Kate Atkinson's bizarre collection of short stories

As noted in my post on Shrines of gaiety, British author, Kate Atkinson, can do no wrong in my eyes. I have read all of her books after falling in love with her writing in 1995's Behind the scenes at the museum. Atkinson is the consummate storyteller of unashamedly British stories, full of dry wit and fleshed out and beautifully eccentric characters. You can read my review of the latest in her detective series, Death at the sign of the rook, superbly brought to life by Jason Isaacs in the Jackson Brodie television series. I'm not usually a reader of short stories, but Normal rules don't apply is a Kate Atkinson collection, so of course I gave it a go.

Normal rules don't apply | Published September 2023 | Read May 2025

The clue is in the title, I suppose. Normal rules definitely don't apply to this collection of eleven interconnected stories. There is no doubt in my mind that the stories are inventive, unique, and are keen observations on the human condition. I will always be a fan of Atkinson's writing and in this collection of short stories, she really puts herself out there. Each story is creative, with an element of the supernatural. That said, I had some trouble understanding what was going on. I consider myself to be a fairly clever person, but most of the stories made little sense to me, and whatever messages Atkinson was trying to get across were lost on me. The stories move shakily along but end without explanation or resolution.

All that aside, things do make a bit more sense to the reader if they make it through to the final two stories. The premise is pretty wild (no spoilers here) but its revelation so late in the game creates a rather bewildering reading journey.

I've struggled with my rating as I admire Atkinson's blending of folklore, the supernatural, and reality but I did find understanding it all a challenge. The thread that weaves the stories together is terribly clever, though, once I worked it out. The whole thing is completely bonkers, but I kind of liked it!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐[for the creativity and the premise, mostly]