The Robber Bride

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Summary: Great Dame Margaret
Review: Great writer that is...Margaret Atwood is a tiny woman, like the heroine of this novel. Based on a fairy tale idea, this is a thoroughly contemporary novel by one of the great satirists of all time. This novel lives -- not only is Atwood's city of Toronto magnificently and accurately depicted here -- but the characters are all women that we might have known. The central character -- oh, dear, who is the central character, is it the professor Toni who narrates the book and seems so much like Atwood herself -- or is it the focus Zenia, the perfect woman who seems so model-like, so tall, so slender, so hip, so intelligent? Anyway, this is a book about allusions. The Robber bride is based on the idea of the Robber Bridegroom, the evil fairy tale character who murders his wives. Zenia is completely other than she seems. Far from perfect. Far from accomplished. A myth. This is a book to read now if you haven't read it already and then to reread in about five years. I think it is time for my second reading!

Rating:
Summary: A book that can't be put down
Review: I've just finished reading "Blind Assasin" by Atwood when my husband gave me this book as an early Christmas present. I am so grateful to have this book ~~ I feel as if I know Tony, Charis and Roz as well as I know my best friends. Their shared jealousy and anger with Zenia is refreshingly honest. They remind me of three ladies sharing their stories with each other in mutual aggravation with the central character who flits in and out of their lives. Once you pick up this book, you won't be able to put it down. I know, I tried and couldn't.

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Summary: Canadian women?
Review: I really enjoyed this novel (Atwood's wordplay is intoxicating), but I did find myself becoming a bit annoyed with the 'protagonists' toward the end-as they became much less real to me. I actually found myself rooting for Zenia. No American woman would have ever put up with the hell she put Charis, Roz, and Tony through. Well, an American woman never would have been gullible enough to fall for her over-the-top ruses, manipulations, and abuse in the first place. (Oh no-did I sound too much like Z. just then . . . ?)

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Summary: There are things to be said for this
Review: I spent a week reading this book, but it was the week after the election, so that tells why it took me so long. I could not empathize with anyone in the book, but then I am a man, so I suspect it wasn't intended that I do so. The men in the book are all despicable, and the women (except for the evil Zenia) are weak and non-admirable usually. The liberal use of scatological language is off-putting. The ending is non-memorable. But Atwood can write, and while I enjoyed this book less than I did Alias Grace, it is alot better than The Edible Woman. Those are the only other Atwood books I've read. I will read Blind Assassin, since I try to read all Booker winners, tho there are a number ot them I've not read.

Rating:
Summary: A complete waste of time
Review: The story of Zenia, a character with no redeeming qualities and her impact on three women. Only you never find out anything about Zenia. And Roz, Tony and Charis are not people I cared very much about. I think there characters were pretty well defined, but I kept wondering about the men in their lives and what these women saw in them, and what Zenia wanted with them. When I got to the end all I thought was is that it? I felt like I had wasted a week of my life.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, Captivating
Review: This is a wonderfully written novel. I was completely captivated by the lives of the three women in the book. I almost couldn't put it down!

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional book
Review: This is one of the best books I've ever read. Margaret Atwood's writing style never ceases to amaze me, and the intelligence that comes through is astounding. Any woman can relate to one of the four main characters in the book. Highly recommend this book to everyone!

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Summary: I loved it so much I named a cat after a character
Review: When I first started reading this book I was a little bit leary. But after a few chapters I was completely engrossed in the story. I loved it so much that I ended up naming my cat Zenia (not that she was the nicest person). This is a book that when it ends you will be wishing that it would never end.

Rating:
Summary: Touching
Review: It's been a while since I read this but I just had to comment. This was the first book I read after my husband left me for another woman. It was beautiful and touching and it was uncanny how well Atwood described everything that I was feeling - at times, it took my breath away. If you've never been there...read this and learn from it.

Rating:
Summary: The Robber Bride
Review: I really enjoyed this book. Never having read anything by Margaret Atwood, and just picking this off the shelf at the library, I was thrilled with her excellent writing style, unique plot, and wonderful character development. I recommend this novel for a great read.