The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Robber Bride
Book Review: Enthralling...until the end
Summary: 3 Stars
This book started off with a lot of questions which provided a great need to keep reading. However, once the end was achieved, there were still a lot of questions. Why did Zenia change her room for every visitor? What was the point of Larry's involvement? Did Zenia jump to her death? Zenia's real death at the end was perhaps the most disappointing element of this novel. Although, one redeeming quality was to see how much control she still had on all of the people in her past life... Great read for the summer...Just don't be looking for a book to deeply contemplate...This one will drive you nuts trying to figure out what all of Zenia's motives are...Book Review: Exceptional book
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the best books I've ever read. Margaret Atwood's writing style never ceases to amaze me, and the intelligence that comes through is astounding. Any woman can relate to one of the four main characters in the book. Highly recommend this book to everyone!Book Review: First Time Atwood Reader Enjoyed Book
Summary: 4 Stars
My mother-in-law is a big fan of Margaret Atwood and she passed this book along to me. We don't have the same taste in books, so I was a little wary at first. I shouldn't have been! This is a great story for anyone that likes to read interesting, intriguing stories.
Atwood starts you off in the present and introduces you to the four main characters of the story. Then you are taken back in the past to lean of each characters history. Then the book comes back to the present. It is not hard to follow, but the more you learn about each character the more you don't want to put the book down.
Very intriguing...and leaves you wondering why these people would make the choices they've made.
Book Review: Getting the Point
Summary: 4 Stars
Yesterday I finished rereading Margaret Atwood's novel, The Robber Bride. When I first read it, years ago, I didn't enjoy the story, and I'm pretty sure I didn't get the point. I probably became lost in the details, and was disappointed with the ending. This time, I believe I understood, having grown up a bit, and having seen more history come and go, along with the spin governments and organizations put onto events.
For example, with the New Brunswick government's hapless proposal to sell our provincial utility, NBPower, to Hydro Quebec, we hear stories and explanations from all sides. Not one of us can read the future, but every one has a perspective on the past and the present.
The Robber Bride is the story of three women whose lives are turned upside down by another woman, Zenia, who has stolen each of their men in turn. The book begins from the perspective of one of the women, a history professor. Zenia was dead, they thought, out of their lives at last. But no, in the early pages of the book, they are shocked to see her in a restaurant where they have met for lunch. Zenia has concocted her own death, a deliberate fabrication, one of many, as we discover, as we travel through the memory of each woman in turn.
Each of the three women received a different version of Zenia's life. Is there any truth in her at all? Is there any truth even in the recollection of the women? Near the end of the book, each of the three spends time alone with Zenia in her hotel room. Discussing their experiences afterward, they are surprised by their diverse descriptions of the room. Did the room actually change so much? or was it the faulty nature of eye-witness accounts?
People don't see what they really should see, if they want to protect themselves from wily people like Zenia. Some, like Zenia (and our governments), are very good at fabricating a version of history to suit the need. Is there ever a truth? Is there ever a true history of anything?
In my blog, and in my journal, I record my own history. Sometimes I look back at what I've written to remind myself of what happened on a specific date, but it is only a recording of what I think happened. Sometimes I tell clients that we'd need a video to know what actually occurred in the events they are ruminating over. Yet even a video only shows the chosen perspective of the camera's operator.
I'm glad I reread Atwood's book. It is a fitting reminder for us all, in these times of historic change, to do our best to experience the world with clear eyes.
Book Review: Good but
Summary: 3 Stars
I just had a hard time getting into this book. While I felt simpathy for the characters, I didn't really like them. They didn't interest me. The writing was really good but the story itself just made it difficult to finish.