The Robber Bride

Rating:
Summary: A delicious, quick read
Review: The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood is a page-turner. It's the story of three very different 50-something women, Roz, Tony, and Charis, who have two things in common: they went to school with one another, and they were both horribly mistreated by a woman named Zenia. Zenia is a modern-day Helen of Troy, a woman whose face, breast implants, and devious, callous machinations result in a wave of destruction and man-eating.

Much to the women's relief, Zenia ends up dead and buried. They finally feel safe until one day, while they're at lunch, Zenia appears.

The novel traces each woman's explosive history with Zenia, braiding their lives together. They're the three witches of Macbeth, but they don't wait for thunder, lightning, and rain to get together. Instead, they hang out at a trendy restaurant called Toxique. Each woman has a very different personality and past, and each woman has at least one background story on Zenia. None of these stories match up, of course.

This is my one qualm about the book. We never do learn exactly who Zenia is, or why she's motivated to do those awful things she does so very well. She is a delicious villain, a Cruella de Ville of the literati, but what drives her?

At first glance, the story doesn't sound terribly interesting, and relies upon the stereotype of the poor, promiscuous, dupe of a husband, Margaret Atwood adeptly makes it into a wonderful black comedy.

Rating:
Summary: At times uneven but often fascinating.
Review: I love Ms Atwood's writing period. I mean,in my opinion she could write about the phone book and keep me engrossed. You may not agree with me,I know,I just wanted to state that before I review this book,which while not her best work of the ones I've read so far, still resonates. The three woman are so well-drawn that you feel like you are snooping in on some very good friends. All quite flawed, but still the kind of friends I wish I had more of. Also, There are,unfortunately,"Zenias" in this world,although most don't operate on such a high-level of manipulation as she does. The stark reality of these woman's lives is a vivid,though at times,a bit unbelievable parallel to this woman who seems to exist only for her own selfish needs. It's a scary,sometimes funny and often sad book that will keep you wondering what will happen next.

Rating:
Summary: blah
Review: Well, it was better than Cat's Eye.

I wish I could like Atwood. This could have been an enjoyable dramatic adventure for the women in the novel... I loved the premise of the book and was hoping for some juicy plot- bloody revenge or something even more sinister. But instead it's another psychodrama, a bunch of women paralyzed by their fear of a villainess whose evil has reached mythical proportions in their minds, when in actuality she is nothing more than a self-serving chick with a bit of a sadistic streak. I just couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to accept their terror at the mere thought of Zenia.

Women can be vicious and cruel to one another, no doubt, but the way Atwood portrays these relationships seems unlikely.

Rating:
Summary: a female bonding soap opera saved by brilliant writing..
Review: Margaret Atwood is clearly amongst the most talented writers of modern fiction today. When her gift is matched with a wonderful story, as with her recent "The Blind Assassin", the reader is truly in for wonderful entertainment (yes, I really loved that book). However when the story is marginal, as with "The Robber Bride", one is left with a feeling that a great opportunity was wasted.

"The Robber Bride" is about three middle-aged women, each a bit unique (ie, odd) in their own way, whose lives have been changed for the worse by their evil "friend" Zenia. Zenia, who is of course both beautiful and intelligent, snatches boyfriends/husbands, deals in drugs, steals money, lies, etc - she is one larger-than-life monster. The story opens where these three women meet five years after the Zenia's funeral. While having their regular social in walks Zenia (!). And then Atwood gives us the full story on Zenia, the three women, ... and finally the mystery is unravelled.

While Atwood does entertain us with fine prose and well-developed characters, "The Robber Bride" is almost comical in its rather contrived story. Worse, she resorts to throwing many male (and female) stereotypes into the stew. Examples: all men are victims of gorgeous "femme fatales", women are either weak or they are wicked, ... and Ms. Atwood throws in a perverted uncle for good measure.

Bottom line: entertaining in an outrageous sort of way. Margaret Atwood has matured since completing "The Robber Bride", so I suggest going after those novels first. However this book is certainly not bad; female readers looking for a Jackie Collins-type of novel with panache will certainly enjoy "The Robber Bride".

Rating:
Summary: Atwood and her characters shine in this fabulous book
Review: The Robber Bride is one of those books that is thoroughly engrossing, one which creates characters and a world which we don't want to see end.

The book is about 3 different, good-hearted women and the way in which their lives intersect and twist and entwine around another, powerful, sexual, and almost witch-like woman, Zenia.

First there is Roz (a wealthy, robust woman who came from money, but works hard as an executive for a magazine, is married to "Mitch," and has three chidren, two young twin girls and an older boy), then Tony (a shy, bookish history professor with a lover named West, she prefers to live in the dusty struggles of the distant past, or at least she is most comfortable there), and finally Charis, or "Karen," (a very fragile, wispy woman who lives in a run-down house on an island near the city, and who has an American draft-dodger lover, Billy, and later, a daughter, August).

