Matt
A book that I've always appreciated but couldn't say that I've enjoyed, the characters are all a bit too broken to want to connect with too deeply. I got a lot more out of this read after reading Atwood's memoirs though as it's clear that the story broadly maps on to her experience of starting a relationship with fellow author Graeme Gibson while his marriage to Shirley Gibson was slowly disintegrating.
Even with this newfound knowledge, I still came away from this re-read rooting for Elizabeth. She might be coldly calculating and deeply unhappy, but she's the only character who has at least a vague sense of what she wants and how to get it. Lesje and Nate are both shaped by circumstances, but by the time Lesje makes her fateful decision in the final chapters I really just wanted someone, ANYONE to talk some sense into her.
A book that I've always appreciated but couldn't say that I've enjoyed, the characters are all a bit too broken to want to connect with too deeply. I got a lot more out of this read after reading Atwood's memoirs though as it's clear that the story broadly maps on to her experience of starting a relationship with fellow author Graeme Gibson while his marriage to Shirley Gibson was slowly disintegrating.
Even with this newfound knowledge, I still came away from this re-read rooting for Elizabeth. She might be coldly calculating and deeply unhappy, but she's the only character who has at least a vague sense of what she wants and how to get it. Lesje and Nate are both shaped by circumstances, but by the time Lesje makes her fateful decision in the final chapters I really just wanted someone, ANYONE to talk some sense into her.