Atkinson elegantly executes these chronological loop-de-loops, leaving a reader to marvel at that most banal of epiphanies: how fast life goes by. Atkinson's nonlinear storyline enhances the poignancy of time passing: For instance, during the Blitz, a young Teddy on leave recklessly spends his money on drinks and a hotel room because, after all, there are "no pockets in shrouds" a couple of pages on, his grandson complains that "Granddad's got so much crap" as Teddy is being packed off to an assisted-living residence with most of his possessions destined to be "offloaded on charity shops." Similarly, in the blink of an eye, the goldfish that Teddy, as a young father, wins at an agricultural fair for his daughter is "echoed" in Teddy's membership in the so-called "Goldfish Club" of bomber pilots who ditched their planes into the sea, as well as in his diagnosis of himself as a goldfish in captivity once he's ensconced in his old-age home. The novel fast forwards to the future where Teddy is. In stop-and-start fashion, "A God in Ruins" hops around in narrative perspective and era, from Teddy's golden between-the-wars childhood to his grim fade out as a nonagenarian. He vows that if he makes it out alive, he will live a life of kindness no matter what life brings him.
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