Atkinson’s lighthearted novel mines delicious humor from this mismatch of grizzled cynicism and national heritage. Our Noble Selves is in part a workplace comedy ... Ms. Atkinson deserves to be rated as highly as her countryman Ian McEwan. Like him, she boasts an immaculate prose style, a dry wit and a taste for narrative legerdemain. This splendid historical farce proves her versatility as well.
Dark, always witty ... What a delightful plot it is — convoluted, confounding, at times harrowing, at times hilarious, laced with references to Shakespeare and shadowed by the aftermath of war ... The book abounds in period details, and Atkinson wastes none of them ... Entirely satisfying. Often funny. Never predictable.
It’s not that Atkinson can’t write a corker of a thriller ... By the author’s own admission, Our Noble Selves started as something very different: a serious look at the fall of Singapore and the fate of its P.O.W.s. But ultimately Atkinson decided that this was a 'relatively lighthearted novel,' and so somewhat uneasily juxtaposes the two registers ... Because this is Atkinson, there is richness aplenty. Unfortunately, rationing means that here it’s often rendered in margarine.
The suspense plot — involving MI5, the British Security Service, and a cluster of British fascists — is engrossing enough, but the deeper pleasures of Our Noble Selves are located in the workplace; specifically, the offices where Harry and his co-workers bring the Festival of Britain to fruition. Here, Atkinson's signature gift as a historical writer is on display as she seamlessly shifts time frames, so that the past surfaces without fanfare into the present ... an affectionate testament to the futility of any such efforts to leave the past behind.
[A] quietly magnetic hero ... A gentle noirish plot ... A surfeit of details can clog the narrative. There are glimpses, though, of Atkinson’s more subtle brilliance. She handles Flynn’s war trauma with a particularly deft touch.
Fizzy, deliciously quaffable ... Gleefully observed — also beautifully illustrated — this novel is a hoot. The characters are terrific. Its writing has merry, mischievous verve ... There is also great wisdom and warmth ... A tonic to the nation’s readers.
Classic parody fodder, which the author excels in ... Atkinson’s forte is her singular, feminist, left-leaning, sharp style, which can move skilfully from a scathing, very funny quip to a deeply compassionate reveal, often from a character’s past ... Blends wit and whimsy with a solid historical narrative that captures the reader.
