I really did try reading this book but after 4 chapters, had to give in to defeat. It really wasn't for me, I do love an uplifting book and this most certainly wasn't ( )

Pure entertainment, on a par with Wodehouse, although there is more characterisation; a delightful confection.
Sprightly, full of itself and exuding an overwrought 1920’s joie de vivre after the horrors of the First World War, this is a seductively moreish read. Short chapters tell the story from multiple perspectives, set in 1926 London, using flashbacks to fill in the characters’ backstories.
And it’s a fun story, knowing and sometimes arch, plotted like an intricate dance, a complicated clockwork carousel with plenty of coincidences, and although humorous like Wodehouse, it doesn’t descend into farce. However Atkinson does delightfully ham up her characters at times, and includes many throwaway literary quotes (one character is a librarian and the police detective is well read). ( )

I almost didn't read this after reading enough mixed reviews to think it might not be worth the time, but I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed it. My favorite novels by [[Atkinson]] are [Life After Life] and [A God in Ruins], and this new novel is definitely different than those. It doesn't have the innovation present in her earlier works. But what it does have is a great cast of characters that I connected to immediately.

There are A LOT of characters to keep track of in this novel, but I found that Atkinson connects them enough and they all had enough personality to keep my interest and keep them separate in my mind. The novel revolves around Nellie Coker, who runs a network of clubs in 1920s London, and her family. They are in a crisis point, where Nellie has gained enough success to also draw negative attention from both the police and her business competitors. The parallel story is of two girls who run away from home to London to try to make it in show business. You can guess how that goes! A detective, Frobisher, and a family friend of the girls, Gwendolen Kelling, bridge the two stories.

I think that after reading a couple of dark books (I'm looking at you [Demon Copperhead]!), reading a book that could have stayed really dismal but didn't was very appealing. Even the "bad" characters (except one) have some redeeming qualities or a sense of humor.

I'm not going to widely recommend this, because I do see the faults in it (the plot isn't very tightly constructed and I don't think she really nailed 1920s London). However, I really enjoyed it and I'm glad I read it! ( )

I really did try reading this book but after 4 chapters, had to give in to defeat. It really wasn't for me, I do love an uplifting book and this most certainly wasn't ( )

Fun, easy, breezy read set in the 1920s nightclub scene. Not much to the story, however. ( )