I was not disappointed! The book is complex, but (for me) not confusing. It build upon the basic concept of a life having multiple timelines to tell a rich story instead of a complicated one. In any book, one learns about characters by "observing" what happens to them and how they respond. In this book we get to know Ursula very well as she experiences multiple lives.
As usual, with Kate Atkinson's books, the quality of writing is excellent. For example: "It was beautifully hot and time treacled past every day", "a pared fingernail of moon", "Maurice had never got his hands dirty. Never been to an incident, never pulled a man apart like a cracker or knelt on a matted bundle of fabric and flesh that had once been a baby."
I always like to feel that I have learned something when I read a novel. In this case, there was much to learn about Britain in the '30s and '40s as well as about Germany before and during the war. I also came across two phrases that use the whole alphabet. I have always used "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog", but now I can choose from "Quick wafting zephyrs vex bold Jim" or "The five boxing wizards jumped quickly".
I was amused as I was reading this book while travelling to Berlin. At one point Ursula was living on Savignyplatz; I was meeting a friend for dinner that evening on that exact street. I was sad to finish the book, even though it was quite long, as it was a compelling read. I eagerly await future work by this author.
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