "Age range"6 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's age range. They find the characters interesting and well-crafted. The story provides an insightful look into the thoughts and feelings of a young girl through her perspective on life.

"...the novel has this magic realist/mystical element it’s also a coming-of-age-story, a tale of familial and suburban dysfunction, murder,..." Read more

"...science fiction (time travel), mystery/suspense, history, and a coming of age story...." Read more

"...But it affords a, sometimes heart-rending, insight into the thoughts and feelings of a young girl and into the genteel - and not so genteel - lives..." Read more

"Unusual storytelling method. Highly intelligent teenager looks at life from many angles...." Read more

6 customers mention "Interest"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book interesting and fun. They describe it as a light read.

"...in the air and off we went again on a not always comfortable, but interesting ride." Read more

"...It's a wild ride if nothing else and the perfect book for those of us who struggle with contemplations of predestination, free will, and alternate..." Read more

"...A rather unique way of developing a story, but always interesting...." Read more

"...I recommend this book, which is hard to describe but altogether interesting and smart." Read more

38 customers mention "Pacing"20 positive18 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book. Some find it brilliant and talented, while others feel the end seems rushed and disappointing.

"...It is a little different genre than her other books. Her writing is so superb...." Read more

"...cannot be faulted, but I found the book as a whole a bit weird and unsatisfying. I was glad I read it, but I will not pick it up again." Read more

"...All the world and time is Atkinson's stage, and this is certainly an ambitious and clever novel that offers alternative readings of not only scenes,..." Read more

"...tried to tie all the loose ends but her end seemed rushed and not very satisfying...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2013
    I absolutely loved this book. I have read most of Kate Atkinson's books, but this is by far the best. It is a little different genre than her other books. Her writing is so superb. I loved the story and how she got into the mind of the main character. There was laugh out loud humor. There were moments I went, "What!? Did that just happen?" I highly recommend this book to all.
    3 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2014
    This was such an odd book. I started it a few months ago and had to put it aside as it simply didn’t engage me. Then, having finished another of Atkinson's books (When Will There Be Good News) and not wanting to move away from her writing, I picked this one up again, started from the beginning once more, and couldn't put it down.
    Ostensibly the story of Isobel Fairfax, a young British woman who at an early age, along with her unattractive younger brother, Charles, "loses" her mother. Unlike Charles, Isobel appears to have the ability to slip through time, back to the Elizabethan period, and thus her life becomes this peculiar negotiation of time, space and people. Though the novel has this magic realist/mystical element it’s also a coming-of-age-story, a tale of familial and suburban dysfunction, murder, disappearances, secrets and lies, and an exploration of the ties that bind and tear us apart. The novel takes the reader on a remarkable journey through Isobel's childhood, adolescence and that of her parents and forebears, exposing warts, flaws, mistakes, triumphs and tragedies.
    Capturing the essence of the 1960s as well as war-time London, the characteristics of class, neighborhoods and the passion and heartbreak of relationships of all kind, this pseudo and quite dark fairy-tale is remarkable. Moving, haunting, at times funny, always strange and yet familiar, the novel shifts points of view from first to third person and a cocky omniscient narrator who through Isobel also functions like a Greek chorus, or a Shakespearian player setting the scene and passing commentary upon what unfolds. The book plays with reader expectations, genre, the notion of secrets, and in doing so examines the minutiae of the everyday, and explores the adult world from a child's point of view and vice versa.
    All the world and time is Atkinson's stage, and this is certainly an ambitious and clever novel that offers alternative readings of not only scenes, but characters' interpretations of events. What the reader accepts is up to her or him, but nothing is predictable.
    The prose is simply lovely and some of the ideas expressed are timeless and erudite and have you reaching for a highlighter in order to recall them. This story won't appeal to everyone, and it’s very different in so many ways from Atkinson’s other books, but if you cast aside expectations and go for the ride, it's one you won't forget in a hurry.
    25 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2013
    I love Kate Atkinson and even in this book she writes well, draws compelling characters and her book structure cannot be faulted, but I found the book as a whole a bit weird and unsatisfying. I was glad I read it, but I will not pick it up again.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2015
    I'm not going to summarize the plot as I know it has been done very well elsewhere. But I must say I really loved this book - Kate Atkinson's wry sense of humor tickles me. It isn't something used often yet when the characters say or mostly think something amusing it's so real & relatable not forced. Some comments on this book called it weird - I found it sad, strange and captivating. The characters made me feel like I really knew them and made me want their stories to work out for the best. Sometimes parents are too self centered to realize how easily their children are affected. I wish I could put this better! But I highly recommend anyone to read it.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2015
    The Atkinson books which I know best were written after the publication of this British award winner in 1997. Unlike the later structured mysteries, this book is a riot of magical realism, full of literary allusions, and impressive, though something of a slog to read. The story is narrated by 16-year-old Isobel whose personal history and imaginary history are told in dreams, flashbacks, and memories which may or may not be true. She and her brother at a young age “lose” their mother when she wanders off on the day of a picnic in the woods. Soon their father disappears as well but after seven years he returns with an Australian wife. They share a family home with Vinny, who may be father Gordon’s mother, and the Widow who may be his grandmother. The older women hate the children’s mother Eliza and after her disappearance, the Widow may have died after falling down the stairs because of tripping on young Charles’ toys. Meanwhile the neighbor and headmaster at the local school may have fathered a child by his own young daughter; he dies, but whether by his own hand or by his wife’s soup is uncertain. The baby, meanwhile, is actually lost due to a miscarriage. Isobel’s love interest may have died in a car accident or run off to Australia. These are only some of the story’s many optional versions. It’s confusing but impressive and surprisingly funny.
    3 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

