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jessicarosee's review against another edition
2.0
sadly, i found this to be a very inconsistent collection. although, some stories were truly truly wonderful. this is my favourite quote from a story called “A Parable”:
As for me, I may not be anything at all but the space between your right hand and your left hand when your hands are on my shoulders. I keep your right hand and your left hand apart, through me they also touch. It feels like silence, which is a sound also. I am the time it takes you to think about that. You enter my time, you leave it, cannot enter or leave, why ask me? You know what it looks like and I don't. Mirrors are no use at all.
Ask me instead who you are: when you walk into this room through the door that isn't there, it's not myself I see but you.
As for me, I may not be anything at all but the space between your right hand and your left hand when your hands are on my shoulders. I keep your right hand and your left hand apart, through me they also touch. It feels like silence, which is a sound also. I am the time it takes you to think about that. You enter my time, you leave it, cannot enter or leave, why ask me? You know what it looks like and I don't. Mirrors are no use at all.
Ask me instead who you are: when you walk into this room through the door that isn't there, it's not myself I see but you.
maudalorian's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
3.5
A whirlwind of very short stories, clever and razor-sharp. Most didn't do much for me, but the ones I liked I REALLY liked. "Simmering" and "Liking Men" will stick with me. "Women's Novels" was my favorite:
I no longer want to read about anything sad. Anything violent, anything disturbing, anything like that. No funerals at the end, though there can be some in the middle. If there must be deaths, let there be resurrections, or at least a Heaven so we know where we are. (...) I want happiness, guaranteed, joy all round, (...) I no longer want to read books that don't end with the word forever. I want to be stroked between the eyes, one way only.
mamalovesfour's review against another edition
5.0
The description from the back says it all:
"'Murder in the Dark' is one of those books one wishes one could quote from cover to cover. It has been written to read to a friend over the phone, or to chuckle over in the streetcar under the eyes of more sober citizens. It is clever and witty..."
Yes! More than a few times I wanted to pause my reading to phone a friend and read out loud to them what I had just read. So wonderful!
"'Murder in the Dark' is one of those books one wishes one could quote from cover to cover. It has been written to read to a friend over the phone, or to chuckle over in the streetcar under the eyes of more sober citizens. It is clever and witty..."
Yes! More than a few times I wanted to pause my reading to phone a friend and read out loud to them what I had just read. So wonderful!
kittoji's review against another edition
3.75
a mix of short stories and prose poems, so quite a dynamic read. i really enjoy atwood's voice, although her writing sometimes needs some time for me to fully get into the rhythm of it. this is a very quick one and i would recommend because it's interesting, fast paced and it will make you look twice. the caustic humour in it is SO delicate and something i always like about her stories.
allya2259's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
clari's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
- Strong character development? N/A
5.0
erin_bowyer's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
graced100's review against another edition
3.0
3.5. I would recommend this to fellow Atwood fans who want to understand her writing process better. I think you’re able to get a glimpse at how/what she thinks about and maybe how her ideas form (this is purely just me guessing, but that’s how it read to me). There are some interesting stories and some great lines, just mixed with a lot of stories that didn’t quite do it for me.