Rating: 
Summary: Read this, and don't tell me she isn't BRILLIANT
Review: I think the absolutely wonderful thing about Atwood's works is that they are so individual and different from each other... it seems as if she steps in to the mind of her characters and her writing is, as a result, not hers, but the character's. What makes Life Before Man so amazing--to me, at least--is the fact that while most writers are writing to make you believe their plot and characters, etc., Atwood herself believes them... she BECOMES the character. It seems that many people are disappointed with this novel... perhaps this is because of the format. In Life Before Man, the perspective changes from character to character about every three to five pages, which could very well become confusing, were Atwood's voice not strong enough to allow the reader to recognize instantly which character she is portraying. As I read the novel, my first instinct was to side with Lesje. Reading further, my allegiences changed, to Nate and then, in turn to Elizabeth, back and forth in a web. This is what I ENJOY in a novel. The characters are sometimes charming, sometimes endearing, and sometimes obviously cruel--multi-faceted, multi-dimensional. At times Elizabeth seems to play God in her relationships, manipulating characters as if she is in a game of chess. Yet at times she is almost childlike--laughing at a funeral, as her daughters attempt to quiet her. Lesje is clumsy and innocent, and then needy, fumbling, to the point of controlling. The third character, Nate, is a cynic who painstakingly paints handcrafted wooden toys for children in his basement... I think that to say that the characters are "colorless" is to miss the point completely. The point IS the irony, the small quirks, the layers--that is HUMANITY. We are a race full of complexities. And I'm not being pretentious... one doesn't have to look very deeply in to the novel to connect this. It is also a novel of cause and effect. I was fascinated by the way that each character interacts with one another--it really is as if they are inside walls of their own building, together, locked down and terrified. The reactions of each character to the actions of another character is essential and brilliantly portrayed. So now that you've read this, don't waste your time online--buy the book or borrow the book and read it. You'll love it. And then go buy Surfacing (STUNNING--it REALLY left me...shocked by Atwood's brilliance) and/or Lady Oracle, by Atwood. If you like poetry--Morning in the Burned House. If you don't like poetry--Morning in the Burned House. (I didn't either; in fact I was completely frustrated by prose which could not draw me in, because none of the concepts related to me, until I finally found this). READ IT. However, if you listen to Britney Spears records, this one isn't for you... (Doesn't she have a song called "Email My Heart?" And Lennon was shot... BAAAAAAAHHHHH!! Is there really that much babysitting money being handed out??)
Rating: 
Summary: Creative, but hard to follow.
Review: I thought that it was a good story, but because of the three different people talking I found it hard to follow. They each gave their view, which is often helpful, but not here. For the most part they all told different stories and were never really connceted.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinatingly depressing
Review: I'm not sure how I finished this book. The characters are not all that sympathetic, the plot is slow and sometimes nearly nonexistent, suspense is minimal, and there are dark and somber overtones on practically every page. And yet, in the end I found this strangely compelling. The novel deals with the lives of basically four people, two couples, Nate and Elizabeth, Lesje and William. Elizabeth and Nate are married but only in name for the last few years, taking lovers to keep themselves happy while staying together for the kids. Recently, Elizabeth's last lover, Chris went and killed himself, casting a cloud over her life. Lesje and William are living together but that's about it there isn't much going on. Into that mix our characters intersect and threater to collide, with Nate becoming increasingly fascinated by Lesje. Most of this is admittedly a downer, none of these characters are ever happy, it seems. The individuals characters are all spotlighted in each chapter, with the narrator focusing on their thoughts and emotions (though Elizabeth gets some first person parts for some reason). Elizabeth is mourning her lover, after a fashion, and most of her parts feel deadened and numb, most of the time she comes across as a scheming manipulative witch, albeit an emotionally crippled one, hardly able to relate even to her kids. Nate likes his women, but is always trying to please everyone and manages to please no one and makes himself miserable all the time. Lesje remains the most fascinating character, her simple innocence and desire to just be happy and live her life within the bounds of that happiness, reading and discussing her dinosaurs (gal after my own heart), she seems to be the only character I could muster up some sympathy for, even if she remains a bit ineffectual because of her shyness and fear of making a fool of herself. William, on the other hand, gets no spotlights at all in the story, except for the fact that he is with Lesje when the story starts, he might as well not be in the story. But that's probably a good thing because he seems to be about the most boring man alive (hard to believe but seems to be true). All of these people are unhappy and as the plot winds inexorably on, you get the feeling that you're basically driving slowly past a car wreck, as they become more tangled, as emotions become even more frayed. All the characters are detailed, maybe too much so, since they all turn out to be mostly unlikeable, but Atwood's prose tends to redeem most of the slower parts, her descriptions of the texture of emotions and the characters' musings over their lives are almost sheer poetry and while sometimes her metaphors can be a bit ponderous, the effect mostly lifts this over the standard "love triangle" novel. It's an analysis, true and not for everyone, don't expect to come away from this book with a warm fuzzy feeling (or any at all, the ending is strangely pointless and leaves too many things wide open but that might be the point) but if instead of a nice linear plot (or even that wacky pyramid) you want a good clean downward spiral, this is the book for you. Recommended with reservations, store up your patience first and read other Atwood books to remind yourself how good she can be.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinatingly depressing
