very odd...but very good..i loved it...

Release planned for Friday, December 12, 2003 at by post in nottingham, uk, RABCK Controlled Releases.

sent to fellow bookcrosser bookmaniac70 - enjoy!

Received today. Looks very interesting, my kind of book. I`m impressed by the outstanding reviews about the novel. I like that this is a first novel for the writer- I like reading first novels.Thank you, fayking!

Reading this book is a good experience in some very homely,very cosy way.I like the way a family history is told through the eyes of a child.It sounds nicely naive-exactly as a child would see the events. I`m about to finish it soon and shall make another entry.

I couldn`t finish the book,I suppose it`s just not my cup of tea.The book is now offered on Bookrelay site.

Received in the mail today. Thank you so very much Bookmaniac70. I am so touched by your card and the enclosed "martenitsa" -- I want to call everyone I know and tell them all about it! Thank you, thank you, thank you. As we say here in the USA..."you rock!"

I really, really wanted to love this book. It sounded so charming and has already journeyed so far. However, I've finally decided that I'm not going to be able to finish it; after a week of reading, I'm still 100 pages from the end and that's very unusual for me.

"Behind the Scenes at the Museum" is a family history told by Ruby, starting at the moment of her conception. The history switches back and forth between Ruby, her mother Bunty, Bunty's mother Nell, and Nell's mother Alice. I thought the book started out well and was amusing. However, I quickly became lost trying to keep track of all the family members. I kept thinking "Wait a minute. Which aunt was that? Where did that cousin come from?" A family tree provided at the beginning of the book would have been helpful.

Normally, I don't mind it when the point-of-view switches from chapter to chapter, but here it seemed to interrupt the flow of the story. I never managed to develop any interest or empathy toward any of the characters. Ruby herself had no personality. She just narrated events and never really seemed to be involved in anything that happened. I never felt like I was able to get into the minds of any of the characters. What were they thinking? What were they feeling?

However, that being said, I actually feel that this book might make a good movie, because the events that occur in the story are often interesting or amusing. A good script could flesh out some of the characters and trim the many extra characters, focusing on only a few.

Mailed this morning to LesliePB, who had this book on her wish list. Hope you enjoy it, Leslie!

Thank you, thank you Ealasaid! It's going on yet another journey tomorrow to Florida. If I get it finished, I'll try to find a swell place to leave it.

My cup of tea exactly. I love English writers. They have informed and now reflect my own worldview so this coming-of-age book that spans generations and creates mysteries was just the kind of fiction that pleases me muchly. The odder the better.

Released on Friday, May 28, 2004 at Cup O' Joe coffee shop at 2990 N. High St. in Clintonville in Columbus, Ohio USA.

Please read this one (if you like British writers). Back with everything else in the....back.