'Emotionally Weird' by Kate Atkinson is a novel that delves into the lives of college students, particularly focusing on the protagonist Effie, as she navigates through a chaotic and weird college experience. The book intertwines multiple storylines, incorporating elements of mystery, humor, and literary experimentation. Atkinson's writing style is described as brilliant, witty, and humorous, with a unique structure that includes stories within stories and different narrative styles.

Characters:

Characters are eccentric and flawed, providing humor and depth, but also causing confusion with their abundance.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is humorous and experimental, utilizing different fonts and sharp character portrayals to enhance the narrative.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot features the life of Effie, a literature student, and her dynamic with her mother, filled with narrative layers and meta-fiction elements.

Setting:

The setting is a remote Scottish island and 1970s Dundee, enhancing themes of isolation and familial relationships.

Pacing:

Pacing is uneven, occasionally slow, but generally picks up toward the conclusion, offering resolution.

Notes:

Kate Atkinson is known for her crime novels, particularly the Jackson Brodie series, but her non-crime works are also highly regarded.

The protagonist Effie, 21 years old, struggles with her identity and family background, as her mother Nora claims to be a virgin.

The story occurs on a weather-beaten island, a family property passed down to Effie's mother.

Much of the novel focuses on Effie's chaotic life as a literature student at Dundee University during the 1970s.

The narrative uses meta-fictional elements, with different typefaces for Effie's storytelling and samples from her classmates' writing.

Atkinson's humor and quirky characters are highlighted, offering satirical observations of university life.

The novel lacks a central plot, described as a series of interconnected stories with many characters that can be overwhelming.

Effie engages in a lethargic relationship with Bob, a slacker who prefers sleeping and watching Star Trek over academic pursuits.

The stories shared between Effie and Nora explore themes of motherhood and identity, culminating in a twist about Effie's parentage.

Readers appreciate Atkinson's playful language and the joy of reading her work, despite the complex narrative structure.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings include themes related to substance use, disordered eating, and possible sexual content.

From The Publisher:

Emotionally Weird is a thoroughly original and hilarious novel about mothers, daughters, and love, by the author of Behind the Scenes at the Museum

On a weather-beaten island off the coast of Scotland, Effie and her mother, Nora, take refuge in the large, mouldering house of their ancestors and tell each other stories. Nora, at first, recounts nothing that Effie really wants to hear-like who her real father was. Effie tells various versions of her life at college, where in fact she lives in a lethargic relationship with Bob, a student who never goes to lectures, seldom gets out of bed, and to whom Klingons are as real as Spaniards and Germans.

But as mother and daughter spin their tales, strange things are happening around them. Is Effie being followed? Is someone killing the old people? And where is the mysterious yellow dog?

In a brilliant comic narrative which explores the nonsensical power of language and meaning, Kate Atkinson has created another magical masterpiece.

Ratings (2)

It Was OK (2)

Reader Stats (3):

Read It (2)
Want To Read (1)

1 comment(s)

ColorfulLeo92

It Was OK

2 months

I was surprised to see that this was my first book by Kate Atkinson, it's an author I've seen and heard much about but apparently never read before. Sadly this one wasn't a winner that made me over excited to read more by her but I'll give her a few more tries before giving up completely. This had some good moments and it was mildly entertaining although not a book I'll remember for long or take much out of

What can you read after
Emotionally Weird?

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Emotionally Weird

Kate Atkinson