Emotionally Weird
by Kate Atkinson
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Effie, a college student, and her mother bond in a remote Scottish house.Tags
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This 2005 novel, the author's third, has been completely eclipsed by her Jackson Brodie series and by Life After Life, the 2013 Costa Book award winner. But the seeds of her better known outstanding later efforts are clearly and hilariously planted here. Effie, a student of mysterious parentage, is studying for an English literature degree at a third rate college in bleak Dundee, Scotland. She is challenged by a sloth of a boyfriend who majors in sleep and in Star Wars; by pedantic professors who make enigmatic pronouncements based on quotes from philosophers and literary critics rendered insensibly didactic; by her fellow students, a motley gloomy bunch; and by her mother, who has finally agreed to share the details of Effie's lineage show more with her. The vast numbers of characters is a bone of contention with mother Nora, as both she and Effie spin their Scheherazade-like tales, supplemented by the addition of a detective novel Effie is writing on the side. Really big good fun and very singular in the structure of multiple stories presented as Jenga blocks built on each other, and at the end, remarkably, the structure stays intact! show less
This is a book of stories: The stories we tell ourselves. The stories we tell each other. The stories we create to entertain. I think this is the last of Atkinson's novels, so far, that I hadn't yet read, and I wonder what I would've thought about it had I read it before her more recent efforts. She has a way with words, especially metaphors and similes, both on full display here. And it feels, to me, like a precursor for her more complex storytelling of Life After Life (which for some reason I didn't review here -- at least, I can't find a review for it here), which explored alternate versions of reality.
The stories here are the ones Effie and her mother, Nora (who isn't her mother), tell while holed up in a creaky old house on a show more remote island off the coast of Scotland in the 1970s. Effie is telling the story of her recent college exploits, while Nora reluctantly tells of their family history. There are other stories, too, including the mystery novel Effie is writing, as well as excerpts from books being written by other characters, both professors and fellow students.
Effie's story provides the backbone of the book, and the chance to rewrite reality when Nora doesn't like some detail, or when Effie feels like embellishing something. But at its essence, the truth of Effie's story is only what Effie can provide via her limited perspective, the richer story revealed as Nora's story, and more, are woven into Effie's. Thankfully, the use of multiple fonts makes this sufficiently easy to follow. I hope I don't have a long wait for Atkinson's next novel. show less
The stories here are the ones Effie and her mother, Nora (who isn't her mother), tell while holed up in a creaky old house on a show more remote island off the coast of Scotland in the 1970s. Effie is telling the story of her recent college exploits, while Nora reluctantly tells of their family history. There are other stories, too, including the mystery novel Effie is writing, as well as excerpts from books being written by other characters, both professors and fellow students.
Effie's story provides the backbone of the book, and the chance to rewrite reality when Nora doesn't like some detail, or when Effie feels like embellishing something. But at its essence, the truth of Effie's story is only what Effie can provide via her limited perspective, the richer story revealed as Nora's story, and more, are woven into Effie's. Thankfully, the use of multiple fonts makes this sufficiently easy to follow. I hope I don't have a long wait for Atkinson's next novel. show less
Consisting of multiple novels-within-novels, Emotionally Weird sees Atkinson writing with her tongue stuck firmly in cheek. Metafiction at its most humorous, the book pokes fun at academia and amateur writers and the conventions of Atkinson's usual genre, the detective/mystery story, and there are plenty of giggle-worthy moments. If you're someone who really needs a plot to carry you through a story, this mightn't be the book for you; myself, I found the characters so idiosyncratic and engaging that I didn't really care. And, being set in Dundee and the glorious Kingdom of Fife, I liked being able to return to those places I'd grown to know so well.
Although Kate Atkinson is probably best known for her excellent crime novels about former police detective Jackson Brodie, I think I prefer her non-crime novels. It’s a tough comparison for me to make because I’ve listened to three of her crime novels and read two of her non-crime books in print, so the experience is different. But at this point, probably because I’ve just come off the sheer joy of reading it, Emotionally Weird is my favorite.
