This is an excellent book written by some of the leading authorities on NAFTA and GATT (Including Ralph Nader). Each "chapter" written by a different person is short and to the point. You can read as much or as little as you want, without feeling the need to finish the chapter. This book WILL make you sweat with anger at points. It is an excellent read.

Some days, you simply don't have the attention span required of you for reading good books. Sometimes, I find even short stories too taxing and poetry much too dense to absorb properly. That's when Good Bones will come in handy, for it will provide doses of short, potent prose.

It's a tiny little book, with tiny short stories (three or four pages on average) that are clever, intriguing and shot through with Margaret Atwood's luscious style. Despite the lengths of the stories, they are in no way lacking in emotion or intensity. They are snippets of random musings, of well-known stories told from somebody else's point of view, of sci-fi fantasies that reflect upon our own humanity...

The stories do not link to each other. As far as I can see, they are writing experiments, little flashes of inspiration that do not fit somewhere in a greater whole (such as a novel). They are ideas, brief contemplation of how the world is, snapshots of human behaviour.

Atwood has a particularly cutting insight into the way things are. I cried at certain stories, not because they were formulated with particular tragic scenes, but because they moved me. Forlorn beauty, half-remembered sensations, the things she could say with a stroke of a pen are those dark, shadowy feelings we sometimes find in ourselves, yet could never describe. Now she has done it for us, and it makes for cathartic reading.

Through Good Bones we are given a glimpse of Atwood's world: usually bleak, sometimes spine-chilling with its prediction of how the world just might turn out, but always haunting and always beautiful. If you have not read any of her works before, this is a great place to start. If you have read and enjoyed her other works, this one will definitely be worth your while.

I am 46 years old and it caught the attention of the child within . Fantastic imagery!Coloful pages made for colorful imagination. I'm not one for fantasy, fiction or likewise, but this book caught my attention on the very first page. It is rather soothing, I'm sure I'll be reading it to my grandchild after the discomforts of a tonsilectomy. How could you not like it ?

I liked this book very much and I think that she is a very good writer.Reeding her book is like being with her heroes together.It seems to me that I know the heroes and that they are my good friends.

Murders In The Dark leaves me speechless. It's a book that panders to my short attention span-- full of short short stories, commentaries, and other artistic pieces. The best, in my opinion, is "The Page," a work that explains writing to me better than any other work I've come in contact with to date. Atwood has spunk (and a dark side). She's coming to speak at my school next semester (SUNY Albany). I am counting the minutes.

I first became interested in Ms. Atwood after reading one of her poems from Power Politics in a college text book: you fit into me/ like a hook into an eye/ an open eye/ a fish hook.. Selected Poems, 1965-1975 was my first purchase of her poetry, and I was not disappointed. This book is an exquisite example of Margaret Atwood's vivid imagery and examination of human relationships. One poem in this collection, titled Against Still Life, compares her relationship with a man to the frustration of not being able to touch an orange used for a still life painting. The poems cover a wide range of emotions, ranging from elaborate and lengthy to simple and brief. Each poem creates beautiful, lucid images in the mind of the reader. Her usage of biting wit and sarcasm resembles that of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, but does not offend the reader with and excessive usage of suicidal energy or feminist rage that tends to pollute the work of the aforementioned poets. Since reading Selected Poems, 1965-1975, I have read many other volumes of Margaret Atwood's poetry, but none have touched me as deeply. This is also a great example of Atwood's earlier works, many of which are not available outside of this book, as the original volumes are now out of print. I would suggest this book for lovers of other Atwood writing, including her novels and short stories. This book is a definitive asset to any collector of her works.

I picked up the Spark Notes for Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" because I am using it for a Science Fiction class I am teaching and I always like to try and pick up most of the study guides that students might, uh, use, in writing their papers (yes, I have had students turn in papers typed up directly from such works). In terms of this small blue volume's contents, here is what you will find:

(1) Plot Overview, a 3-page summary of the entire novel; (2) Character List, which actually provides brief descriptions of 14 characters; (3) Analysis of the Major Characters, providing brief looks at Offred, the Commander, Serena Joy, and Moira; (4) Themes (e.g., Women's Bodies as Political Instruments), Motifs (e.g., Religious Terms Used for Political Purposes) & Symbols (e.g., The Handmaid's Red Habits), each of which are developed enough to give readers an understanding of the concept that could lead to a nice paper without providing enough to actually plagarize (a plus from my perspective); (5) Summary & Analysis of the book, broken down into groups of 3 to 5 chapters at a time, with summaries of each chapter and then a summary of the overall group; (6) Important Quotations Explained looks at five rather long quotations from the book, all of which are set up in the Summary & Analysis section; (7) Key Fact provides a nice three page summary of everything from the novel's genre to Atwood's use of foreshadowing; (8) Study Questions & Essay Topics; and (9) Review & Resources, including a quiz, a glossary of terms, and suggestions for further reading.

