Rating: 
Summary: interesting and at the same time, quite repetitive
Review: The story was interesting. Although I've never read any of her other books, I've heard that many of her novels are similar to this one. The story was pretty much everyone having an affair with someone. All the affairs seems to worsen the lives of everyone.She does seem to understand men and women quite well though.
Rating: 
Summary: Painful
Review: Though I'm a huge Atwood fan, I just couldn't get through this one. The bleak, depressing way in which the relationships were represented and the un-likeability (is that a word?) of all the characters made Life Before Man pretty painful. Maybe someday I'll pick it up and have the heart to get completely through it - like maybe when life's just too happy and I need a good downer. I won't hold my breath.
Rating: 
Summary: Offers uncanny insight into human condition
Review: Uncanny, that is, but certainly not pleasant. Don't look to this book for warm and fuzzy feelings about how we're all fabulous and life is wonderful. However, Atwood's ability to expose the most hidden and secret parts of her characters is mind-boggling and that, alone, was enough for me.In this, as in most of Atwood's novels, I don't feel a lot of affection towards the characters - in this case, Elizabeth, Nate and Lesje (3 people in what might be called a romantic triangle by someone as uncreative as myself, although it's like no romantic triangle I've ever read about before) - but I certainly do find them fascinating. I also find myself feeling oddly sympathetic towards them, despite the self-centred, weak, or otherwise negative traits that Atwood exposes to us as readers. This can only be because on some level, I recognize at least a few of my own weaknesses, and those of the people I love. I recommend this book to those looking for a character-driven story, and for those who see the value in harsh but honest insights into human nature.
Rating:
Summary: Offers uncanny insight into human condition
Review: Uncanny, that is, but certainly not pleasant. Don't look to this book for warm and fuzzy feelings about how we're all fabulous and life is wonderful. However, Atwood's ability to expose the most hidden and secret parts of her characters is mind-boggling and that, alone, was enough for me. In this, as in most of Atwood's novels, I don't feel a lot of affection towards the characters - in this case, Elizabeth, Nate and Lesje (3 people in what might be called a romantic triangle by someone as uncreative as myself, although it's like no romantic triangle I've ever read about before) - but I certainly do find them fascinating. I also find myself feeling oddly sympathetic towards them, despite the self-centred, weak, or otherwise negative traits that Atwood exposes to us as readers. This can only be because on some level, I recognize at least a few of my own weaknesses, and those of the people I love. I recommend this book to those looking for a character-driven story, and for those who see the value in harsh but honest insights into human nature.
Rating: 
Summary: The traces we leave behind
Review: What is the nature of a fossil? Using a quote from Bjorn Kurten to precede this novel, Atwood illuminates much of what is to follow: a fossil is not necessarily a part of an organism, but could be a record of its activity: a footprint, perhaps. It could be a prehistoric equivalent of graffiti. Using the fossil as the central metaphor for her novel, Atwood tells the story of three individuals whose lives collide with cataclysmic effect. Told in episodes from the three different perspectives the reader uncovers the story much like an archaeologist might uncover the treasures of a prehistoric site. Elizabeth, Nate and Lesje are put under the microscope and steadily stripped down to their essential components by a narrator (although a few of Elizabeth's episodes are told in the first person) who is as objective as a scientist. We all know, however, that scientists are not always objective. What makes this novel so fascinating is this interplay between cold fact and emotional involvement. Atwood refuses to follow easy paths to happy solutions and the reader senses early on that a tragic outcome is as inevitable as the eventual extinction of Lesje's beloved dinosaurs. Her characters are neither heroes nor villains, neither heartless monsters nor innocent victims. They are driven towards their fates by forces as much in their own natures as in the natures of those around them. As any true Atwood devotee would expect, the writing is sharp, witty, observant and totally compelling. It is perhaps richer in symbolism than many of her other novels, yet it does not tread the mystical and poetic waters (so to speak) of "Surfacing". It reads deceptively easily and the bubbling volcano at its core is implied rather than stated. If the novel has a possible downfall it could lie in this subtlety, which many readers might not perceive. "Life before man" is a landmark novel, even for an author who is surely one of the greatest literary minds of our age. Its effect is devastating in the best possible sense, making the reader reflect on the consequences of actions which might seem insignificant at the time, but can leave traces far beyond their original scope.
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