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lealax's review against another edition
3.5
Hate when an otherwise intriguing book takes a complete nosedive at the end. Roz's love for Mitch was completely irrational and bizarre to me - which, I suppose, was the point, but the way Atwood set it up was weak. The whole Roz-and-Mitch-as-a-mirror-of-her-parents thing could've been executed so much better. I think Atwood really missed the mark on the characterisation there, which is a shame, because her descriptive writing is usually her biggest strength. Still a great page turner - I can't remember the last time I whipped through a 500-odd page book so quickly - but everything really became ludicrous and hard to sympathise with at the end.
suzzeb22's review against another edition
4.0
Another great novel by Margaret Atwood. This time more plot-driven but in a delicious way. Karen/Charis and Zenia are fantastic characters. Atwood is able to write the sensitive victim of Charis and make you relate to and care about her and at the same time hate but relate to Zenia a little too. She can do amazing things with words.
samanthasamie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
avesmaria's review against another edition
3.0
This book had a slow start, but Atwood’s writing and her ability to get into the heads of her characters in a uniquely autobiographical way sucked me in. This retelling of a Grimm Brothers fairy tale was fascinating mostly for the characters. The plot was a bit slow and really only picked up at the very end of the book.
oxnard_montalvo's review against another edition
2.0
Probably the weakest Atwood I've read. I think she wanted to focus on developing a story through the characters, but at the expense of a plot. None of the women seemed very believable and nothing stayed with me afterwards. No impressions, no paragraphs or phrasing stood out. Rather bland and disappointing.
brisingr's review against another edition
4.0
For a book in which not much is happening directly, and a lot of the content is based on flashbacks, I actually ended up enjoying this way more than I thought I would. It was a joy to see such a colorful cast of characters and such a diverse depiction of women, and... I don't really know how to explain, but you can really feel the way time passes and the changes it brings with it, and it was really such a storm of a story, and I really loved it.
Margaret Atwood is also just an incredible writer, and even if I read this book in translation, there was still a lot left of her unique voice.
Margaret Atwood is also just an incredible writer, and even if I read this book in translation, there was still a lot left of her unique voice.
giulia24's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sloaneshea's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5