Yes, this little blue book created by Harvard students for students everywhere ("Smarter Better Faster") can help you fake having read the book, which is a shame because Atwood is such a great writer. For me the key part is always the analysis and concepts, all of which serve to help students get some critical insights into the work. If they get that from this book rather than me, then that would still qualify as having no insights at all. The final question, of course, is how does this Spark Notes stack up against its Cliff Notes counterpart? I would have to say it comes in a close second, mainly because with regards to "The Handmaid's Tale," Cliff Notes has a chapter by chapter vocabulary list that explains key terms and phrases, which is always a big asset with students reading the novel (Spark Notes has as many titles and terms for the entire book as the other offers up for some of the chapters).

I love Margaret Atwood. She's one of my favorite authors. This book didn't quite live up to my expectations of her. I thought the main character, Joan, was great. Very well developed. I related to her and I cared what happened to her. As usual, the best parts of this book were the sections that dealt with Joan's complicated family relationships, her romantic life, and her childhood. Nobody can understand the complexities of female friendship better than Atwood. Atwood uses flashbacks to tell the story -- she's one of the best at using this technique so that the reader doesn't get lost. The first half to two thirds of the book was terrific.

I found that the way Atwood wrapped up the novel was frustrating. The plot got a little too weird for me. I'm used to her writing being very grounded, and the latter sections of this book didn't live up to that. I found I was required to suspend disbelief far more than I wanted to or was able to. I got pulled out of the text whenever Atwood would show as an excerpt from one of Joan's novels.

Despite the things that irritated and/or distracted me, I still think this is a worthwhile book. By Atwood standards, it's probably only 3 stars -- I thought Cat's Eye and The Robber Bride were much better. But even at her worst, Atwood is a gifted writer, so this book is one that is highly readable.

I read Margaret Atwood's *Lady Oracle* with a book group at the office, and I am anxious to find out what my co-workers think of it. I've read several of Atwood's novels previously and am used to her unusual plots and characters, and *Lady Oracle* is no exception. If you enjoyed *The Robber Bride*, I think you'll find *Lady Oracle* right up your alley.

Joan Foster might be categorized as having multiple personality disorder except for the fact that all her personalities co-exist rather happily. When the novel opens, Joan has escaped to Italy, reasons unknown as yet to the reader, and she catalogues her various lives chapter by chapter. Her childhood self, an overweight doormat, must reconcile with her adult self, a beautiful, thin redhead. And then Joan has her writer self, a gothic romance novelist writing under a pen name. Unfortunately, her husband Arthur only knows the adult Joan, and she has a devil of a time keeping them separate from her home with Arthur.

As the novel expands to reveal the how's and why's of Joan's disappearance, readers are treated to various anecdotes of Joan's upbringing and married life. Sometimes hilarious, sometimes moving, Atwood shows once again that she is a must-read author in contemporary fiction.

Like in "Cat's Eye," Atwood does an excellent job in this book of exploring female relationships---mother/daughter, husband/wife, and girlfriends. This book really spoke to me, and I encourage any woman hoping to make sense of strained relationships to read this book. Atwood captures the essence of such relationships and thus is able to put into written word the feelings that few of us are able to verbalize. After reading this book, you will no longer feel alone.

'Alias Grace' has long been recommended to me but I only just read it because the story, a piece of historical fiction of a 1840s Canadian murderess, didn't sound particularly appealing. Well my only regret is not having read the book sooner.

