Modern Fiction Books > Margaret Atwood Modern Fiction Books > by Title (First Letter)

Advantages: feminism, religion, depth, quality,
Disadvantages: not for younger readers

The many levels of this book create a myriad of layers, including the most obvious themes of feminism and the possibility of a post feminism backlash and religion and its potential for destruction. Using colors as symbolism, Atwood successfully creates an intricate world, and even through the use of her characters as symbols, still enforces a sense of strong character and interesting description. Her confident use of conemporary issues, such as a ...
...enjoyable and disturbing experience. Following the likes of 1984 and Animal Farm, this book effectively delivers its deep messages through a thoroughly developed story, which succeeds in keeping the reader turning the pages. A little disturbing for a younger audience (and perhaps a little hard to understand), this is definitely recommended more for adult readers. ... Read review

Advantages: Multi-layered and complex
Disadvantages: Distracting, only read it if you have time to devote to it.

...something of a god-complex. Oryx is an enigma, you never learn her "real" name or anything concrete about her past. She skims past details and isolates emotions from her history. She and Crake ironically represent God to Snowman's new charges despite the part they had to play in earth's downfall. The combination of creator and destroyer is interesting to say the least and the non-deification of the snowman is amusing as it is he who has spun these ... Read review

Advantages: Funny and highly entertaining.
Disadvantages: Like all Atwood , is a bit wordy.

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood is based on Homers Odyssy. This however is not simply the idiots guide to Homer! Its an interesting exploration into the thoughts and feelings of Penelope (wife of Odysseus) written with her as the narrator after her murder. The voice is of a bitter woman who has not forgiven her husband for leaving her for years and years and then later having her killed - which seems understandable to me! Whats also interesting ...
...viewed as a sex symbol and steals men! A great story, very witty and sarcastic with a decent amount of sex and scandal thrown in for good measure! Another triumph by Atwood and well worth listening to. It comes highly recommended by me and all my friends who borrowed it afterwards. ... Read review

Advantages: Amazing storyline and subtly twisting plot.
Disadvantages: Very long story which may be off-putting

This was the second Margaret Atwood book I've read. I was undecided on the last of hers (Oryx and Crake) because although I liked the style of writing, I found the science fiction strand of the story unappealing. I am so glad that I decided to read this book. Once I began I couldn't put it down. The life of the Chase sisters is as intreguing as it is disturbing. Many books I have read fall back on the disclosure early on that one of the main characters ...
...I find this irritating because the stiry tends to play out in a rather predictable way. However, this author's cunning use of newspaper cuttings to allow the reader to figure out what was going on in the chronology of the story was a triumph. As was the story cutting back and forward to the unknown woman having the affair. I loveed this book and would recommend it to anyone. ... Read review

Advantages: You could read and savour them one at a time
Disadvantages: Some of them seem almost too short

Having hungrily devoured several of Margaret Atwood's novels, from 'The Handmaid's Tale' through 'Surfacing' to 'Alias Grace', I was intrigued to see 'Murder in the Dark' described as a collection of 'short fictions and prose poems'. I make several long bus journeys a week, and if you're sandwiched between giggling schoolgirls and someone booming down their mobile phone while the guy at the back is singing along to Alice Cooper on his ipod, it's ...
...page novel. But these little gems take just a couple of minutes each to read and each demands to be savoured before you go on to the next one. 'Autobiography' is a description of a landscape that starts with a blue line and goes on to scan a lake, a white cliff and a forest. The piece ends with the idea that the landscape ceased to be a landscape not because of a visual feature but because of a smell - the smell of a half-eaten carcass of a deer. ... Read review