Thriller

A collection of short stories narrated by and about women. in the main. Some were better than others, but there were no real stand outs. A mixture of emotions, it's quite a thoughtful collection. She has a beautiful turn of phrase at times. ( )

I like her sci-fi better. It's boring to read about middle and upper class white people; they've got no culture. Yawn. ( )

Writing effective short stories is probably more difficult than writing effective novels. You have very little space; you have to create viable, breathing characters in paragraphs instead of chapters; you have to weigh every word and know that it is essential or it must go; and you must convey something important, an idea, a thought, that lasts or has impact. Margaret Atwood does that like it is a science.

I’m not generally a fan of short stories. They seem too often to leave me feeling as if there is more to the story if only the author had had the time and pages to flesh it out. Atwood seldom left me with that feeling in this collection, although I admit to loving some of the stories and feeling a little confused about others.

The ones I loved:

Betty Almost a coming of age tale, with the adolescent narrator who doesn’t quite understand the world of the grown-ups that she observes. Betty is part of “Betty and Fred” the couple who live next door at the cottages where her family is spending the summer, and the girl and her sister are a bit taken with Fred, but it is Betty who makes them welcomed and treats them well. Fred seems so ideal to their young minds. About half way through the tale, our narrator observes, “I began to think that I might not want to be married to Fred after all. He unrolled from Betty’s mouth like a long ribbon of soggy newspaper printed from end to end with nothing but the weather.” That simile said all.

Under Glass I wanted to scream at this narrator who is involved in a relationship with a man who has just committed an infidelity and shrugs it off in a “boys will be boys” style. I wanted to tell him what no one’s ever taught him, how two people who love each other behave, how they avoid damaging each other, but I’m not sure I know.” and “He won’t come near me, touch me, doesn’t he that’s all he needs to do? He’ll wait for me to cool off, as he puts it. But if I go away like this I won’t be back.” She wishes she didn’t love him, but my question would be, why does she?

The Grave of the Famous Poet A tale of alienation and breakup that felt perfectly heartbreaking to me. The setting is right for romance, but the narrator knows the romance is over. ”I pull him into me, wanting him to be with me, but for the first time I feel it’s just flesh, a body, a beautiful machine, an animated corpse, he isn’t in it any more, I want him so much and he isn’t here.” If you have ever experienced the end of love, you will recognize its shadow, whispering your name.

The Sin Eater Joseph is an unorthodox shrink, who we meet through his "client" (because he doesn't call them patients or believe they are sick). "This world is all we have, says Joseph. It's all you have to work with. It is not too much for you. You will not be rescued."

I could turn that last one into a mantra and share it with everyone who is young and struggling, middle-aged and feeling unsure of the path they have taken, old and feeling their time run out. You will not be rescued, but then Joseph and Atwood would probably tell you that if you pay close attention you will discover you can rescue yourself.

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Read three stories out of this collection. "The Man from Mars" and "Travel Piece" were both good, but "The War in the Bathroom" was exceptional. Dark and creepy without a word wasted. ( )