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lee_foust's review against another edition
4.0
An earlier Atwood novel from the mid-nineteen-seventies, Lady Oracle is a bit more plot/character-based (therefore what's come to be known as the traditional novel) than my experimental taste in narrative would have liked, but there was easily enough clever interweaving of theme in it to keep me interested. I enjoyed very much the engaging narrative voice of Joan; her humor and existential struggles were intriguing, and the cast of characters whom she encountered quirky and engaging, so I cruised right on through this mostly enjoyable novel. My biggest criticism, I suppose, is that it's has a fizzle rather than a climactic ending and, well, given all that came before, this felt like a let-down. I'm not at all against fizzle endings--semester after semester I try to talk my Modern Italian Literature students into appreciating the non-decision of the narrator at the end of Giorgio Bassani's The Garden of the Finzi-Contini, with varying degrees of success. But, Lady Oracle seemed to be rushing throughout toward some sort of resolution that it appears was just impossible to arrive at in the end.
Thematically the fizzle works fine--is even necessary--but the narrative form strained against it for the most part. I suppose Lady Oracle is at least partially about the tension between aimless life and carefully aimed narrative closure. And I very much appreciated it as a kind of updated Northanger Abbey, in which our heroine is a writer of bodice-ripping Gothics rather than a reader of the same. Very clever. Joan frequently explicitly struggles with the difference between the fairy-tale narratives that she writes, her desire to live one of her own, and the sloppiness of her real-life adventures, each one lacking in the kind of absolute perfection only obtainable in formulaic, genre fiction. Therefore the themes here presented of identity, authenticity, and choice of direction vs. happenstance and falsity (either to ingratiate oneself with others or to escape from uncomfortable situations) resonated with me as both a writer and human being.
Living abroad for the last twenty years also gives me another perspective on Lady Oracle as a distinctly North American novel. Italians often tell me how jealous they are of our North American freedoms, our ability to abandon parents and family, to choose a wholly different life and destiny than our birthplace, family, social class, and social situation would seem to dictate. Obviously Italians' feelings of commitment (even entrapment) to these preordained roles in life are exaggerated by the comparison. Lady Oracle, it seems to me, is about the flip-side of such freedom, the fact that parents, lovers, even husbands and wives we choose with a great deal of care and are not at all pushed upon us by destiny (or so we think), can precipitate disasters upon us and our identity. The best solution, from the North American perspective, is certainly to flee. However, as Lady Oracle shows, flight and change alter fundamental parts of our self-generated identity and our unique and invariable identity is a thing most human beings hold sacred--and mistakenly usually believe to be unique and invariable in an utterly variable world trapped in the flow of the continuum of time. Joan of Lady Oracle struggles with who she is because so many people in her life change her or coerce her into changing in some way. Certainly such identity crisis as Joan's are the downsides to the kind of social, spacial, and extra-familial freedoms that we North Americans possess and Europeans envy. Just as the Italians would love to have our ability to escape, we often feel great nostalgia for the belonging we imagine they must feel in their tight-knit families, small communities, inherited family businesses, etc.--imagining a world of a consistency of role and identity that may have always been a chimera. So my gripe about the fizzle ending represents something of that nostalgia for all of the false paradigms of narrated lives I suppose.
Thematically the fizzle works fine--is even necessary--but the narrative form strained against it for the most part. I suppose Lady Oracle is at least partially about the tension between aimless life and carefully aimed narrative closure. And I very much appreciated it as a kind of updated Northanger Abbey, in which our heroine is a writer of bodice-ripping Gothics rather than a reader of the same. Very clever. Joan frequently explicitly struggles with the difference between the fairy-tale narratives that she writes, her desire to live one of her own, and the sloppiness of her real-life adventures, each one lacking in the kind of absolute perfection only obtainable in formulaic, genre fiction. Therefore the themes here presented of identity, authenticity, and choice of direction vs. happenstance and falsity (either to ingratiate oneself with others or to escape from uncomfortable situations) resonated with me as both a writer and human being.