Review: I'm not sure how I finished this book. The characters are not all that sympathetic, the plot is slow and sometimes nearly nonexistent, suspense is minimal, and there are dark and somber overtones on practically every page. And yet, in the end I found this strangely compelling. The novel deals with the lives of basically four people, two couples, Nate and Elizabeth, Lesje and William. Elizabeth and Nate are married but only in name for the last few years, taking lovers to keep themselves happy while staying together for the kids. Recently, Elizabeth's last lover, Chris went and killed himself, casting a cloud over her life. Lesje and William are living together but that's about it there isn't much going on. Into that mix our characters intersect and threater to collide, with Nate becoming increasingly fascinated by Lesje. Most of this is admittedly a downer, none of these characters are ever happy, it seems. The individuals characters are all spotlighted in each chapter, with the narrator focusing on their thoughts and emotions (though Elizabeth gets some first person parts for some reason). Elizabeth is mourning her lover, after a fashion, and most of her parts feel deadened and numb, most of the time she comes across as a scheming manipulative witch, albeit an emotionally crippled one, hardly able to relate even to her kids. Nate likes his women, but is always trying to please everyone and manages to please no one and makes himself miserable all the time. Lesje remains the most fascinating character, her simple innocence and desire to just be happy and live her life within the bounds of that happiness, reading and discussing her dinosaurs (gal after my own heart), she seems to be the only character I could muster up some sympathy for, even if she remains a bit ineffectual because of her shyness and fear of making a fool of herself. William, on the other hand, gets no spotlights at all in the story, except for the fact that he is with Lesje when the story starts, he might as well not be in the story. But that's probably a good thing because he seems to be about the most boring man alive (hard to believe but seems to be true). All of these people are unhappy and as the plot winds inexorably on, you get the feeling that you're basically driving slowly past a car wreck, as they become more tangled, as emotions become even more frayed. All the characters are detailed, maybe too much so, since they all turn out to be mostly unlikeable, but Atwood's prose tends to redeem most of the slower parts, her descriptions of the texture of emotions and the characters' musings over their lives are almost sheer poetry and while sometimes her metaphors can be a bit ponderous, the effect mostly lifts this over the standard "love triangle" novel. It's an analysis, true and not for everyone, don't expect to come away from this book with a warm fuzzy feeling (or any at all, the ending is strangely pointless and leaves too many things wide open but that might be the point) but if instead of a nice linear plot (or even that wacky pyramid) you want a good clean downward spiral, this is the book for you. Recommended with reservations, store up your patience first and read other Atwood books to remind yourself how good she can be.
Rating: 
Summary: not sure what to take away from this book...
Review: I've read a few works by Atwood -- poetry and prose -- and had the same reaction to "Life Before Man" that I had to "Surfacing," which was one bordering on hatred and despair. The first few pages of each novel made me feel like I was slogging through a thick mud puddle, but being that I read (and didn't finish) "Surfacing" when I was much younger, I decided to continue on with "Life Before Man" in the hopes of getting *something* out of it. Therein lies the problem, now that I've actually finished the book; I'm not sure what I've learned. These are some possibilities, which all tie together: -Essentially, most people are boring and self-absorbed, and having an affair doesn't make one more exotic or interesting. In fact, in the world of Elizabeth, Nate, and Lesje, having an affair seems to reduce one to nothingness. It leaves each character homeless (whether in body or spirit), nervous, and insecure.
-As humans, we are desperately avoiding becoming extinct. "It's better to burn out than to fade away." Atwood's 3 main characters seem to be doing everything in their power to avoid extinction, which is a nice (and obvious) allusion to the dinoaur theme. And this is why suicide is the running solution in this novel: it allows one to burn out instead of fade away. Again, obviously.
-Despite their efforts (not their *best* efforts), the characters gradually fade from existence, at least to this reader. Perhaps if there is any genius to this novel, it is that Atwood has managed to make her characters extinct, because I for one read the whole book and never felt an ounce of sympathy for any one of them. When I think about the characters now, I conjure up a brownish-gray fog; no distinctions, no borders. Each one had something special about them (Elizabeth's inner strength and resilience, Nate's woodworking creativity and love for his kids, Lesje's paleontologic skills), but those gifts are reduced to nothingness. I wish Atwood had spent a little more time on Chris and the *real* Auntie Muriel; they're the most interesting characters in the whole book! So now I don't know if I actually liked the book...
Rating: 
Summary: Life Before Man
Review: I've read a few works by Atwood -- poetry and prose -- and had the same reaction to "Life Before Man" that I had to "Surfacing," which was one bordering on hatred and despair. The first few pages of each novel made me feel like I was slogging through a thick mud puddle, but being that I read (and didn't finish) "Surfacing" when I was much younger, I decided to continue on with "Life Before Man" in the hopes of getting *something* out of it. Therein lies the problem, now that I've actually finished the book; I'm not sure what I've learned. These are some possibilities, which all tie together: -Essentially, most people are boring and self-absorbed, and having an affair doesn't make one more exotic or interesting. In fact, in the world of Elizabeth, Nate, and Lesje, having an affair seems to reduce one to nothingness. It leaves each character homeless (whether in body or spirit), nervous, and insecure.
