Book Review: The Robber Bride

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood, 528 pages, Anchor (January 20, 1998), ISBN-10: 0385491034

Rating: 5 of 5 STARS
Source: Just hanging out on my shelves, waiting to be read!

So, I’ve mentioned before (I think) that I’m having trouble reading. Ack! I’ve gone from reading over 50 books a year to maybe 10. Not sure what is going on – focus, busyness, dunno. My fear is my 40+ brain is turning to such mush that I’m going to lose one of the biggest joys I’ve had in my life since I can remember – reading, reading, reading! I just haven’t been able to engage with a book. In desperation, I turned to one of my most favorite authors – Margaret Atwood – she of The Handmaid’s Tale, Cat’s Eye, Alias Grace (7+ STARS!!), Oryx & Crake, The Blind Assassin, etc. I figured if I couldn’t finish a Margaret Atwood novel, something must really be wrong with me and I was going to make an appointment with my doctor.

Well, after admittedly a rather longish time, I finished The Robber Bride and Atwood did not disappoint. Although not my favorite story of hers, it kept me interested, her characters seemed real, and I just simply wallowed in her wonderful, wonderful prose.

It’s not an uplifting story. And one reviewer I read said it’s a man-hater book. I’m not sure about that, but men are not strong characters nor overall shown in a very good light. Here’s a short description:

Zenia is beautiful, smart and greedy, by turns manipulative and vulnerable, needy and ruthless; a man’s dream and a woman’s nightmare. She is also dead. Just to make sure Tony, Roz and Charis are there for the funeral. But five years on, as the three women share an indulgent, sisterly lunch, the unthinkable happens; ‘with waves of ill will flowing out of her like cosmic radiation’, Zenia is back.

I would recommend it, but if you’ve never read Atwood, I would start with Alias Grace or The Blind Assassin.

So, I’m trying to working through a book called The Writer’s Idea Book and one prompt is something I’ve done a good bit of in the past -

1. Keep an ongoing list of new words you learn while reading.

2. Keep an ongoing list of phrases and sentences that strike you as particularly good in what you read. Get into the habit of writing them down.

I used to do this as “Good Words” posts and have gotten out of the habit. So – hopefully later today I’ll be posting some “Good Words” from The Robber Bride. Until then, happy reading, bloggy friends!

Oh - one more note. This is not the cover of the book I own, but I wish it were! Mine has some weird eyeball and dangling gloved hand. I like this one much better!