I happened to be reading The Handmaid’s Tale when the story about the UCSB shooting spree hit the news. By now, most likely you’ve read that the shooter hated women because he couldn’t get a date and that he left behind a “manifesto” and many videos in which he presented his misogynistic ideas. In response, and as an empowerment for women, the hashtag #YesAllWomen has gone viral, with women and men speaking up and speaking out against the culture that creates men like the shooter. […]
Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood
“I planned my death carefully, unlike my life, which meandered along from one thing to another, despite my feeble attempts to control it.” Our narrator, Joan Foster, states this early in the novel, and spends the rest of the novel explaining what she means. She did not plan to commit suicide; rather, she faked her own death. She then fled to Italy, where she reminisces about her childhood, her relationships (and ultimately her marriage), and her career (both as a world-renowned poet and a secret […]
Cold in Iceland
Burial Rites is Hannah Kent’s first novel and an auspicious start to her career. Set in 1828-1830, the plot is based on real people and factual events surrounding the last execution of a criminal in Iceland. For those who prefer their fiction historical and who have enjoyed Margaret Atwood’s Alias, Grace or the novels of Geraldine Brooks (who is thanked in the author’s note), this is a book you will want to read. In 1828, a well known herbalist and healer (some said sorcerer) named […]
Bluebeard’s Egg by Margaret Atwood
I normally don’t like short stories. With the exception of horror stories, which don’t really require it, I dislike them because there’s so little characterization. You get a few pages to learn all you can about a person, and then it just cuts off. I want miles and miles of information about a person; their thoughts and habits and dreams and flaws and all the good stuff that makes me want to read a story. Margaret Atwood is such a talented writer that she creates […]
MelBivDevoe’s CBR Review #8: So, That Happened.
Well, that was certainly… something. I finished this novel over 24 hours ago and I’m still trying to collect my thoughts on it. Might as well start at the beginning. Be forewarned, there will be SPOILERS all over the place. The story picks up right where “The Year of the Flood” left off. As Ren, Amanda, Toby, and Jimmy attempt to deal with the murderous Painballers, the Crakers approach and, due to their lack of knowledge and fear, help the Painballers slip their bonds and […]
Let the Rain Wash Away All the Pain of Yesterday
“The Year of the Flood” isn’t really a sequel to “Oryx and Crake.” Instead, it tells the story of Toby and Ren, two members of the cult God’s Gardeners (GG), and how they have been able to survive in the post-apocalyptic world. It also, thankfully, fleshes out the two decades leading up to the cataclysmic plague from “Oryx and Crake” and manages to fill in the cracks from Snowman/Jimmy’s story. Toby came to the GG following the traumatic death of her parents, when she dropped […]