Reviews

Normal Rules Don't Apply by Kate Atkinson

kathrynw12's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was such a weird little collection of stories, and I loved it. As with any short story collection, some were better than others. The fact that there is overlap among some characters and plot points has no impact on these stories, and you can read them in any order independently of each other. I’ve felt disappointed by Atkinson’s recent novels, so I was delighted by this collection and felt like she was back up to her old tricks - queen of the aside!

mel_reads_moore's review against another edition

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3.0

A little hard for me to follow personally, but I love when story lines come together.

judithisreading's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious slow-paced

3.0

ashteroid's review against another edition

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relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

listened to this and just didn’t really get it or get engaged, but it didn’t really draw me in either. Probs would be a better one to read

suddenlyjamie's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

rebfeil123's review against another edition

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3.0

Love the author. Only liked this book. Some of the stories are pretty good. Others were hard to get through.

carysaj's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A

4.5

The more you read the more you realise the stories are connected in a very weird yet really interesting way. Could easliy read in one sitting

seaswift14's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

natb's review against another edition

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funny mysterious fast-paced

4.0

sch91086's review against another edition

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3.5

A 3.5 star read. Some of the stories were a lot of fun and made me laugh and others I just didn’t really get (Shine Pamela Shine was a weird one.)

But I liked the feeling of interconnectedness between them and keeping an eye out for the little threads that connected each story. Normal rules definitely did not apply and quite a few took unexpected twists.

Favorites from the collection include: The Void, Blithe Spirit, Genesis and What if?

I would like to give one of Atkinson’s full length novels a try for sure.