Effie, the first-person narrator of Emotionally Weird, is 21 years old. As the novel begins, we learn that her mother, Nora, is a virgin (“trust me,” says Effie, immediately after this opening). Effie, named for her mother’s sister, knows nothing about her extended family or about how show more she came to be Nora’s daughter. She has come to an isolated island, a piece of family property handed down to her mother even though Nora says “the idea of land ownership is absurd, not to mention politically incorrect. But, whether she likes it or not, she is empress of all she surveys. Although that is mostly water.”
Most of the book is not about Effie’s life with Nora, however. It’s about her life as a literature student at Dundee University. She’s a half-hearted student at best. She seems to spend most of her time going to class as little as possible and putting off doing her assignments, which include a paper on George Eliot, one on Henry James, and a crime novel for her creative writing course. Her professors are all quirky and eccentric, and the students are too. Frankly, there are too many students to keep track of, a point that Nora makes when she suddenly pipes in early in the book.
Yes, my friends, we have here a work of meta-fiction. Effie tells her story, Nora interrupts. Effie comments on her choices. Effie asks Nora to tell her own story, to clue Effie in on their own past. Nora dodges. Effie remains the main narrator, with Nora serving only as an interlocutor, and Atkinson uses different typefaces to make the shifts in time clear.
Eventually, the story does appear to spin out of control, with too many characters, too many motifs, too many threads, but that’s kind of the point. This is a book about the telling of tales, not about a university student and her mother, although their relationship is important—and their story does have a satisfying ending. The idea of story is emphasized through the appearance of samples of the various characters' writing throughout the pages. (Each set in its own appropriate typeface.)
Somehow, with the magic of her voice, Atkinson makes this all work. Instead of feeling overstuffed, this book felt filled with delights and surprises—something new on every page. And even when the story appears to be out of Effie’s control, it seems to be clearly in Atkinson’s control.
With Atkinson, though, the story is scarcely the point. I just love her voice. I could fill this review with one comical quote after another. There’s something about Atkinson’s humor that suits me perfectly. I know I’ve mentioned before that I have a low tolerance for quirkiness, but Atkinson makes quirk work.
See my complete review on my blog. show less
Effie, the first-person narrator of Emotionally Weird, is 21 years old. As the novel begins, we learn that her mother, Nora, is a virgin (“trust me,” says Effie, immediately after this opening). Effie, named for her mother’s sister, knows nothing about her extended family or about how show more she came to be Nora’s daughter. She has come to an isolated island, a piece of family property handed down to her mother even though Nora says “the idea of land ownership is absurd, not to mention politically incorrect. But, whether she likes it or not, she is empress of all she surveys. Although that is mostly water.”
Most of the book is not about Effie’s life with Nora, however. It’s about her life as a literature student at Dundee University. She’s a half-hearted student at best. She seems to spend most of her time going to class as little as possible and putting off doing her assignments, which include a paper on George Eliot, one on Henry James, and a crime novel for her creative writing course. Her professors are all quirky and eccentric, and the students are too. Frankly, there are too many students to keep track of, a point that Nora makes when she suddenly pipes in early in the book.
Yes, my friends, we have here a work of meta-fiction. Effie tells her story, Nora interrupts. Effie comments on her choices. Effie asks Nora to tell her own story, to clue Effie in on their own past. Nora dodges. Effie remains the main narrator, with Nora serving only as an interlocutor, and Atkinson uses different typefaces to make the shifts in time clear.
Eventually, the story does appear to spin out of control, with too many characters, too many motifs, too many threads, but that’s kind of the point. This is a book about the telling of tales, not about a university student and her mother, although their relationship is important—and their story does have a satisfying ending. The idea of story is emphasized through the appearance of samples of the various characters' writing throughout the pages. (Each set in its own appropriate typeface.)
Somehow, with the magic of her voice, Atkinson makes this all work. Instead of feeling overstuffed, this book felt filled with delights and surprises—something new on every page. And even when the story appears to be out of Effie’s control, it seems to be clearly in Atkinson’s control.
With Atkinson, though, the story is scarcely the point. I just love her voice. I could fill this review with one comical quote after another. There’s something about Atkinson’s humor that suits me perfectly. I know I’ve mentioned before that I have a low tolerance for quirkiness, but Atkinson makes quirk work.