Living abroad for the last twenty years also gives me another perspective on Lady Oracle as a distinctly North American novel. Italians often tell me how jealous they are of our North American freedoms, our ability to abandon parents and family, to choose a wholly different life and destiny than our birthplace, family, social class, and social situation would seem to dictate. Obviously Italians' feelings of commitment (even entrapment) to these preordained roles in life are exaggerated by the comparison. Lady Oracle, it seems to me, is about the flip-side of such freedom, the fact that parents, lovers, even husbands and wives we choose with a great deal of care and are not at all pushed upon us by destiny (or so we think), can precipitate disasters upon us and our identity. The best solution, from the North American perspective, is certainly to flee. However, as Lady Oracle shows, flight and change alter fundamental parts of our self-generated identity and our unique and invariable identity is a thing most human beings hold sacred--and mistakenly usually believe to be unique and invariable in an utterly variable world trapped in the flow of the continuum of time. Joan of Lady Oracle struggles with who she is because so many people in her life change her or coerce her into changing in some way. Certainly such identity crisis as Joan's are the downsides to the kind of social, spacial, and extra-familial freedoms that we North Americans possess and Europeans envy. Just as the Italians would love to have our ability to escape, we often feel great nostalgia for the belonging we imagine they must feel in their tight-knit families, small communities, inherited family businesses, etc.--imagining a world of a consistency of role and identity that may have always been a chimera. So my gripe about the fizzle ending represents something of that nostalgia for all of the false paradigms of narrated lives I suppose.
davefoolery's review against another edition
2.0
This book has me calling into question my whole rating system. I suffered through the first 200 pages. I wasn't interested, but the writing was ok. I wondered if I wasn't smart enough to get it. Then in part 4, the book picked up tremendously. It was exciting, interesting, finally mysteries were being solved and I could care about the characters. By the end, I felt as if I'd read a complete book out of order. Is this creative or just annoying? Would the story have been better told straight through or was the first 200 pages testing my patience making the pay off even better?
I'm not sure how to answer these questions, but this is not my favorite Margaret Atwood book, by far.
I'm not sure how to answer these questions, but this is not my favorite Margaret Atwood book, by far.
jessiebelle6'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
3.5
xcdp10's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
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
4.0
shirin_mandi's review against another edition
5.0
Joan Foster is a writer of Gothic romances, her story begins with the decision to start a new life, then we know about her childhood and next continue to this time of her life in which the situation get out of control.
Maybe running away from reality and difficulties are not a very logical decision, but I admire the people who easily can give up everyone and gave up everything, live their own lives, and don't care about what others say. So, I think Joan is something like this in a good way.
This book reminded me of the CAT's EYE with a small mystery. LADY ORACLE was a little different, maybe because of the dark comedy that I never read in Atwood's works. If there was not a too much-threatening stalker, this book became one of my all-time favorites. But I should say I was impressed with the mother-daughter relationship and liked the character of Aunt Lou. So I can say it was an interested and enjoyable book. Something pleasant to read.
Maybe running away from reality and difficulties are not a very logical decision, but I admire the people who easily can give up everyone and gave up everything, live their own lives, and don't care about what others say. So, I think Joan is something like this in a good way.
This book reminded me of the CAT's EYE with a small mystery. LADY ORACLE was a little different, maybe because of the dark comedy that I never read in Atwood's works. If there was not a too much-threatening stalker, this book became one of my all-time favorites. But I should say I was impressed with the mother-daughter relationship and liked the character of Aunt Lou. So I can say it was an interested and enjoyable book. Something pleasant to read.
caitgoss's review against another edition
2.0
I read all the way though this book before I remembered that I had already read it.
I couldn't find a lot to identify with in either the characters or the plot.
I couldn't find a lot to identify with in either the characters or the plot.
patti_pinguin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
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
4.0
nsquire's review against another edition
2.0
It's funny. When I went to give my rating on this, I was tempted to give this three or even four stars. Is this because it's written by Margaret Atwood and therefore must be amazing? Or because it was still entertaining enough that I finished it in a weekend? The truth is - I found it a little bit disappointing.
