Behind the Scenes at the Museum, by Kate Atkinson

Throughout the story of Ruby Lennox there are some objects that keep appearing at different moments of her family's history, like the glass button and the rabbit's paw. Such objects seem to be the only references that conjure up the slightest notion of a museum, because mainly this is a serious tale of life's ups and downs; those that we bring upon ourselves (such as running off with door-to-door photographer in an attempt to escape the drudgery of motherhood), and those that are beyond our control, such as fire, war and traffic accidents.
I admit I got halfway through the book and had to start again as I had lost track of the characters - Ruby does leap about a bit in her retelling of the family history which can be confusing and requires the reader to assemble the story rather like a jigsaw. In fact, once you have created the whole picture, you need to go back to the beginning to discover all the details that you have missed, such as the references to Ruby's twin sister.
Ruby's role as first person narrator is somewhat voyeuristic as she recounts family events through photos, places and objects. It is her narrator's omniscience that gives you the sense of looking at a museum archive and watching a soap opera at the same time. Finally Ruby has to escape the clutches of her family ties (rather like her great grandmother) and she launches off into a life where she does have some control over her ups and downs.
Now, have a look at your own possessions and family heirlooms. How many of them have been passed on to you by a relative? What historical dramas have they witnessed? How do they link you to your ancestry and to the eras before you were born? What's behind the scenes of your museum?

Sea Room by Adam Nicolson

Lynne chose this book as a result of having heard it reviewed by Mariella Frostrup on Radio 4's Book Club. This book has received some exceedingly positive reviews, see:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2004/may/16/travel.features

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2002/jun/30/features.review

It is one distinction of this book that there was (for once) unanimous agreement amongst the members of the book club regarding their opinion of it. Everyone agreed that this book was:

• over long;
• unnecessarily verbose;
• of limited interest to anyone other than the author and his family;
• lacking in narrative structure;
• poorly edited;
• self-indulgent;
• and perhaps most damning of all - boring!

It is heartening how the unanimity of opinion in the group made for a warm, lively, friendly discussion.

Lynne's cheesecake was enjoyed by all.

The laurels for best marmalade are still up for grabs!