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  • Anon
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant novel
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 20, 2024
    As ever with Kate Atkinson this is an extremely well written, intriguing and enjoyable read.
  • Julian Vertefeuille
    3.0 out of 5 stars Difficile lettura
    Reviewed in Italy on June 13, 2023
    testo e contesto molto difficili da seguire; scrittura ricca ma ermetica. Ho abbandonato a metà
  • Colchicum
    5.0 out of 5 stars Should be better known.
    Reviewed in Canada on November 3, 2016
    Kate Atkinson is a five star writer for me whatever she writes, so although this isn't quite as good as her best it still gets all of them on an absolute scale. A clear followup to "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" and in a similar style, and also a forerunner of "Life after Life' and "A God in Ruins". All are about disfunctional families in the early to mid 20th century with one member serving in the RAF! But the details are different of course, and she is experimenting with different ways of relating the influence of the past on the present. In this one it is in the form of hallucinatory time travel, and tells the story of her family within a single day's events - the 16th birthday of the narrator, Isobel Fairfax. The characters are well drawn, interesting and real, but it is the writing that excels, full of wit, word play and literary allusions that make you feel well read when you pick some of the up!
  • Evangeline
    5.0 out of 5 stars poetisch und witzig zugleich
    Reviewed in Germany on April 11, 2016
    Erzählt wird die Geschichte aus der Sicht von Isobel, der (fast) allwissenden Erzählerin, die immer wieder, unversehens für kurze Momente in der Vergangenheit landet. Jedoch erhalten wir auch Hinweise auf die Vergangenheit von neutraler Seite, die immer wieder eingeflochten werden. Einer sehr alten Vergangenheit - so uralt, wie die alte Eiche, die vor dem Haus der Famlie steht - und der etwas jüngeren Vergangenheit der Familie.

    Die Mutter von Isobel und ihrem Bruder, so heißt es, hat die Familie verlassen und auch der Vater war sehr lange weg. Großgezogen werden die Kinder von einer eisernen Lady in Gestalt der Großmutter und einer verdrießlichen, verwitweten Tante.

    In einer sehr witzigen, aber auch poetischen Sprache und mit vielen Wortspielereien wird die Geschichte der Familie erzählt und ich würde, wenn möglich, empfehlen, das Buch unbedingt in der Originalsprache zu lesen. Es ist eine Familiengeschichte, ebenso wie ein Thriller und jede Seite ein Vergnügen. Ein tolles Buch, das ich uneingeschränkt weiter empfehlen kann, weil es eine so unverwechselbare Sprache hat und einen so großen Gedankenschatz.
  • C.Dupouy
    4.0 out of 5 stars Human Croquet
    Reviewed in France on December 30, 2013
    Je suis fan de Kate Atkinson et aime presque tout ses livres. Un peu moins bien que le Jackson Brodie série, quand même j'ai passé un très bon moment.