The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Robber Bride
Book Review: A Frenemy Manifesto
Summary: 3 Stars
When I first started this book, I was a little disappointed. I have already read some of Atwood's later works like "Oryx & Crake" and "Year of the Flood," so when this novel started out with a charismatic yet doomed character and lots of chilly foreshadowing, I thought that her novels are all starting to sound a little the same. But as I read more, I came to appreciate all of the characters and felt that Atwood gave them a lot of depth, while still maintaining the mystery at the heart of the book.
Most of the novel is told "Rashomon"-style, where the three main friends each give their version of their lives with the mysterious and enigmatic character, Zenia. All of their situations evolve from friendship to enemy over the course of the book, and climax with new understandings of what is actually going on. I liked the way Atwood doesn't explain everything, she leaves the door open so the reader can imagine what has happened or what might happen. I do feel that the ending was a little abrupt and could be seen as a little pat, but overall I liked the book.
I have to note that Atwood usually writes in a very serious mode, as though the world is going to end any second, but in this novel, she has some young characters that are really refreshing and humorous, I really enjoyed them and wish she would add more of that into her novels.
Book Review: A Good Read But Far From Atwood's Best
Summary: 4 Stars
Margaret Atwood is an icon in the world of literature and for the past year I have read four of her novels: "The Handmaid's Tale," "Alias Grace," "The Blind Assassin," and most recently, "The Robber Bride." I first read The Handmaid's Tale as part of my AS English Lit. course, and enjoyed it so much that I was compelled to read more of her novels. I can't imagine many others feeling this passionate about one book that they would want to read so much more by the same author, but I do, and I will continue reading her novels until there's none left to read! And after that, I'll just re-read them!
The Robber Bride is the fourth novel that I have read by Atwood, and the first to receive less than a perfect 5/5. I feel that with The Handmaid's Tale, Alias Grace and The Blind Assassin, Atwood crafted some true masterpieces, but this book is a little bit weaker. Don't get me wrong, it's still a very good novel and I admire her desire to explore different themes and genres without fear of failing. I think she pulls off a number of themes very well in the novel, but maybe the topic is a bit too girly for my liking.
The novel is based on "The Robber Bridegroom" by the Brothers Grimm where in which an evil groom lures three unsuspecting women into her lair and devours them all separately. However, re-telling this story would just be plain boring so Atwood, every the inventor, spins her own remarkable twist on the story where the evil villain is a woman who sets out to destroy the lives of three fellow women. The novel opens with these three characters who are 50-something decent ladies and have been friends for decades. Their names are Tony, Charis and Roz. They are present at the funeral of Zenia, who was blown up in some ambiguous 'accident'. Then a few days later, when the three friends are having lunch at the Toxique and think they have got rid of Zenia forever....
"With waves of ill will flowing out of her like cosmic radiation, Zenia is back...."
This first happens when we take a 40-page look at the day in the life of Tony and how this builds up to her knowing of Zenia's existence. This is then followed by another look at the day in the life of Charis, and how she winds up meeting with Tony and Roz and seeing Zenia, all at the same time. Then there is, of course, a day in the life of Roz which builds up to how she meets Zenia again. Through these three sections we really get to know about all three distinctive characters and the people in their lives. Tony has West, her boyfriend who sits making strange records all day in his studio. Charis has her daughter August/a and her boss Shanita. While Roz has her two troublesome teenage girls and her son Larry who is much older than the girls.
After this we embark on the histories of each woman. Tony comes first and the story of her life builds up, page by page, of how she met West, how Zenia became a part of her life and how she tore her life up. I think the life story of Charis is the most interesting, because I love the way her childhood stands out so vividly fro the others. It's almost heartbreaking when you think of the things that child had to go through in her early childhood, such as her molesting Uncle and her insane mother. All this makes Charis want to be a better person, though, and the way Zenia and Billy deceive her is one of the novel's best moments. The history of Roz is very well constructed, and she is probably my favourite character of the three because she's just a funny outrageous girl with a sea of heartbreak and confusion under that gleeful exterior.
By the time we come to the end of these three tales of how Zenia deceived all three women, the novel is almost over. Before you know it, the suspense is already built for you to anticipate the ending and the outcome of Zenia. Will she survive? Has she more tricks up her sleeve? Will any of these amazing women get even with her? What we're left with is an ending that tries to show us that maybe something was wrong with the way the three women constructed their lives, and not Zenia. Zenia was just the catalyst for an inevitable destruction. Not to say what Zenia did was good - they were very evil and malicious things, but I think the book is trying to tell us something about our own personalities. Overall, a very good book that I enjoyed a lot but it's not quite perfect. I would recommend it to other readers of Atwood's fiction, though, to make up their own minds.
Book Review: A Great Canadian Book that Everyone Can Enjoy & Love
Summary: 4 Stars
I couldn't put this book down, and a year after I read it the first time, I read it again. Zenia is such a great female villain, she makes the book an irresistible read. The other female characters are well-developed and given such interesting qualities and lives. Atwood's Alias Grace and Cat's Eye are better all-round books than this one, but this book has a certain wisdom in it communicated through the lives of the very different women who are united in their dislike for one woman, and yet despite this they all seem to have learned something valuable through Zenia.
Book Review: A Male Feminist's perspective
Summary: 3 Stars
The Robber Bride, the second book I have read by Margaret Atwood, explores the lives of three richly believable characters. The plot is part mystery, part romance, part coming-of-age tale mixed up with a tinge of feminist ideology and a lot of profound observations on North American (specifically, Canadian) life in the mid-late 20th century. I would describe the book as murder mystery meets Holly-go-Lightly meets First Wives' Club. An enchanted vixen comes into and sucks the men out of three women's lives. There's Tony, the female history professor, Charis, the new-age granola, and Roz, the powerhouse exec obsessed with all things material. Although the plot is entertaining, the characters make it work. You'll befriend (or possibly already know) these three women as if they were your personal Golden Girls.Book Review: A bit slow for Margaret
Summary: 3 Stars
I am a huge Margaret Atwood fan, first off. This book is slow and subtle, and while I wouldn't say it was great, it does have an appeal. I had a hard time getting through the first few chapters, but Atwood is so good at developing a level of depth to her characters that you become attached to them whether there's much of a plot or not. While it's not one of my favorites by this author, the book has her style, with vivid, delicious use of words to conjure up beautiful, lurid images in your mind while you read.