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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This collection of mundane stories left me immensely underwhelmed. Although these stories set out to explore the lives of normal people even the little drama they offer little of interest. If I want strong willed I'm not sure I would have finished this book which is upsetting because Atwood in my opinion is a genius. Maybe her style is more suited to me in the form of her novels rather than short stories? I will have to read more of her collections to come to a conclusion on this but unfortunately for this one not a single story stood out to me that made the experience worthwhile.
"You were, of course, the perfect object. No banal shadow of lawnmowers and bungalows lurked in your melancholy eyes, opaque as black marble, recondite as urns, you coughed like Roderick Usher, you were, in your own eyes and therefore in mine, doomed and restless as Dracula."
"In the corner of his eye the old woman swelled, wavered, then seemed to disappear, and the land opened before him. It swept away to the north and he thought he could see the mountains, white-covered, their crests glittering in the falling sun, then forest upon forest, after that the barren tundra and the black solid rivers, and beyond, so far that the endless night had already descended, the frozen sea."
"In the corner of his eye the old woman swelled, wavered, then seemed to disappear, and the land opened before him. It swept away to the north and he thought he could see the mountains, white-covered, their crests glittering in the falling sun, then forest upon forest, after that the barren tundra and the black solid rivers, and beyond, so far that the endless night had already descended, the frozen sea."
Margaret Atwood explores the differences between men and women in this collection, particularly in the way they communicate. Her stories make for wonderful discussion, but not all of them resonated with me. "Under Glass" sticks out because of the problematic portrayal of the characters. Atwood seems to generalize male and female behavior, which perpetuates stereotypes of how "typical" men and women behave. I don't think this was her intention given her other works. Each story is a quick glimpse into the lives of the characters. Personally, I prefer Atwood's longer pieces since they inherently allow more character development.
I always had this impression that I had read these stories before but I did not. I'm glad that I was able to do it now when they are more relevant to me.
Atwood speaks intensely about the condition of woman and gives a voice to many of the women who feel isolated (The man from mars, Under the glass), who don't have a good opinion about themselves (Betty), who suffer in silence (Training), who feel to much (Polarities) or maybe not enough (A Travel Piece), women who are in their head a lot and women who feel unseen and truth be told, all of these categories can be applied to all of the stories. Perhaps she speaks most intensely in the last story, Giving Birth, where a pregnant woman dissociates herself into two personalities: the ones that wants the baby and the one that never wanted to be pregnant. Both of these exist in her and she doesn't know how to reconcile them, but after the baby arrives the two start to melt into each other and the difference between them is no longer so real.
Atwood speaks intensely about the condition of woman and gives a voice to many of the women who feel isolated (The man from mars, Under the glass), who don't have a good opinion about themselves (Betty), who suffer in silence (Training), who feel to much (Polarities) or maybe not enough (A Travel Piece), women who are in their head a lot and women who feel unseen and truth be told, all of these categories can be applied to all of the stories. Perhaps she speaks most intensely in the last story, Giving Birth, where a pregnant woman dissociates herself into two personalities: the ones that wants the baby and the one that never wanted to be pregnant. Both of these exist in her and she doesn't know how to reconcile them, but after the baby arrives the two start to melt into each other and the difference between them is no longer so real.
I liked this but not as much as I've liked some of Atwood's other work. I think I prefer her writing in the longer novel format, as many of these stories felt a bit stunted. That said, they were interesting, I especially liked Polarities, Dancing Girls, and Giving Birth. Throughout the collection the stories have an underlying sense of paranoia, an eerie mood that I enjoyed but had to be in the right mindset for.
I found these short stories very unsatisfying and bleak in nature. I've enjoyed Atwood's novels but I'm not sure I will be reading more of her short stories.
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes