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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
I love Margaret Atwood. She's one of my favorite authors. This book didn't quite live up to my expectations of her. I thought the main character, Joan, was great. Very well developed. I related to her and I cared what happened to her. As usual, the best parts of this book were the sections that dealt with Joan's complicated family relationships, her romantic life, and her childhood. Nobody can understand the complexities of female friendship better than Atwood. Atwood uses flashbacks to tell the story -- she's one of the best at using this technique so that the reader doesn't get lost. The first half to two thirds of the book was terrific.
I found that the way Atwood wrapped up the novel was frustrating. The plot got a little too weird for me. I'm used to her writing being very grounded, and the latter sections of this book didn't live up to that. I found I was required to suspend disbelief far more than I wanted to or was able to. I got pulled out of the text whenever Atwood would show as an excerpt from one of Joan's novels.
Despite the things that irritated and/or distracted me, I still think this is a worthwhile book. By Atwood standards, it's probably only 3 stars -- I thought Cat's Eye and The Robber Bride were much better. But even at her worst, Atwood is a gifted writer, so this book is one that is highly readable.
I found that the way Atwood wrapped up the novel was frustrating. The plot got a little too weird for me. I'm used to her writing being very grounded, and the latter sections of this book didn't live up to that. I found I was required to suspend disbelief far more than I wanted to or was able to. I got pulled out of the text whenever Atwood would show as an excerpt from one of Joan's novels.
Despite the things that irritated and/or distracted me, I still think this is a worthwhile book. By Atwood standards, it's probably only 3 stars -- I thought Cat's Eye and The Robber Bride were much better. But even at her worst, Atwood is a gifted writer, so this book is one that is highly readable.
For me, this one doesn't stand up to Atwood's page-turner Robber Bride, but she's still a master of creating characters that stick in your head. Plus, the eponymous character's an author with a secret double identity. Witty, but nonetheless a good pulpy read if you're looking for brain candy.
Not as resonant to me as her later works, "Lady Oracle" is still an engrossing read, about a novelist who fakes her own death and looks back on her life, trying to make sense of it. It's interesting to see themes that appear in other works (the tormenting girls, the eccentric artists, the political activists)--maybe it's because I came to this work later than some of her later stories, but they still feel like they're incubating in this one.
This was my February pick for book club. I read this in college and while I remembered enjoying the novel, I only recalled the basics of the plot. Joan writes romance novels under a pseudonym and is modestly successful, but when she publishes a collection of feminist writings under her own name, the book is a best seller and Joan decides to fake her own death to avoid both fame and a blackmailer.
Much of the story is told in flashbacks. Joan's mother constantly nagged her about her weight. As a young adult, she finally is motivated to get thin and then escapes her parents' home and stumbles into a writing career.
The genius in this book is Atwood's arch writing style, as applied to everything from mean girls to New Age clergy to a roadkill-collecting lover named The Royal Porcupine. You are never quite sure which aspects of Joan's life are exaggerated for effect and which ones are bizarrely real. In addition, excerpts from Joan's romance novels are interspersed throughout the book.
I also appreciated the novel in a strange sort of time warp. Atwood wrote it in 1976, as the second wave of feminism was winding down. I read it in the early 90s and again this year and it was a challenge to view the story through the lens of that time without throwing four more decades of social history into the picture.
Much of the story is told in flashbacks. Joan's mother constantly nagged her about her weight. As a young adult, she finally is motivated to get thin and then escapes her parents' home and stumbles into a writing career.
The genius in this book is Atwood's arch writing style, as applied to everything from mean girls to New Age clergy to a roadkill-collecting lover named The Royal Porcupine. You are never quite sure which aspects of Joan's life are exaggerated for effect and which ones are bizarrely real. In addition, excerpts from Joan's romance novels are interspersed throughout the book.
I also appreciated the novel in a strange sort of time warp. Atwood wrote it in 1976, as the second wave of feminism was winding down. I read it in the early 90s and again this year and it was a challenge to view the story through the lens of that time without throwing four more decades of social history into the picture.
Who is Joan Foster? I'm not sure she knows. She juggles two identities, has a whole career her husband doesn't know about, a past she hides from everyone... To get away from it all and start fresh, she fakes her death and takes off to a small Italian village, where she gets a chance to think back on exactly how she got there.
That sounds simple enough, but in Atwood's hands it turns into a story at once hilarious and tragic. Joan's story made me think of the actual multiple identities we carry around with us all the time: the person we are at work, with our family, with our friends are not always exactly the same person, are they? But she has taken this reality to a whole other level!
Margaret Atwood's prose is as elegant and fluid as ever. She digs deep into Joan's childhood in a away only she can, showing how some small things can travel with you for a very long time. The mother who is more attached to objects and images than to the reality of her life is chillingly believable, as is the shell-shocked and emotionally detached father. That a couple like that should spawn a young girl who wants to be someone else is not really surprising!