See my complete review on my blog. show less
I think this my favourite Kate Atkinson book. It's the story of Effie Andrews, told by Effie Andrews to her 'mother' Nora and sub-edited real time by Nora. It's interspersed with the novels of fellow students at Dundee university and with Effie's own Detective novel.
Effie's mother isn't her mother, her grandmother isn't her grandmother and her father is unknown, there are various murders, and a disreputable private detective.
The structure is completely nuts, but the book made me laugh out loud throughout, I especially loved the domestic life of Effie and Bob, the lazy, Star Trek loving, Philosophy student who talks in his sleep.
It's Nora's own story that eventually leads Effie to the truth about her parents.
Effie's mother isn't her mother, her grandmother isn't her grandmother and her father is unknown, there are various murders, and a disreputable private detective.
The structure is completely nuts, but the book made me laugh out loud throughout, I especially loved the domestic life of Effie and Bob, the lazy, Star Trek loving, Philosophy student who talks in his sleep.
It's Nora's own story that eventually leads Effie to the truth about her parents.
I used to read between 100 and 150 books a year. The past couple of years, that total's been more like five to ten. I've read some really good books this year. I've even recommended them to friends. But Emotionally Weird by Kate Atkinson is the first one I've read in a while that reminded me that reading can be pure joy. Atkinson loves to play with words, and she has such wit.
This book is all about story. Truth, fiction, it doesn't really matter, it's all in the telling. And Atkinson tells a great story. Or two or three, in this case. I won't tell you about the plot. There isn't all that much of one, to be honest. But you can't help plowing through the book anyway (less than a day for me) because of the joy of the language. Who can show more resist descriptions like these?
"Martha, an Amherst type, was a poet in her forties whom no-one in the department had ever heard of. She wrote poetry with impenetrable syntax about a life where nothing ever happened. Her poems had titles like 'Abstraction Or [#3]' (and your hair, blurred with/rain makes me think/of the obliquity of existence) and had just published a new collection called Cherry-Picking in Vermont, which she carried around with her everywhere like a passport, as if she might be asked to prove who she was."
"At times, in fact, Dr Dick seemed more English than an Englishman. He had attended a minor Home Counties public school before progressing to Oxford, where he had helped to found a real ale society. He could recite, in his fruity accent, every member of the English cricket team since time began. ('What a wanker,' was Bob's laconic verdict.)"
I found myself reading passages aloud just because they were so much fun to hear.
If you haven't read Atkinson before, you should. This one or Behind the Scenes at the Museum would be great places to start. show less
This book is all about story. Truth, fiction, it doesn't really matter, it's all in the telling. And Atkinson tells a great story. Or two or three, in this case. I won't tell you about the plot. There isn't all that much of one, to be honest. But you can't help plowing through the book anyway (less than a day for me) because of the joy of the language. Who can show more resist descriptions like these?
"Martha, an Amherst type, was a poet in her forties whom no-one in the department had ever heard of. She wrote poetry with impenetrable syntax about a life where nothing ever happened. Her poems had titles like 'Abstraction Or [#3]' (and your hair, blurred with/rain makes me think/of the obliquity of existence) and had just published a new collection called Cherry-Picking in Vermont, which she carried around with her everywhere like a passport, as if she might be asked to prove who she was."
"At times, in fact, Dr Dick seemed more English than an Englishman. He had attended a minor Home Counties public school before progressing to Oxford, where he had helped to found a real ale society. He could recite, in his fruity accent, every member of the English cricket team since time began. ('What a wanker,' was Bob's laconic verdict.)"
I found myself reading passages aloud just because they were so much fun to hear.
If you haven't read Atkinson before, you should. This one or Behind the Scenes at the Museum would be great places to start. show less
Very funny and interesting. Not quite like any other book I've ever read, the plot kept me going until the very end and I was actually surprised by the unveiling! The criss-cross of narrative and stories is very well delivered and I love that the writer herself is heard through out the story. Gives you the feeling that you're a part of the writing.
The characters are amazingly portraied. I would seriously be up for spending an afternoon drinking tee with Professor Cousins, Mrs MacBeth and Mrs McCue. Not at the McCue's house though, that sounded kind of disgusting. I wonder if the salmon's still there...
Just read this book. if not for anything else, for the fact that Bob discovered the meaning of life. Deep stuff!
