An excellent read and I guess if you're as good a writer as Atkinson, you can do what you like with plot and character and get away with it. It did seem she had a lot of fun with the reader and also with some of her characters. Good thing as there did seem to be an incredible amount of research into the London Blitz and the bombing of Germany and her writing was pretty amazing.
Since the book pretty much goes up to the present, I'm surprised she didn't get in any jabs about the European Union which of course is mainly responsible for the lapse of European wars but which has created its own myriad of problems.
Reading Life after Life and this one makes me even more keen on my SFU course starting in September with Lealle Ruhl, who is a fabulous teacher. The title is: A New World Order: Redefining Global Security.
This is the course description:
Can we make the 21st century one of peace and security? What are some of the challenges we face in redefining global security? Using the analytical framework of peace and conflict studies we will explore three interconnected themes in modern political life.
We will start with a look at the global and domestic politics of food. We will then examine international terrorism, contrasting orthodox terrorism studies with a critical terrorism studies perspective. Finally we will focus on how to establish social justice through non-violent social change.