-As humans, we are desperately avoiding becoming extinct. "It's better to burn out than to fade away." Atwood's 3 main characters seem to be doing everything in their power to avoid extinction, which is a nice (and obvious) allusion to the dinoaur theme. And this is why suicide is the running solution in this novel: it allows one to burn out instead of fade away. Again, obviously.
-Despite their efforts (not their *best* efforts), the characters gradually fade from existence, at least to this reader. Perhaps if there is any genius to this novel, it is that Atwood has managed to make her characters extinct, because I for one read the whole book and never felt an ounce of sympathy for any one of them. When I think about the characters now, I conjure up a brownish-gray fog; no distinctions, no borders. Each one had something special about them (Elizabeth's inner strength and resilience, Nate's woodworking creativity and love for his kids, Lesje's paleontologic skills), but those gifts are reduced to nothingness. I wish Atwood had spent a little more time on Chris and the *real* Auntie Muriel; they're the most interesting characters in the whole book! So now I don't know if I actually liked the book...
Rating:
Summary: not sure what to take away from this book...
Review: I've read a few works by Atwood -- poetry and prose -- and had the same reaction to "Life Before Man" that I had to "Surfacing," which was one bordering on hatred and despair. The first few pages of each novel made me feel like I was slogging through a thick mud puddle, but being that I read (and didn't finish) "Surfacing" when I was much younger, I decided to continue on with "Life Before Man" in the hopes of getting *something* out of it. Therein lies the problem, now that I've actually finished the book; I'm not sure what I've learned. These are some possibilities, which all tie together: -Essentially, most people are boring and self-absorbed, and having an affair doesn't make one more exotic or interesting. In fact, in the world of Elizabeth, Nate, and Lesje, having an affair seems to reduce one to nothingness. It leaves each character homeless (whether in body or spirit), nervous, and insecure.
-As humans, we are desperately avoiding becoming extinct. "It's better to burn out than to fade away." Atwood's 3 main characters seem to be doing everything in their power to avoid extinction, which is a nice (and obvious) allusion to the dinoaur theme. And this is why suicide is the running solution in this novel: it allows one to burn out instead of fade away. Again, obviously.
-Despite their efforts (not their *best* efforts), the characters gradually fade from existence, at least to this reader. Perhaps if there is any genius to this novel, it is that Atwood has managed to make her characters extinct, because I for one read the whole book and never felt an ounce of sympathy for any one of them. When I think about the characters now, I conjure up a brownish-gray fog; no distinctions, no borders. Each one had something special about them (Elizabeth's inner strength and resilience, Nate's woodworking creativity and love for his kids, Lesje's paleontologic skills), but those gifts are reduced to nothingness. I wish Atwood had spent a little more time on Chris and the *real* Auntie Muriel; they're the most interesting characters in the whole book! So now I don't know if I actually liked the book...
Rating:
Summary: A book about the relationships of men and women.
Review: Life Before Man is an excellent book if you like books that have to do with feminism. The actual content and Atwood's knowledge of relationships and society is the highlight. Her documentation of the structure of relationships is accurate and amusing at times. Life Before Man is a book that is intelligently written. Atwood has a deep understanding of what goes on in the minds of both men and women. It goes quickly almost all the way through and it was enjoyable to read.
Rating:
Summary: varied feelings towards the novel
Review: Life before Man is the first novel I've read by Margaret Atwood. The content is based primarily on the intertwining lives of Lesje, Nate and Elizabeth. Lesje is portrayed as a self concious, bright young woman. Nate a womanizer likes to be in control, but is powerless in his wife Elizabeth's presence. Elizabeth is self pitying, and struggles to get past her lover Chris' tragic suicidel. Atwood delivers the harsh reality of modern relationships beautifully; there are no secrets. She tells it like it is! The characters lack the necessary control over their lives and ultimately end up depressed, and utterly confused. The novel becomes tedious and repititious as you read deeper and interest in the outcome is commonly lost. If you haven't yet read this complicated work and are up for a detailed script on characters roundness and complexity then I suggest you indulge. You may find that it connects to the realism of western lives. Although it is slow and pathos, alot can be derived from this novel, about how one should and shouldn't live!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, especially for an Atwood fan
Review: Life Before Man was a big disappointment to me. I love all of Margaret Atwood's other books and have always enjoyed the skillful movements back and forth through stages in the charcters lives. Unfortunatly, this device doesn't work well in this book because so very little actually happens. It is character driven and introspective to a fault, especially since none of the characters are likeable. Those in sympathetic positions (Lesje and Nate) are too colorless to inspire affection or loyalty, and Elizabeth, while possessing of some spirit and initiative, is too selfish and cold to inspire sympathy. If you've decided to read Margaret Atwood, please start with Cat's Eye or Alias Grace or The Robber Bride. There may be something to be learned from Life Before Man, but it's too sad and slow a lesson.
|