The characters are amazingly portraied. I would seriously be up for spending an afternoon drinking tee with Professor Cousins, Mrs MacBeth and Mrs McCue. Not at the McCue's house though, that sounded kind of disgusting. I wonder if the salmon's still there...
Just read this book. if not for anything else, for the fact that Bob discovered the meaning of life. Deep stuff!
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Emotionally Weird'' is really two intertwining stories that make for one gangly comic novel. As the book opens, Effie and her mother, Nora, have sequestered themselves in Nora's large, dank family home off the coast of Scotland, where they've decided to wrap themselves in shawls and blankets and tell each other stories. Effie regales her mother with a semi-surreal adventure about her life as a show more student at Dundee; her narrative includes an array of oddball teachers, a yellow dog that's hit by a car only to be miraculously brought back to life, and a hapless stoner boyfriend named Bob, for whom the Klingons on ''Star Trek'' are as real as ''the French or the Germans, more real certainly than, say, Luxembourgers.'' The madcap tale she spins is made even more mysterious by the fact that someone just may be following her, and she has no idea why.
Nora's story is more gothic, more tragic, and it involves a series of secrets about Effie's past. It's darker and more conventional than Effie's story, but it's also more engaging, perhaps because it's much more economical. Effie's story, on the other hand, goes on. And on. show less
Nora's story is more gothic, more tragic, and it involves a series of secrets about Effie's past. It's darker and more conventional than Effie's story, but it's also more engaging, perhaps because it's much more economical. Effie's story, on the other hand, goes on. And on. show less
added by KayCliff
While the narrators' constant backtalk can be tiresome, Atkinson's clever and sophisticated prose preserves the voices' sparkling energy. Readers may guess the family secret before it is revealed, but that doesn't steal any thunder from the unsettling and utterly original denouement.
added by KayCliff
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Author Information
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Kate Atkinson was born in York, and studied English Literature at the University of Dundee. She earned her Masters Degree from Dundee in 1974. She then went on to study for a doctorate in American Literature but she failed at the viva (oral examination) stage. After leaving the university, she took on a variety of jobs from home help to legal show more secretary and teacher. Her first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, won the 1995 Whitbread Book of the Year ahead of Salman Rushdie's The Moor's Last Sigh and Roy Jenkins's biography of William Ewart Gladstone. It went on to be a Sunday Times bestseller. Since then, she has published another five novels, one play, and one collection of short stories. Her work is often celebrated for its wit, wisdom and subtle characterisation, and the surprising twists and plot turns. Her most recent work has featured the popular former detective Jackson Brodie. In 2009, she donated the short story Lucky We Live Now to Oxfam's 'Ox-Tales' project, four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. Atkinson's story was published in the 'Earth' collection. In March 2010, Atkinson appeared at the York Literature Festival, giving a world-premier reading from an early chapter from her forthcoming novel Started Early, Took My Dog, which is set mainly in the English city of Leeds. Atkinson's bestselling novel, Life after Life, has won numerous awards, including the COSTA Novel Award for 2013. The follow-up to Life After Life is A God in Ruins and was published in 2015. This title won a Costa Book Award 2015 in the novel category. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Geschift
- Original title
- Emotionally Weird
- Original publication date
- 2000
- People/Characters
- Euphemia Stuart-Murray (Effie); Nora Stuart-Murray
- Important places
- Dundee, Scotland, UK
- Dedication
- For Lesley Denby, nee Allison, with love.
- First words
- Inspector Jack Gannett drove into Saltsea-on-Sea along the coast road.
- Quotations
- Maggie Mackenzie's long iron-gray hair began each day anchored or plaited or rolled in a variety of vaguely Victorian styles but by lunchtime it had begun to work its way free of restraints and encumbrances and by midafternoo... (show all)n she had the appearance of someone leading a tribe of ancient Britons into battle, a gnarled warrior queen bearing grudges.
Andrea was a grammar-school girl from the middle echelons of North Yorkshire Society.... she was studying to be a witch.... Chewing suggestively on the end of her Biro, Andrea hitched up her pioneer-woman skirt and slowly cro... (show all)ssed her legs. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)So, yes, Jack Gannet thought, this is how it begins...
- Original language
- English
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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