Television Review: Case Histories

When I first noticed the Kate Atkinson books were being adapted for television I was quite happy. Jackson Brodie is a hero for modern times, complete with the result that he's never quite on top even when he wins. Although I've only read one of these three novels (When Will There Be Good News? which was the basis for the third of the two-episode arcs) I still had high hopes. And, yes, I was proved right. I really enjoyed the three weeks.

Cutting the three novels into two-hour arcs was a good decision. Usually there was enough going on to hold audience interest, although I did hear some frustrated rumblings on Twitter about the repetition of Brodie's childhood flashbacks. It seemed like padding at times but I suppose from the producer's point of view they were necessary to give context to whatever was going on at the time. The story is never just 'the criminal story': it's how Brodie relates to it. I'm aware that they've altered things a fair bit from the books (regarding aspects of his personal life anyway) but I'm not certain how much liberty they've taken. I'll have to read the first two books to be sure. Either way, it worked as a bit of television which was the important thing.

The first two episodes, based on Case Histories itself, were a decent introduction held together by a stellar cast. Although linking several cases together works more simply in a book I don't think it translated onto screen all that badly. Admittedly, the first few minutes of episode two were a crash course of remembrance but once I grounded myself again I was fine. Most importantly, I think, the episodes were enjoyable, maybe a little predictable in parts, but good viewing nonetheless. Jason Isaacs managed to instill a fairly mute character with pain and recognisable emotion. One of the criticisms I read was that Brodie was difficult to comprehend and the reviewer wished for a voice-over. I certainly don't think that would've worked in the context and it didn't need to: Isaacs communicated well enough for me.

Episodes three and four - One Good Turn - were possibly my favourite, just because of the friendship that springs up between a middle-aged woman and a Russian dominatrix. Again, the episode was helped by an exceptional cast, although it dragged in certain places. One of the cast highlights was certainly Millie Innes as Brodie's young daughter. The relationship between father and daughter is one of the mainstays of the six episodes and it definitely worked to make the tough guy a little more vulnerable. The novelist in this episode, Martin Canning, was the kind of bumbling nervous character I can't help but love.

Episodes five and six - When Will There Be Good News? - showcased the acting talents of young Gwyneth Keyworth as Reggie, the girl who saves Brodie's life after he's involved in a train accident. She's definitely one to watch out for the in the future and helped make these episodes my favourite. That probably has something to do with me having read the book for it also. However, it felt as if it ran a little more smoothly, in comparison to the other two arcs. I think it had less going on and so didn't confuse as much. Plus, it also signalled a shift in attitudes between Brodie and his ex-colleague, Louise, who worked fantastically together on screen. I was also crying at the end of episode six, which probably means the acting and script did its job correctly.

Overall, this was a television treat as far as I'm concerned. The Edinburgh setting was used to great effect and the personal was mixed nicely into Brodie's professional life. The number of injuries he ended up with were unbelieveable though and the slightly graphic violence suited the occasion, if making a squeamish person like myself a little uncomfortable. Jackson Brodie emerged from it all as an excellent character, not anywhere near as wooden as I'd expected him to be. If I have one more criticism it must go to the BBC for their Sunday night/Monday night scheduling. It's just a way to drag in ratings and, yes, it means the story is fresh in mind without festering for a week, but it's frustrating to assume that the people who watch television on a Sunday are equipped to do so on a Monday as well. I don't know what the ratings were but I'd imagine this dual-night aspect put some people off. Not me...I taped to watch later.

Classic Openings: Behind The Scenes At The Museum

I first read this book as part of my undergraduate degree. After first obstinately disliking it (I think that was due to someone I disliked exalting it), I came to love it.

Behind The Scenes At The Museum by Kate Atkinson

I exist! I am conceived to the chimes of midnight on the clock on the mantelpiece in the room across the hall. The clock once belonged to my great-grandmother (a woman called Alice) and its tired chime counts me into the world. I'm begun on the first stroke and finished on the last when my father rolls off my mother and is plunged into a dreamless sleep, thanks to the five pints of John Smiths's Best Bitter he has drunk in the Punch Bowl with his friends, Walter and Bernard Belling. At the moment at which I moved from nothingness into being my mother was pretending to be asleep - as she often does at such moments. My father, however, is made of stern stuff and he didn't let that put him off.

I could quote at length from this book but instead I'll just urge you to read it and focus on some of the highlights of the opening.

1. Narrative voice is established. I keep coming back to this point but establishing a solid narrative voice early on is one of the best lifelines you can throw your reader. If they grip onto, and sympathise with, an interesting narrator then they're likely to stick with your story. As it happens, Ruby Lennox is one of the funniest narrators I've ever come into contact with. Truly a fantastic creation from Atkinson.

2. The simplest opening line possible. 'I exist!' It comes down to common-sense, perhaps, but starting a novel with that plain statement sets the novel in a particular context. It indicates to the reader that it's going to be a life-story told from a first-person narrative perspective. Instantly, the reader should be alerted to all the perils that entails - something which will return with a vengeance later. So, aside from instantly establishing character, those two words produce an idea of the style of the coming narrative. More than that, it also places the narrator in the compromising situation of relating things she has no direct knowledge of. Unless, of course, we're to assume that from the moment of conception she has interpretative skills.

3. The illuminating details. A technique Atkinson uses to great effect throughout the novel is the use of specifics to illustrate authenticity. Mentioning the beer Ruby's father drinks and the origins of the clock are amongst the aspects which conspire to give the novel a veneer of realism.

Purchase Behind The Scenes At The Museum here.