"Normal Rules Don't Apply" by Kate Atkinson

An audio book.

'The Void' - 2028. Barbara's a doctor. Her daughter's moved back to her to be within a school's catchment area. In a 5 minute incident all people who are outside die.

‘Dogs in Jeopardy’ - Franklin goes for a job interview. He's asked questions like "if you were a sanwich, what type would you be?" A horse tells him to bet on it. He wins £10k. Returning to his car, a dog talks to him.

'Blithe Spirit' - Mandy is a ghost. She was married to Greg and worked for a MP, Jonathon.

‘Spellbound’ - A fairy tale (where a childless queen is granted a wish and had a child, but breaks a promise) and a story (about a clergyman's family of 5 daughter and a son) are interleaved - the mother is a fairy-tale expert is is recounting the fairy tale. The princess is told that she and her mother will be released from a spell if she gives the witch a baby boy. A new au pair arrives at the family's house, asking to see the boy.

‘The Indiscreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie’ – Franklin stumbles into a relationship with Connie, 32. She takes him to visit her family. He's asked what instrument he'd like to be.

'Shine, Pamela, Shine!' - a retired, ever-inspiring primary school teacher whose been divorced for 15 years had 2 kids. His re-married ex had 2 kids.

‘Existential Marginalization’ - Tillie's toys dread her. One day she runs into the road and is put on life support until she is "switched off". The father leaves, the mother remarries. She chooses 2 toys to take to their new home and burns the others.

'Classic Quest 17. Crime and punishment' - Franklin and Connie plan a quick marriage. One of her sisters tries to sleep with him. Her father's found stabbed dead. He's arrested.

'Puppies and rainbows' - On a break from a film ("In a time of madness"), US actress Skylar (brought up on a trailer site) visits the Greenacres set, shown around by Franklin. She dates Price Alfie. An under-age porn film of hers is found. She has to give uup the prince though she oves him.

'Gene-sis' -Kittie recreates the world. Unicorns? She tries talking dogs and horses.

'What-if' - Franklin's driving a woman - a new assistant at the studio. She tells him what happened when she turned to the witch with a boy - the witch was dead. After "The divide" (?) the Classic Quest series remained popular, especially with middle-aged women. He gets royalties.

I had an audio book, so making notes was difficult. There may well be mistakes in the above. I'm unconvinced that all the interconnections are fruitful. The stories are entertaining a paragraph at a time, but I don't think any of the pieces could survive stand-alone as they are.

Other reviews

• Alex Clark
• Justine Jordan
• karissareadsbooks (Many of the stories end on an abrupt reveal or transition. Just as we might be beginning to understand the rules of the universe, it’s too late and we’re on to the next story. The fact that characters show up again helps and I therefore trusted Atkinson to take me through and explain where we were. For me, that explanation never came in a satisfying way.)
• Blue book balloon (There is an explanation, sort of, for the coincidences and links, lending a distinctly metaphysical touch to the book. It adds its own charm but the rest of the stories still very much stand in their own terms, every one of them. My favourite would, though, I think be Existential Marginalisation)