What the Ventnor Library Reading Group thought of Canadian author, Margaret Atwood.
Oryx and Crake – thoroughly enjoyed it , set in the future but goes back and forth in the telling – basically doom and gloom but cleverly written social comment with manipulation of nature and society – I shall read more!
Blind Assassin – multi-dimensional and layered – a science fiction/fairy tale within a mystery within a life story – an examination of old age, death, the corruption of wealth, social history of Canada, it’s class structure and politics – descriptive of small town life shifting from the past to the present and back – a really good read “¦..I loved it”¦
Robber’s Bride – very well written but I found it irritating at the end – basically a story about four women meeting at University and the way one manipulates the others. Zena reinvents herself continuously and in doing so re-enters and damages the lives of the others over the years with her stories, ruining their relationships. I thought, however charismatic she was, no group of intelligent women would allow her to dominate them so, but the stories she tells them are designed to appeal to each character so may say something about the way the three see themselves reflected in her”¦
Alias Grace – hard going at first but once I got into it s early psychoanalysis – basically an investigation of a murder -all sorts of revealing information about her early life and parallels with wider society”¦.
Bodily Harm – main character coming to terms with breast cancer and the end of a relationship – vivid descriptions of parochial town life and the need to break out
Curious pursuits – a collection of essays and occasional writings from 1970 – 2004 she has a dry wit – prolific “¦.
Short Stories – the first was the best – some of the others had inconclusive endings but I suppose that’s life!…
“..a brave writer “¦..always an element of hope but an angry realist “¦.reminiscent of J G Ballard, the same disconnection and seemingly simple writing which provokes deep thought “¦.”
Image: Vanwaffle under CC BY 3.0
