Reviews

Bodily Harm by Margaret Atwood

kaileycool's review against another edition

4.0

An interesting exploration of the different efficacies of men and women and their connection to embodiment - "She wondered what it was like to throw yourself into another person, another body, a darkness like that. Women could not do it. Instead, they had darkness thrown into them."

jenmcvay's review against another edition

I read this in my twenties and really liked it. In my fifties, I am not - and just cannot get - into it. I read it in my twenties and was listening to it just now - maybe that is part of it, I don't know. I do not like or care about Rennie this time around, and I can't figure out why. 

All I know for sure is that there are far too many books out there that might thrill me to spend more time with one I have already read that is now boring me. On to the next adventure!

annacristil's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

lgray420's review

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

sharlit's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

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

3.5

marianagmzz's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

3.0

scmiller's review

2.0

A high 2, at best. Rennie was a boring character with an uninteresting personality, internally and externally. I did like how Atwood deromanticized the tourist's vacation. It wasn't a beautiful or interesting place and Atwood made sure not to paint the tourists or North America's well-intentioned philanthropy in a positive light.

mxjoebest's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

2.5

rzh's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

Parts of this book I really enjoyed: the postmodern shiftiness of the truth, the eeriness of the bright sun-baked Caribbean setting, the keen observation of female objectification. Other parts not so much: some parts just felt like a bit of a drag. However, upon reflection, i think that's entirely the point. 

Quite a few of the reviews I have read for this book mention frustration with the protagonist, Rennie, and her lack of agency. She never instigates, never does anything: only has things done to her. As much as I see this in the novel, I think that it is representative of Atwood's wider thematic concerns: of women being objects, pawns for men to play about with. This is highlighted by the sexual abuse and voyeurism suffered by the women throughout the text, as well Rennie's sense of alienation from her own body due to her cancer and highlighted by the John Berger epigraph at the beginning. THe ending was fantastic:

Rennie's ability to fly away from all of the violence and corruption she discovers in St Antoine showing her own disconnect with her body and lack of agency, as well speaking to today's sense of disconnect from suffering and violence due to the oversaturated news cycle.

Though i felt it lacked direction at times, I think that is part and parcel of the objective. For the most part, it is a deeply intriguing and evocative investigation into the male gaze; modern sense of disconnect from violence and, well, bodily harm; and how these issues affect women as the objects of desire.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Rape, and Violence

Minor: Drug use and Excrement

hikemogan's review against another edition

3.0

This wasn't my favorite Margaret Atwood book. The plot was barely a plot, more like an ending which was just designed to wrap everything up. The characters were almost stock characters in a way, "Daniel" and "Jake," respectively the dreamy rich doctor and the more obtainable generic male jerk who the protagonist couldn't help but fall for anyways, or "Jocasta" the sassy female sidekick or "Lora" the tropical free spirit. The most compelling part was the descriptions of the protagonist's health issues and dealing with that loss. Atwood hit her stride later in the 1980s, but this one isn't absolutely necessary.