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.
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.
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
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