The excerpts from the novel that the protagonist is writing come together and seem to have more relevance in the end.. but for the majority of them, I found myself skimming.
The book in its entirety felt like a dark Bridget Jones novel. (And I'm not going to lie - I enjoyed it for this.)
But as for the feelings of satisfaction and/or curiosity in putting it down.. it just didn't do it for me.
I didn't trust that the main character would develop in any meaningful way or take any action that I was willing her to do for the entire book. This could function as a sort of feminist commentary, but instead of feeling thoughtful and empowered..I was left feeling deflated.
The excerpts from the novel that the protagonist is writing come together and seem to have more relevance in the end.. but for the majority of them, I found myself skimming.
The book in its entirety felt like a dark Bridget Jones novel. (And I'm not going to lie - I enjoyed it for this.)
But as for the feelings of satisfaction and/or curiosity in putting it down.. it just didn't do it for me.
I didn't trust that the main character would develop in any meaningful way or take any action that I was willing her to do for the entire book. This could function as a sort of feminist commentary, but instead of feeling thoughtful and empowered..I was left feeling deflated.
holly_moward's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this early work from Margaret Atwood. As with all of her novels, the characters are so multilayered, complex, loveable. I think my favorite part of the book, and perhaps the "tightest" aspect of the story, is the telling of Joan's childhood and adolescence. I was surprised and interested that a large part of the main character's identity is centered on having been fat in the past. I've often noticed that Atwood seems sort of passively fat-phobic, which I've always just taken as a generational quirk, but this really brought an interesting angle to the topic. There's some genuine empathy, sorrow, and gentleness in her depiction of Joan as a fat kid -- too fat to be allowed to dance in the ballet recital, to be loved by her mother, or, as she ages, to noticed by men. I think a more modern reader might take offense to some of the ways Joan talks about her fatness, especially as she "reduces" and is haunted by her past, but I also think they're truthful to the character and how she's perpetually running away from herself.
I also loved the supernaturalism and the Spiritualist aspect of this novel; it felt very fresh, especially as some of Atwood's more "slice of life" novels can have some repetitive threads and recurrent images/themes. I did think the end was somehow weak, especially that last chapter. It felt off to me, and I think it could've ended with the chapter before, where Joan is waiting to see if she's been discovered and by whom. I think somehow the story felt more compressed as it went along; the Royal Porcupine could've had more time dedicated to him, the lead-up to the fake death, the return of Paul -- all of these things could have been worked just a little longer to add to the climax of the story. It almost feels like the novel was just one half-draft away from being totally finished, or it needed just another nudge to bring it completely full circle. Regardless, I still enjoyed it, and I think it's an interesting read in the Atwood canon for its fairy tale themes and seeds of Cat's Eye and other future novels.
I also loved the supernaturalism and the Spiritualist aspect of this novel; it felt very fresh, especially as some of Atwood's more "slice of life" novels can have some repetitive threads and recurrent images/themes. I did think the end was somehow weak, especially that last chapter. It felt off to me, and I think it could've ended with the chapter before, where Joan is waiting to see if she's been discovered and by whom. I think somehow the story felt more compressed as it went along; the Royal Porcupine could've had more time dedicated to him, the lead-up to the fake death, the return of Paul -- all of these things could have been worked just a little longer to add to the climax of the story. It almost feels like the novel was just one half-draft away from being totally finished, or it needed just another nudge to bring it completely full circle. Regardless, I still enjoyed it, and I think it's an interesting read in the Atwood canon for its fairy tale themes and seeds of Cat's Eye and other future novels.
plethodonlife's review against another edition
4.0
Margaret Atwood writes with poetically beautiful prose, and the novel follows an absorbing story. The plot moves slowly and doesn't have a lot of action, but it works well. The ending is a little disappointing, but I really enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.