A review by toniclark
Good Bones and Simple Murders by Margaret Atwood

5.0

I’ve read quite a few of Atwood’s novels over the years, starting with her earliest (The Edible Woman). Recently I heard her speak at a conference and decided to read more of her essays, reviews, and other short works. This collection, Good Bones and Simple Murders, a varied collection of different forms — not “short stories,” per se, but rather parables, monologues, prose poems, science fictions, retold fairy tales, and more. The entire collection displays Atwood’s intellect, wit, and facility with language. At once, a forceful depiction of contemporary life — its values, politics, gender roles (often with wry tongue-in-cheek humor) — and a glittering tribute to the power of the imagination.

I first read the book many years ago, and I’m sorry for not revisiting it sooner, but know I will read it again.