A review by smallcasualbooktok
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

dark funny reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

really really good. i loved the chapters from the maids. i love an unreliable narrator and this definitely had that in spades. atwood writes unlikeable female protagonists so well (the edible woman, alias grace, etc). and i loved how it illustrated even though penelope spent her whole life playing the perfect, modest wife, whether she was or wasn’t, that will not save you when you’re at the whims of men and the patriarchy. In her relationship with Helen, who by all means was not the dutiful wife or woman, the reader can see penelope’s internalized misogyny and anger that a woman so clearly not living by the rules could be in the same if not better position as she. not to say atwood’s helen is perfect either. would recommend for anyone who’s an atwood fan or looking to get into her works. triumphant final chapter. the themes prominent in atwood’s writing are as usual present here. i loved this short story 
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