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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
Atwood has a way of making the unthinkable, like financial collapse that makes people willing to sign their lives away, seem plausible. Yet this unsettling dystopia is almost whimsical with the Pleasantville-ish life outside of Positron and the abundance of Elvises and Marilyns. Odd but enjoyable.
I'm not a huge Atwood fan, though Blind Assassin is one of my favorite books. Couldn't get into any other Atwood books until this one. Interesting dystopian view of the world. Creative, reminded of The Giver by Lowry.
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Murder
Moderate: Kidnapping, Grief
Minor: Cancer, Injury/Injury detail
this is my 500th book on goodreads, and one that for many reasons i wish were better than it is.
I enjoyed this very much. It's quite dark in parts but a very good story.
Wow!!!!! So many things I love about this book - so many thought provoking concepts... Free will & choice & the intrinsic value of being able to make your own decisions, regardless of the consequences... Love and power... Human nature and judgment and how nothing is black or white - there are a thousand ways to look at a situation, and there are a thousand ways to react, and they're all valid in their own way... I'll come back and do a full review on this once I have time to sit and think and analyze...
Unfortunately, this ended up being a big disappointment. Although I know it's meant to be satirical, the world itself didn't feel real enough or connected enough to our current world for me to buy into it or laugh at it. The characters were all pretty shallow and unlikable; it would have been more poignant if at least one of them had a shred of humanity. I was able to finish but considered stopping a few times and kind of wish I had; the settings and conversations became so tedious, and the "twist" at the end was so predictable. This was a great premise that started out well but played out poorly. As always, Atwood's dystopias are pretty creative but this one felt too severed from reality to be believable.
I adore Margaret Atwood and so it pains me to share that I did not love this novel.
A dark, dystopian story set in the not too distant future where a corporate / prison system offers our characters, Charmaine and Stan, home and work. Charmaine takes pride in her work in medical administration and is all too willing to do as instructed. Soon, sexual desire, blackmail and technology complicate matters.
Darkly comic and a bit absurd, it is a good read, just not one of Atwood's best.
A dark, dystopian story set in the not too distant future where a corporate / prison system offers our characters, Charmaine and Stan, home and work. Charmaine takes pride in her work in medical administration and is all too willing to do as instructed. Soon, sexual desire, blackmail and technology complicate matters.
Darkly comic and a bit absurd, it is a good read, just not one of Atwood's best.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I could almost give this 4 stars as it is clever and it definitely kept me reading. But I stop at 3 because it didn't leave me with that overall deep feeling of satisfaction that a really good book does. The themes of be careful what you wish for, and what can happen when we choose to stick our heads in the sand, are very compelling.
Atwood has a way of bringing complex themes into an almost simple form of storytelling and I think that is a gift. In this story the reader is also lulled into only seeing what we want to see, even though we know there must be more there.
Overall a very enjoyable book and one I would recommend.
Atwood has a way of bringing complex themes into an almost simple form of storytelling and I think that is a gift. In this story the reader is also lulled into only seeing what we want to see, even though we know there must be more there.
Overall a very enjoyable book and one I would recommend.