The Robber Bride

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: A Good Read But Far From Atwood's Best
Review: Margaret Atwood is an icon in the world of literature and for the past year I have read four of her novels: "The Handmaid's Tale," "Alias Grace," "The Blind Assassin," and most recently, "The Robber Bride." I first read The Handmaid's Tale as part of my AS English Lit. course, and enjoyed it so much that I was compelled to read more of her novels. I can't imagine many others feeling this passionate about one book that they would want to read so much more by the same author, but I do, and I will continue reading her novels until there's none left to read! And after that, I'll just re-read them!

The Robber Bride is the fourth novel that I have read by Atwood, and the first to receive less than a perfect 5/5. I feel that with The Handmaid's Tale, Alias Grace and The Blind Assassin, Atwood crafted some true masterpieces, but this book is a little bit weaker. Don't get me wrong, it's still a very good novel and I admire her desire to explore different themes and genres without fear of failing. I think she pulls off a number of themes very well in the novel, but maybe the topic is a bit too girly for my liking.

The novel is based on "The Robber Bridegroom" by the Brothers Grimm where in which an evil groom lures three unsuspecting women into her lair and devours them all separately. However, re-telling this story would just be plain boring so Atwood, every the inventor, spins her own remarkable twist on the story where the evil villain is a woman who sets out to destroy the lives of three fellow women. The novel opens with these three characters who are 50-something decent ladies and have been friends for decades. Their names are Tony, Charis and Roz. They are present at the funeral of Zenia, who was blown up in some ambiguous 'accident'. Then a few days later, when the three friends are having lunch at the Toxique and think they have got rid of Zenia forever....

"With waves of ill will flowing out of her like cosmic radiation, Zenia is back...."

This first happens when we take a 40-page look at the day in the life of Tony and how this builds up to her knowing of Zenia's existence. This is then followed by another look at the day in the life of Charis, and how she winds up meeting with Tony and Roz and seeing Zenia, all at the same time. Then there is, of course, a day in the life of Roz which builds up to how she meets Zenia again. Through these three sections we really get to know about all three distinctive characters and the people in their lives. Tony has West, her boyfriend who sits making strange records all day in his studio. Charis has her daughter August/a and her boss Shanita. While Roz has her two troublesome teenage girls and her son Larry who is much older than the girls.

After this we embark on the histories of each woman. Tony comes first and the story of her life builds up, page by page, of how she met West, how Zenia became a part of her life and how she tore her life up. I think the life story of Charis is the most interesting, because I love the way her childhood stands out so vividly fro the others. It's almost heartbreaking when you think of the things that child had to go through in her early childhood, such as her molesting Uncle and her insane mother. All this makes Charis want to be a better person, though, and the way Zenia and Billy deceive her is one of the novel's best moments. The history of Roz is very well constructed, and she is probably my favourite character of the three because she's just a funny outrageous girl with a sea of heartbreak and confusion under that gleeful exterior.

By the time we come to the end of these three tales of how Zenia deceived all three women, the novel is almost over. Before you know it, the suspense is already built for you to anticipate the ending and the outcome of Zenia. Will she survive? Has she more tricks up her sleeve? Will any of these amazing women get even with her? What we're left with is an ending that tries to show us that maybe something was wrong with the way the three women constructed their lives, and not Zenia. Zenia was just the catalyst for an inevitable destruction. Not to say what Zenia did was good - they were very evil and malicious things, but I think the book is trying to tell us something about our own personalities. Overall, a very good book that I enjoyed a lot but it's not quite perfect. I would recommend it to other readers of Atwood's fiction, though, to make up their own minds.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: You've got to read this book! If you like a riddle inside a paradox wrapped up in an enigma and/or if you just like great writing, you'll want to read it again and again as I have. The thick, richly textured descriptions, the convoluted plot, and the complex characters are among the most compelling I've ever encountered. I was totally drawn into the story and sometimes found myself rereading passages aloud just to feel the language worming its way through my ears into my brain. I can easily place The Robber Bride in my top ten alongside Crime and Punishment, Grapes of Wrath, The Yearling, Jude the Obscure, and Hamlet. It's a tragedy Shakespeare or the Cohn brothers would relish. Don't rely on lukewarm reviews and anti-Canadian sentiment. Can't we get beyond all that ridiculousness? Judge the book's merits for yourself; then come back and write your own review! PEACE, Carlyn Lindsey & SnakeDoctor

Rating:
Summary: My second time reading it
Review: I read The Robber Bride when it first came out and didn't like it. I think I'd just read The Handmaid's Tale and had such high expectations for the new Margaret Atwood that I was disappointed by this modern day, relatively mainstream novel.

Picked it up again a few weeks ago and liked it much better the second time around. It's no Handmaid's Tale - but it is engrossing and the characters are well drawn.

The only aspect of the book that was still disappointing to me was the trouble I had believing that Zenia could still exert such force over three women whose lives she had derailed. As compelling a character as Zenia was - I think these women would be smart enough to never believe a word she said. And yet...

A good read with just a touch of mystery. Guess the second time was the charm.

Rating:
Summary: A bit slow for Margaret
Review: I am a huge Margaret Atwood fan, first off. This book is slow and subtle, and while I wouldn't say it was great, it does have an appeal. I had a hard time getting through the first few chapters, but Atwood is so good at developing a level of depth to her characters that you become attached to them whether there's much of a plot or not. While it's not one of my favorites by this author, the book has her style, with vivid, delicious use of words to conjure up beautiful, lurid images in your mind while you read.

Rating:
Summary: Terrible
Review: This was the most boring book ever written. The plot was uneventful, the characters were all neurotic and moronic, and there was no theme.