What brings these women together is one woman, Zenia. Zenia is a mysterious woman, who we learn quite a bit about, (for one thing, we learn that she is incredibly powerful, and kind of like a black hole with the power to suck in unassuming men into her sexual web, no matter who they are, or what relationships existed for the men previously), but who remains a sort of shadowy enigma. Atwood makes it clear that Zenia is no ordinary woman. Through Zenia's lips come all sorts of stories about her origins. She was a Russian emigre who was a child prostitute after her mother died. She is a busty, exotic waitress who men cannot keep their eyes (or hands) (or hearts) (or declarations of undying love) off of. She is a ghost, the ghost of a woman who was killed in a far-off land while working as a photographer covering the war. She is an Eastern European goddess, with eyes and lips and a body that could sink a thousand ships. Zenia is all of these things, and many, many more. She is a mysterious, mystical force, a dark velvet magnet for the imagination, the Id of woman personified, Eve in the garden. She is also, or she can be, very, very evil, and like a storm she leaves bodies, hearts, limbs, tears, strewn behind her in her wake. She pulls a man, a woman, a Person, into her life, and then spits them out and disappears, only to appear again, in a different guise, in a different story, carrying with her the seeds of a different past, to plant them into another victim. A sort of metaphorical vampire. And the women in the book, who encounter her time and again, with years in between sometimes, swear to themselves, (and later, to each other), that this time, *this time,* they will not let her in. They know that their loves, their families, their hopes and dreams, their very lives are at stake. But it's not so easy to turn their back on her as they would like. She's the kind of person, the kind of myth, that is impossible to ignore. She is so powerful, so strong a force, that three otherwise intelligent women can't help but answer the knocking door, can't help but let her in, "just for a minute," "just for a small favor." And like the hunter that she is, Zenia worms her way inside, and greedily feeds on the marrow of all that is sacred to them, all that is theirs. Atwood creates a character here who wears a human cloak to hide the wolf inside her. Fascinating.

It's true, the book is really about the three other women, their struggles, their loves, their attempts to make a full and satisfying life for themselves in the world. To be happy with themselves, to find lasting love, or try to, to bring children into the world and create families, homes.

But the character that stuck with me, I have to say, is Zenia. I found her a fascinating creation, and proof yet again of Atwood's measurable talent as a writer and of her boundless imagination in creating her characters. Atwood is known for mixing elements of fairy tales into her work (the title of this book is even based on the fairy tale, "The Robber Bridegroom.") I think she enjoys mixing things up, and making her villain a woman, instead of a man, like we are so used to in our culture. As a feminist, I think Atwood wants to present women that are multi-faceted and not just good and quiet and motherly and sweet, like we are so often expected to be. I think Atwood fans will be delighted with this novel, and I highly recommend it to fans of feminist fiction. To enjoy this book the most, I think you have to think of Atwood as a Storyteller first (as in around the campfire, shadows everywhere, strange crackling behind you in the forest), realist fiction writer second. Zenia is a *myth*, which is what I don't think some people who've read the novel completely understood.

Rating:
Summary: great
Review: One of Margaret Atwood's best. A compelling, suspenseful story of three friends who are thrown for a loop when an old friend they all thought was dead suddenly reappears in their lives.

Rating:
Summary: This is far from her best
Review: In a book or a movie, when there is incessant talk about a character, the reader or viewer develops expectations. It takes a great writer to meet them. Most times, i am disappointed when the mystery character is finally unveiled. This was the case with Zenia. What's so special about her? Why was she so set on breaking marriages and relationships apart? Did she have some special vendetta going on? None of that is explained, which leaves me asking too many questions.

I agree with one of the editorial reviews that states how each one of the friends is almost a cliche of a lifestyle. The most realistic character is Roz: her sense of defeat is quite palpable, and that is more than i can say about anyone else. Charis is rather pathetic, an old hippie still holding to the idea of peace and love, still not aware of what a joke her life has been: under the pretense of "love one another", lots of people have taken advantage of her, and she has allowed it, and she is still allowing it with her own daughter, August.

If you are new to Atwood, pick something else!

Rating:
Summary: NEWS FLASH: man reads Atwood... and likes it.
Review: I just finished this book... in fact, Zenia's ashes are probably still hovering over the water... Roz and Tony are right now slipping some of Charis's well-intentioned hors d'oeuvres into their pockets under the table to throw out on their way home...

I am a guy, and I actually enjoyed reading about these gals. I'm sure the book probably has a 99% female readership... which is O.K. and understandable, but it's too bad more guys don't read Atwood stuff... it's very educational and entertaining. There's more grit, hilarity, and bouncing off the ropes here than in any afternoon of the WWF !!

For a while I was disappointed in the co-incidence that all of the female characters seem to come from overly similar dysfunctional (even suicidal) parental lineage... they have similar inner struggles and propensities toward dual personalities. Redundant? But then I considered that it is often this very type of thing that can cause people to gravitate towards one another... even without the awareness of each other's history. So it is not unduly "contrived" that the three main characters should come together over the decades that are represented here. At any rate, it is Zenia, (who leaves nothing of "co-incidence" in her wake) that is the common denominator... the robber "mistress" as it were, that causes the three to increasingly interact and support one another.

Word to the men here though... if you need to feel like a hero, stick with Tom Clancy or whatever. The only real criticism I have of The Robber Bride is that (with all due respect to the capricious properties of testosterone), I'm not sure that all men are as ready to abandon established relationships and chase after silicone as are the men that are portrayed here. But, all that aside, I really enjoyed the book and was interested throughout.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely not her best
Review: I found this book to be bogged down in details and lacking in movement. The characters are too quirky and overstyled to feel real. Overall, the book seems self-indulgent and therefore does not speak to the reader. It has nice moments, but feels more like an exercise in writing rather than a piece that comes from the heart.

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down - vintage Atwood
Review: This is the second Atwood novel I have read, and I found it even more difficult to put down than Cat's Eye. I also found it easier to understand. The characters, albeit a tad stereotypical and narrowly drawn, still managed to draw me in and in, fact, reminded me of various parts of myself. I found myself wondering if that was part of Atwood's point -- that we have a bit of Toni, Roz, Charis, and even Zenia in all of us. It was amazing to me how fascinated I was by Zenia, given how distant she was in the novel.

There were things that were not great about the book. The characters and some of the relationships were predictable. But that is to be expected with Atwood, who seems to address the same themes in all her writing -- the power relations between men and women, and how the female need for male acceptance impacts the relationships between women. One should read Atwood for the poetic nature of her writing; the stunning metaphors and the descriptions that haunt the reader long after the book is done.