I really enjoyed Behind the Scenes at the Museum for its twisted up story and uncertain narration but I could never get into Atkinson’s second book Human Croquet, I must try again. I picked up this book in the book shop in two minds about whether to try it and it grabbed me instantly and I’ve really enjoyed reading it.

As in Museum I was never quite sure where this story was going or what the main storyline was but the writing pulled me in and carried me along on a tide of interesting happenings and witty asides.

Most of the book is set at the University of Dundee in 1972 with a cast of characters as long as your arm. The many students and staff could have become an amorphous mass of academics but that is exactly what they are not and the individualness of each character is one of the book’s major strengths.

Sometimes I felt it would have been nice to have had more of a hint of the destination of the runaway prose train but mainly this is the type of book where the reader is along for the ride and has to trust the author to put the pieces together eventually. Atkinson does put the pieces together superbly and this tale is a mystery of its own kind. Highly recommended if you aren’t too concerned with knowing what’s going on for the first 350 pages of a book.