Margaret Atwood books

[KAY]

Handmaids tale was absolutely amazing, a book i will never forget. Has anybody had any other good atwood experinces that are as powerful.

Ive just bought Oryx and crake, is it any good?

[Kell]

I'm busy downloading the audio book of The Handmaid's Tale just now and I have The Robber Bride on Mount To-Be-Read...

[madcow]

I've got Alias Grace from the library, it might just be my next read.

[Louiseog]

Ive just bought Oryx and crake, is it any good?

I read it after Handmaid's Tale I did like it but not as good for me as HT

[angerball]

Alias Grace is my favourite Atwood book. I don't think I've read an Atwood book that I didn't enjoy.

[Weave]

'The Handmaid's Tale' was the first book I read of Margaret Atwood's and I thought it was a brilliant read, I am really glad you enjoyed it Kay. I am currently reading 'The Robber Bride' by Margaret Atwood, which I am enjoying, and I have 'Oryx and Crake' and 'Alias Grace' in my TBR pile.

[Renniemist]

I have Alias Grace on my TBR pile. Handmaid's Tale is great and The Robber Bride is pretty good, but my favourite is Oryx and Crake.

 

 

 

I don

[Weave]

I have Alias Grace on my TBR pile. Handmaid's Tale is great and The Robber Bride is pretty good, but my favourite is Oryx and Crake.

 

 

 

I don

[Polka Dot Rock]

Hello Kay!

 

Margaret Atwood is one of the few writers whose books I've read quite a few of. Thus far, I've read:

 

The Handmaid's Tale

Cat's Eye

Murder in the Dark (short stories etc)

The Robber Bride

Oryx and Crake

 

...and I have The Blind Assassin and Alias Grace sitting around waiting to be read!

 

Of those I've read, Cat's Eye and The Robber Bride are amazing books, although quite different from Handmaid's Tale.

 

I think if you loved Handmaid's Tale then I doubt Oryx and Crake will disappoint

 

I read Oryx and Crake last week, and this is what I had to say:

 

I've read quite a bit of Margaret Atwood over the years now, and she's not disappointed me yet. I wasn't sure if I should try Oryx and Crake as I'd heard mixed opinions of it, and Atwood's previous venture into sci-fi/dystopia, The Handmaid's Tale, is one of my favourite novels so I didn't want to be disappointed. But I wasn't at all!

 

You could see how much research had been invested into the novel, but by using 'arty' Jimmy as the protagonist, it ensured that the science never overwhelmed the plot.

 

The melancholic tone throughout was wonderfully consistent and appropriate, especially as Jimmy didn't have a wonderful life to begin with. His life seemed quite wasted even before 'what happened'. He was quite an empty person, I found, but strangely likeable so that you cared (or at least wanted to know what happened to him).

 

Some of the names and brands were a bit silly, but the narrative was so strong that I soon got over that. However, I do think that might cause the novel to date quite quickly - which is always a problem with sci-fi set in the not-too-distant-future anyway.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed Oryx and Crake: it's beautifully written, which also helps with Atwood's trademark way of being able to create discomfort as the reader is confronted with a sinister and somewhat morally bankrupt 'pre-acoplocalptic' world and its scarily blank aftermath (which, in a weird way, seemed better!).

[Kylie]

I've read and thoroughly enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale.

 

Margaret Atwood has been named as a finalist for the 2007 Man Booker International Prize.

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN1244447720070413

[Polka Dot Rock]

Ah excellent news! Thanks lowek

[angerball]

Good news! I'd love for her to win! She's the only author on the nominee list whose books I have read.

[madcow]

I'm reading Alias Grace and really enjoying it.

[Weave]

I bought 'The Blind Assassin' yesterday and I am so looking forward to reading it.

 

I also looking forward to reading 'Alias Grace' as well Jules x:D

[Michelle]

This is a new author to me, but as I've seen her mentioned so many times on the forum, I decided I really should try one of them. So, can anyone tell what her most popular books are about, and which would be a good one to start with?

[Weave]

Michelle, I started off with 'The Handmaid's Tale' and I just finished 'The Robber Bride'. I also have 'Oryx and Crake', 'The Blind Assassin' and 'Alias Grace' (which I am about to start reading).

 

I would suggest starting with 'Oryx and Crake', I have heard so many good things about it.

 

Happy reading and choosing Michelle:D

 

The Blurb for all the above books:

 

The Handmaid's Tale

 

The Republic of Gilead offers Offred only one function: to breed. If she deviates, she will, like dissenters, be hanged at the wall or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness. But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire - neither Offred's nor that of the two men on which her future hangs...

 

The Robber Bride

 

Zenia is beautiful, smart and greedy, by turns manipulative and vulnerable, needy and ruthless; a man's dream and a woman''s nightmare. She is also dead. Just to make sure Tony, Roz andd Charis are there for the funeral. But five years on, as the three women share an indulgent, sisterly lunch, the unthinkable happens; 'with waves of ill will flowing out of her like cosmic radiation', Zenia is back...

 

Oryx and Crake

 

"In the beginning, there was chaos..." Margaret Atwood's chilling new novel Oryx and Crake moves beyond the futuristic fantasy of her 1985 bestseller The Handmaid

[Michelle]

Thanks Paula.. I had a wander around Amazon, Green Met and my library, read some blurbs, and found out what was available. My final choice, from Green Met was The Robber Bride and Alias Grace.

 

The Handmaid's Tale looked interesting, but not very easy to get hold of.. if I like the style, I will try again later.

[Weave]

Thanks Paula.. I had a wander around Amazon, Green Met and my library, read some blurbs, and found out what was available. My final choice, from Green Met was The Robber Bride and Alias Grace.

 

The Handmaid's Tale looked interesting, but not very easy to get hold of.. if I like the style, I will try again later.

 

I hope you enjoy them Michelle:D

[chocolategal]

I haven't read any of these books, but i'm off to the libary soon, i will have to take some out, any ideas of which one is best to read first?

[Polka Dot Rock]

I had a wander around Amazon, Green Met and my library, read some blurbs, and found out what was available. My final choice, from Green Met was The Robber Bride and Alias Grace.

 

The Handmaid's Tale looked interesting, but not very easy to get hold of.. if I like the style, I will try again later.

 

If I may Michelle, I'd recommend reading The Robber Bride first. Out of the two, I think it'd serve as a good introduction to Atwood's different writing styles, tones, narratives etc, set in a modern(ish) context (Canada in the 1980s).

 

The Handmaid's Tale may be hard to get hold of as it is a favourite of many so they probably don't want to let go of their copies

[Weave]

I just finished 'Alias Grace' by Margaret Atwood and it was brilliant, a great read x

[KW]

Just got through reading half of the shorts in The Dancing Girls, a collection of hers. I enjoyed what I read. I could do with a recomendation of a single title of hers to start out with.

[Polka Dot Rock]

I could do with a recomendation of a single title of hers to start out with.

 

I'd say The Handmaid's Tale or The Robber Bride Her work is amazingly varied but I think those two contain a lot of her key issues.

[Weave]

Having recently finished 'Oryx and Crake' by Margaret Atwood and it is one of my favourite, I really enjoyed reading it, I recommend it highly x:D

[Fiona]

The Blind Assassin is on my reading list... I also have another of hers. I have read a few pages of TBA and I can tell she's a good author. I just wasn't ready to read such a long book by a new author. I find there's a certain amount of commitment you have to give to new authors and long books then - longer books of authors you know. :/ If you get me...

 

Anyway, should I look forward to it?