There are now 5 Jackson Brodie novels written by Kate Atkinson whose literary fame began with ‘Behind The Scenes At The Museum’ in 1995. She has won many awards and indeed has had her work translated into the medium of television. I am definitely having a moment with her books. I have read (and loved) 1. ‘Case Histories’, 2. ‘One Good Turn’, 3. ‘When Will There Be Good News?’, 4. ‘Started Early Took The Dog’, and number 5, which is a new treat waiting for me, ‘Big Sky’. This is such satisfying, enjoyable reading which I really needed, having just read Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. Oh, my goodness, such dystopia. However, we won’t go there just now. Suffice it to say that I won’t be reading the sequel (‘The Testaments’) or catching up on the TV series.
Jackson Brodie is the ex-army man, ex- police and security and now private investigator with a problematic and complicated past. There are so many layers to his character that Kate Atkinson could write many more books with him as the main focus. He is tough but hugely empathetic. He wonders quite how he arrived at where he is in life. Does life happen to you, or do you live and die by your own decisions?
It struck me that I find many similarities between this writing and that of the author Elly Griffiths (she of the Dr. Ruth Galloway and DCI Harry Nelson books). I think it is partly the author’s ability to write humorously just under the surface. There is much humour to be found in everyday life but you have to be prepared to look for it and here, as the reader, you are complicit in the joke. Sometimes it is ironic, sometimes quite dark but on several occasions, particularly in ‘Started Early’, I did laugh out loud. In this particular Jackson Brodie book, we meet the character of Tracy Waterhouse. She is recently retired from the police force, not quite sure what to do next with her life, single, overweight and a classic over-thinker. She reminded me considerably of Ruth Galloway and the way in which both writers allow us into the minds of their characters. Quite frequently you recognise the thoughts and empathy flows. As for Jackson Brodie, well, most readers, particularly females, find seeing the softer side of a tough male character very attractive.
I think it is very clever, intelligent writing that allows humour into novels that are to all intents and purposes detective stories; crime novels. In Kate Atkinson’s case she fills the stories with fractured worlds, missing girls and a degree of violence. Brodie, always in the middle of it all, is a solver of mysteries whilst often feeling that he remains a mystery to himself.
In ‘When Will There Be Good News?’ you are presented with what seem to be a disparate set of characters and circumstances. Atkinson’s skill is to knit them all together such that the pattern is revealed to the reader gradually, not allowing the plot to unravel all at once. Done well, this adds tension to the writing and keeps the reader excited all the way through.
These Jackson Brodie books are the sort of novels that find me looking forward to going to bed, to sink into that half hour, or more, of delightful, uninterrupted reading. These books are all available cheaply as good second-hand copies from Amazon and other sites. I truly recommend them to you. As always, the greatest pleasure is derived from reading them in order.
The late Fay Weldon, in a review I recently read, commented that Kate Atkinson bridges the gap between commercial and literary fiction. I agree with her and am quite clear in my head as to what constitutes literary fiction. I find I can recognise it but please don’t ask me to define it.