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A review by agnestyley
The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
4.5
Oh, to be a woman: envious, selfless, strong, fallible, obsessive, dependable, complicated. Three female narrators, who appear as stereotypes and cardboard cutouts of the post-feminist era at first, turn out to portray the truly intense depth of the female experience.
"Male fantasies, male fantasies, is everything run by male fantasies? Up on a pedestal or down on your knees, it's all a male fantasy: that you're strong enough to take what they dish out, or else too weak to do anything about it. Even pretending you aren't catering to male fantasies is a male fantasy: pretending you're unseen, pretending you have a life of your own, that you can wash your feet and comb your hair unconscious or the ever-present watcher peering through the keyhole, peering through the keyhole in your own head, if nowhere else. You are a woman with a man inside watching a woman. You are your own voyeur."
I adore Margaret Atwood. I raced through this (lengthy) novel faster than I raced across Europe on ICE Deutschebahn trains. Though I must remember that her novels will never have satisfying endings - to love Atwood, you have to be okay with mystery and intrigue, or you will simply combust with dissatisfaction.
"Male fantasies, male fantasies, is everything run by male fantasies? Up on a pedestal or down on your knees, it's all a male fantasy: that you're strong enough to take what they dish out, or else too weak to do anything about it. Even pretending you aren't catering to male fantasies is a male fantasy: pretending you're unseen, pretending you have a life of your own, that you can wash your feet and comb your hair unconscious or the ever-present watcher peering through the keyhole, peering through the keyhole in your own head, if nowhere else. You are a woman with a man inside watching a woman. You are your own voyeur."
I adore Margaret Atwood. I raced through this (lengthy) novel faster than I raced across Europe on ICE Deutschebahn trains. Though I must remember that her novels will never have satisfying endings - to love Atwood, you have to be okay with mystery and intrigue, or you will simply combust with dissatisfaction.