The story itself, on face value, is rather ordinary. Teenage girl and apparent boyfriend both kill their employers. However the girl ('Grace') is enigmatic and, as such, her actual guilt is brought into question. All this is explained very early in the novel. But then Atwood does a wonderful job of going into the mind and soul of our poor Grace; we are intrigued, disgusted, and feel compassion for this strange creature. The author then deftly reveals, in minute stages, what the real Grace is all about. The results are unexpected.

Oh, and Ms Atwood is a brilliant writer. Her prose is superb, to the point where you wonder if she can write a bad sentence.

Bottom line: among Atwood's best. A must read.

It is Canada in 1843 - Queen Victoria reigns; her insurrection prone North American colonists are diverted and then transfixed by a shocking murder trial.

Against this backdrop Margaret Atwood, who gave us The Robber Bride and The Handmaid's Tale, presents her ninth novel. Atwood's virtuosity is at its peak as she traces her feminist thesis in Alias Grace, which is based on the true story of a 16-year-old servant girl accused of double murder. With few facts known, the author has drawn a haunting portrait of what might have been, a profoundly mesmerizing combination of actuality and invention.

Grace Marks and her fellow worker, James McDermott, were tried and convicted for the brutal killing of their employer Thomas Kinnear and his housekeeper Nancy Montgomery. McDermott was hanged at the new gaol in Toronto, November 21, 1843. While Grace, due to her youth and "feminine weakness of mind," was sentenced to life in prison. She was also committed to a lunatic asylum following an emotional breakdown. Throughout both incarcerations Grace maintained that she had no memory of the murders or the victims.

Referring to the scandalous trial in her afterword Atwood writes: "The details were sensational: Grace Marks was uncommonly pretty and also extremely young; Kinnear's housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery, had previously given birth to an illegitimate child and was Thomas Kinnear's mistress; at her autopsy she was found to be pregnant. Grace and her fellow-servant James McDermott had run away to the United States together and were assumed by the press to be lovers. The combination of sex, violence, and the deplorable insubordination of the lower classes was most attractive to the journalists of the day."

Grace's story is revealed through letters, verse, news accounts, but primarily through her voice and that of Dr. Simon Jordan.

An ambitious young doctor with an interest in the field of repressed memory, Jordan is retained by those who believe Grace innocent to help her remember. As Grace's memory is prodded, she weaves her tale. Is Jordan trying to exploit her for professional gain. Or, is it possible that she is manipulating him?

Was Grace a naive pawn or a venomous Circe who bewitched then goaded McDermott into committing this appalling crime? The climax is a stunner!

In the adroit hands of Margaret Atwood, shades of guilt, innocence and complicity as well as the complexities of the human mind continue to fascinate. Alias Grace, a laudatory fictionalization of actual events, is a shivery Victorian tale of obsession and murder.

A sizable part of _Alias Grace_ is based on Susana Moodie's mid-19th century book about Grace Marks, who was convicted along with fellow servant, James McDermott, for the murders of Thomas Kinnear, and his housekeeper and mistress, Nancy Montgomery. Moodie met Grace Marks while the former was visiting the insane asylum and then the penitentary where Marks was later incarcerated. McDermott was hanged for his part in the murders; Marks was also condemned to die in the same manner, but her sentence was commuted to life in prison through the efforts of her attorney and of private citizens' groups who believed in her innocence. Much of Grace Marks' story is told by her, through a series of post-conviction interviews with Dr. Simon Jordan, a medical doctor who was a pioneer in the enlightened treatment of the mentally ill. Dr. Jordan is sponsored by a Reverend Verringer, who heads one of these groups.

What makes Margaret Atwood's novel so compelling is that much of what happens in _Alias Grace_ is based on true accounts of Grace Marks' life, which is seamlessly and expertly adapted by Ms. Atwood. She readily admits in her afterword "where hints and outright gaps exist in the record, I felt free to invent." Ms. Atwood is a master storyteller. Her Grace Marks is very much a three-dimensional, flesh and blood 19th century woman. The public's beliefs about her parallel many of the widely held views of females of her time. While many imagined Marks to be weak and easily led astray by a stronger and more wiley older man (Marks was only 16 at the time of the murders), others saw Marks as an evil and jealous temptress who entrapped a gullible man into the killings. Atwood also sensitively reveals the plight of many young girls of the period who suddenly become motherless and due to their changed cicumstances take positions as servants to the wealthy, or worse yet, are forced into prostitution. The alternative was pennilessness and ultimate starvation. Then there are those young women who fell prey to a "gentleman's" amorous demands, some of whom promised marriage, only to later abandon them. A truly heartbreaking episode in the book concerns Mary Whitney, a co-worker and close friend of Grace Marks, who dies as a result of a shoddily performed abortion.

