Kate Atkinson’s immersive and wry novel is set eight years after the Great War in London’s Soho district. There, Nellie Coker runs an empire of glittery nightclubs on the fringes of the law. Of course, she does so with the help of her grown children and a shady policeman. But her enemies are after her.
Shrines of Gaiety shimmers and sparkles with vivid characters, a couple of mysteries (Who is killing those young women? Who is out for Nellie’s fortune?), and a little romance. Young women, including a librarian who served as a battlefield nurse, search for life and meaning without a man. After all, given the immense casualties of the war, good men were few and far between.
A few quotes to share…
“At no point in the war or after, including the Armistice and the Peace, did Niven ever think anyone had won. He no longer had the patience for people’s foibles. No patience for people at all. No time for religion, no time for scruples, no time for feelings. Niven’s heart appeared adamantine, fired in the crucible of the war.”
“She realized now that she should have found a way to take matters into her own hands, but one grief after another—her brothers, Father, the money, not to mention the war itself—had taken its toll on her and she had allowed herself to be worn down on the grindstone of Mother.”
“Men talked in order to convey information or to ruminate on cricket scores and campaign statistics. Women, on the other hand, talked in an effort to understand the foibles of human behaviour. If men were to “gossip,” the world might be a better place. There would certainly be fewer wars.”
“Lying came easily to Niven, he thought of it as a means of protecting the truth.”
“A woman in her sixth decade, dressed in everyday drab, is more invisible than a librarian.”
“Life was for absorbing, not recording. And in the end, it was all just paper that someone would have to dispose of after you were gone. Perhaps, after all, one’s purpose in this world was to be forgotten, not remembered.”
Atkinson’s wit and love of language made for an entertaining and compelling ride. Both the setting and the characters are richly drawn. And she doesn’t shy away from pulling back now and then to insert the author into the narrative. Fortunately, her skill allows her to do it deftly and seamlessly. Recommend– as I do all of her work, especially Life After Life.
Lorie Smith Schaefer 