A God in Ruins

In Life After Life, Atkinson’s narrator Ursula Todd lives through the turbulent events of the last century, again and again. In A God in Ruins, Atkinson turns her focus on Ursula’s beloved younger brother Teddy—would-be poet, RAF bomber pilot, husband, and father—as he navigates the perils and progress of the 20th century. He faces many challenges: a child born severely handicapped; a wife who succumbs to cancer; a mistress who steals his attention after her death. Teddy endures in battle but his greatest challenge will be to face living in the future he never expected to have.