By way of Joan's career as a writer of trashy Gothic romance, an interesting commentary about the virtues of escapist writing is made (it's fun and important!), and if there is one theme in this book, it's definitely escape. Running away from a over-bearing mother, from a loathed self-image, from an unsatisfying lover, from a life one perceives as failed: Joan runs, runs, runs and still can't quite free herself.
Not one of Atwood's best, but a very interesting and enjoyable book. I just wish the ending had been a little bit more tidy.
That sounds simple enough, but in Atwood's hands it turns into a story at once hilarious and tragic. Joan's story made me think of the actual multiple identities we carry around with us all the time: the person we are at work, with our family, with our friends are not always exactly the same person, are they? But she has taken this reality to a whole other level!
Margaret Atwood's prose is as elegant and fluid as ever. She digs deep into Joan's childhood in a away only she can, showing how some small things can travel with you for a very long time. The mother who is more attached to objects and images than to the reality of her life is chillingly believable, as is the shell-shocked and emotionally detached father. That a couple like that should spawn a young girl who wants to be someone else is not really surprising!
By way of Joan's career as a writer of trashy Gothic romance, an interesting commentary about the virtues of escapist writing is made (it's fun and important!), and if there is one theme in this book, it's definitely escape. Running away from a over-bearing mother, from a loathed self-image, from an unsatisfying lover, from a life one perceives as failed: Joan runs, runs, runs and still can't quite free herself.
Not one of Atwood's best, but a very interesting and enjoyable book. I just wish the ending had been a little bit more tidy.
Wonderful. So glad I finally read this one. Fun reading something set in my city but at a time before I was really an adult.
crazy good. Atwood is really quite unforgiving with her insights. The way Joan is written, not really knowing herself or what she wants or needs too well, is such a true thing to capture. I loved the conclusion bringing together the gothic plot and joan's situation with the wives in the maze. I will also never be over Chuck the Royal Porcupine. Amazing.
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this one, though there were times I wasn’t sure what year I was in.
I love Margaret Atwood and she can do (almost) no wrong, so it's probably not shocking that I really liked this book. After all, I have read (in order): The Handmaid's Tale (multiple times), Cat's Eye, Robber Bride (I should go back and re-read these as it's been a long time) The Blind Assassin, Alias Grace and The Penelopiad.
Lady Oracle treads over some of what most readers of Margaret Atwood will realize is familiar ground. The premise of the book is that Joan Foster, a woman who for all appearances seems to be a success, has found herself unable to escape the mess she's made of her life. Therefore, she decides to fake her death and embark on a new life. However, most of the book is not dedicated to this new life - in fact, it only appears briefly in the beginning and occasionally throughout other parts of the book. Instead, the book in the story of her life. Through her recollections (starting from childhood) we see how things like childhood and teenage obesity, a controlling mother, an absent father, and and emotionally distant husband shape the way that she views the rest of her life and ultimately leads to the mess that she has made. Joan Foster is incidentally a closet writer of gothic romances, and many of the parts of her story and interspersed with snippets of the books that she writes as well.
Lady Oracle is one of her earliest books, written before her success with The Handmaid's Tale. It doesn't quite have the same lyric quality to the writing that some of her later novels have. It's also interesting to see the way that some of the themes from this early novel appeared later in The Blind Assassin, like the secret novels, the way that the book passages are written into the narrator's life story, and the possible death by drowning.
I remember my friend E reading this book and not particularly liking it. Certainly, it's less polished than her later work. That being said, some of this book really resonated with me and I would still recommend it almost without reservation.
Lady Oracle treads over some of what most readers of Margaret Atwood will realize is familiar ground. The premise of the book is that Joan Foster, a woman who for all appearances seems to be a success, has found herself unable to escape the mess she's made of her life. Therefore, she decides to fake her death and embark on a new life. However, most of the book is not dedicated to this new life - in fact, it only appears briefly in the beginning and occasionally throughout other parts of the book. Instead, the book in the story of her life. Through her recollections (starting from childhood) we see how things like childhood and teenage obesity, a controlling mother, an absent father, and and emotionally distant husband shape the way that she views the rest of her life and ultimately leads to the mess that she has made. Joan Foster is incidentally a closet writer of gothic romances, and many of the parts of her story and interspersed with snippets of the books that she writes as well.
Lady Oracle is one of her earliest books, written before her success with The Handmaid's Tale. It doesn't quite have the same lyric quality to the writing that some of her later novels have. It's also interesting to see the way that some of the themes from this early novel appeared later in The Blind Assassin, like the secret novels, the way that the book passages are written into the narrator's life story, and the possible death by drowning.
I remember my friend E reading this book and not particularly liking it. Certainly, it's less polished than her later work. That being said, some of this book really resonated with me and I would still recommend it almost without reservation.