Reviews

Surfacing by Margaret Atwood

charlottechapman's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

ediesk's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

balfin's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

kate_white's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

alexisrt's review

4.0

Surfacing by Margaret Atwood (1998)

furiousdee's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.75

This book was weird and confusing from start to finish. I'm not sure if it's in a good way or a bad way. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Abortion, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

missbookiverse's review against another edition

3.0

[3.5 Sterne]

Ziemlich deprimierend vor allem was die Geschlechterrollen angeht. Eventuell liegt das an der Entstehungszeit Anfang der Siebziger, aber ich habe die Hoffnung, dass Atwood ihre Männer mit Absicht extrem überspitzt darstellt (nicht nur hier) und dass solch grässliche Exemplare nicht wirklich in der Weltgeschichte rumlaufen/gelaufen sind, ist aber vermutlich naives Wunschdenken. Es ist außerdem frustrierend mitanzusehen, wie die Frauenfiguren sich so behandeln lassen und nicht zur Wehr setzen (können). Das gehört allerdings auch zur Entwicklung der Protagonistin und ermöglicht überhaupt erst die Wandlung, die sie in den letzten 40 Seiten durchläuft – definitiv mein Lieblingspart des Romans, voll von Mensch/Tier/Natur-Metaphorik und Grenzüberschreitungen.

cjw06's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

bbomdi's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.5

lacyk_reads's review

3.0

This book starts out as a who-dunnit kind of mystery. Then it turns into a study of political thoughts, stream of consciousness making an occasional appearance. Finally, it devolves into frantic actions with mysterious motivations that don’t always make sense. I found it hard to follow some sections. And because our protagonist and narrator only uses pronouns to describe herself and her family - no names - it was a little hard to follow some sections. Is she talking about her father, her brother, her previous husband, her current boyfriend? That said, I don’t think those distinctions were always important.

I was hooked for the majority of this book. It lost me in the last third or so, unfortunately. I just didn’t feel like it was as strong in the end as it was in the beginning. The footing felt uneven. Even so, a good book, a quick read, it was worth the time.