Reviews

Bluebeard's Egg and Other Stories by Margaret Atwood

savaging's review against another edition

5.0

The edition I read somehow has on its cover a terrible shiny-blond white-waif woman draped in gold-enameled silk and Anthropologie-style accessories, surrounded by Kincaidesque flowers in cool-color palette. In addition to making me mildly ashamed to read it in public, fearing I'll be pegged as a reader of panting maidens whose lower lips tremble when thick-necked knights off the dragon, the image is the very opposite of the content of the book. Seriously: put anything else there. A worn couch; a beetle larvae; animal droppings -- any image chosen at random would better reflect what's happening inside these pages.

Because nothing is rarified or prettified here. These are stories of normal people in a normal earth that is also deep and rich and wide and wild. Like this, from "In Search of the Rattlesnake Plantain":

The woods are open, the ground covered with a mat of leaves, dry on the top, pressed down into a damp substratum beneath, threaded through (I know, though I don’t look, I have looked before, I have a history of looking) with filaments, strands, roots, and skeins of leaf mould laid through it like fuses, branched like the spreading arteries of watercolour blue in certain kinds of cheese.

I especially loved the stories of parents, though Atwood's wicked wit parsing out patriarchy in romantic relationships is also a treat. And "The Salt Garden," about love and family in the nuclear age was astonishing.

alicebme's review against another edition

4.0

Move. Dig. Watch. Record. Have sex. Create. Acknowledge the short trips of the mind, but do not fear them.

link0505's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny hopeful relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

lynnenad's review against another edition

reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Margaret Atwood writes beautifully. Her use of language is second to none. Her description and analysis of human feelings and relationships is insightful, quirky and credible. 
The main reason this book is not one of my favourites is that it is deficient in plot. Or perhaps I am too unsophisticated to identify the plots. The characters written about are interesting in themselves but they don’t do anything. 
Having said that, the final story, Unearthing Suite, gave me much pleasure. 

whatthekatdraggedin's review against another edition

dark funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This collection was a little hit or miss for me. There were bits I connected with and ones I didn't. All of the stories focus on the interior life of the characters, which Atwood captures very well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Death, and Infidelity

radioisasoundsalvation's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

breeisreading_'s review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I’m just never as taken or absorbed by short stories, and these were unfortunately no exception. I just can’t fully understand the point of these stories, or what they’re trying to say. Of course, Atwood’s writing is beautiful and her characters are interesting and thought provoking, but I found myself just eager to finish the collection.

missbookiverse's review against another edition

3.0

Eine Sammlung von Atwoods Kurzgeschichten aus den Achtzigern. Dem Titel nach hatte ich mit zahlreichen Märchenverweisen oder spekulativen Elementen wie in [b:Good Bones|72587|Good Bones|Margaret Atwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1398542554l/72587._SY75_.jpg|1344651] gerechnet, die Storys sind aber allesamt realistischer Natur. Es geht in erster Linie um Frauen und Männer und ihre Beziehungen zu- und miteinander, um Sexismus und Emanzipation. Aber auch das Verhältnis mit den eigenen Eltern und Natur spielen immer wieder eine Rolle.

Atwood schreibt subtil; oft ist nicht offensichtlich, welchen Fragen sie nachgeht oder welche Kritik sie übt. Zwischen den Zeilen und in ihren Stilmitteln lassen sich allerdings reichhaltige Antworten finden. Darüber hinaus lesen die Geschichten sich bereits wie moderne Klassiker à la Ray Bradbury oder Carson McCullers, mit einer wunderbar eingefangenen Atmosphäre von Alltag und Realität fern des 21. Jahrhunderts. Für mich gab’s in der Sammlung keine Highlights, alle Geschichten bewegen sich in einem ähnlichen Modus, unterscheiden sich aber trotzdem merklich voneinander.

boludeandoando's review against another edition

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

jana_kiss's review against another edition

emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75