Reviews

Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood

monkeys's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-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

2.0

hanna_g's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

heartsneedle's review against another edition

3.0

3.5/5
Torment, Identity, Gothic-Romance

“My life was a snarl, a rat’s nest of dangling threads and loose ends. I couldn’t possibly have a happy ending, but I wanted a neat one.”

Overall: Poses interesting novel-within-a-novel parallel between Joan and other versions of herself, yet suffered from unevenness and rote ended plots.

Pros:
-- Writing about other books
-- nostalgic, witty passages out of genre

Cons:
-- Progression was slow, complicated, and often bloated
-- unneeded flashbacks, repetitive attempts to bridge characterization

july_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

rachhosk's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

grayjay's review against another edition

4.0

Joan leaves a trail of identities behind her as she runs from man to man and away from herself. As her pasts catch up to her she becomes embroiled in a plot as convoluted as the gothic novels she writes under one of her secret names. Atwood has created such a complex character in Joan, so alive, and elusive. I couldn't wait to see who she would become next, yet was able to feel like I still knew who she was at every turn.

myrthekorf's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

3.0

davros4's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful reflective

4.5

philippakmoore's review against another edition

3.0

I love Atwood's writing so I knew I would enjoy it, but I found it frustrating in equal measure. Perhaps I identified too closely with the heroine in her weight struggles - this idea that there is only a thin or a fat body, nothing in between. I wanted to shake Joan when she went off on one of her self loathing tangents, and then realised with horror that maybe I'm like that sometimes....is that the mark of a good author, I wonder, that they tap into dark parts of ourselves that we won't admit to?

It got very interesting towards the end with all the plot twists and suspense. The unlikeable heroine (though I identified with her) made me give this 3 stars rather than 4 however.

abe389's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective medium-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

4.0