By the end of the book the reader is given no definitive answer as to whether Marks was directly involved in either of the two murders. Her complexity is further revealed in the section of the book where a doctor (of the jack-of-all-trades type) puts her under hypnosis and another aspect of her personality is revealed. Grace Marks is confirmed as a woman of many sides, capable of acts of goodness, compassion--but murder? Read the very highly recommended book and then decide for yourself.

This book was a bit challenging to rate because I had read all of Margaret Atwood's other novels before I read this one; her first. Ms. Atwood is a brilliant author and conveyor of the feminine mind and perspective. Some of her novels are outstanding while most are at least very good. "The Edible Woman" is an excellent beginning for the author but it has its' flaws. The main flaw is the symbolism. The symbolism is too forced and it doesn't work well. I found myself wondering if I wanted to spend the time trying to figure out the symbolism. I decided that I didn't. The symbolism centers around the inability of the main character to eat a growing number of foods. I guess this was to coincide with the events in her life in which she was being "consumed" by those around her. The author's talent gave us a good enough story without the food distractions. It is a story of a young professional woman who seems to know what she wants but lets others call the shots. She enters into relationships with two different men neither of whom is in anyway suited for her. We are glad that the relationship with her fiance fizzles but we are left wondering why she ever got involved with the graduate student. We rejoice at her ultimate independence but are made to sift through the final installment of symbolism in order to do so.

Ms. Atwood has used symbolism since her opening act as a novelist. However, to her credit, she learned to be more subtle about it. This was a good beginning and it only gets better from here on.

I just finished The Edible Woman a few minutes ago and felt compelled to write a review. This is only the second novel by Atwood that I've read and look foward to reading from her.
Very rarely do I ever finish a book without wanting to take a "break" from reading it. Atwood has a way of captivating the reader through her use of irony, character development and symbolism. Marian represents any woman who feels consumed by societal ideals--enough to ultimately reject it. But it is obvious that she still craves someone to escape with her. Peter is her answer to fit into what the world belives she should become while Clara seems to foreshadow what she would turn out to become if she were to be with Peter. Duncan is the antithesis of this, which attracts Marian. His gaunt figure seems to show his refusal to accept reality or consumption of ideals. Everything that I've only dreamed I could do (run away on a whim) is done, or merely attempted by Marian.
I know I'm rambling, but I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and cannot wait to read more of her works.

I've got a few Atwood books and this is by far the oldest one, so if it's not her writing debut (as opposed to poetry, which I think she did as well) it's pretty close and I have to say that I was pretty impressed with how strong her narrative voice was and how confident the book feels. Reading it you get a sense that the author knows exactly what she's doing and how to go about it. That sense makes the book that much more fun to read, even if it's not going to be recognized as one of her absolute masterpieces. The story concerns a woman named Marian, presumably in her mid-twenties, who after getting engaged starts to lose her desire to eat most kinds of food. But even that description is a tad misleading because the eating aspect doesn't even come into play until almost halfway through the book. Indeed those looking for a feminist version of "Thinner" should probably go the other way right now. Instead it's an examination of a woman's role in both society and marriage and that gives the story more weight, balancing the often silly and humorous situations Marian finds herself in. It's definitely the lightest book I've read by Atwood, it's hard to believe this is the same woman who did the ultra-depressing Life Before Man. But the main focus isn't even on Marian's quasi-eating disorder but on her interactions with her fiancee, her roommate (the subplot with her wanting a baby is absolutely hilarious in a darkly absurd way) and an odd graduate student she meets while out doing a survey for her job. That graduate student and his monologues was my favorite part of the chapter and probably represents Atwood's poke at the academic world, but definitely shows off her gift for words. But be on the look out for metaphors, just about everything means something else it seems, even the switch from first to third person struck me as odd until I realized even that represented something. In the end the metaphors get stretched a bit too far and the only truly silly moment is right at the end. But it's immensely enjoyable for an Atwood novel and one of the few that you'll find yourself laughing more than feeling glad you aren't the characters.