Bluebeard's Egg
Books | Fiction / Short Stories (single author)
3.5
Margaret Atwood
With the publication of the best-selling The Handmaid's Tale in 1986, Margaret Atwood's place in North American letters was reconfirmed. Poet, short story writer, and novelist, she was acclaimed "one of the most intelligent and talented writers to set herself the task of deciphering life in the late twentieth century."*With Bluebeard's Egg, her second short story collection, Atwood covers a dramatic range of storytelling, her scope encompassing the many moods of her characters, from the desolate to the hilarious.The stories are set in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1980s and concern themselves with relationships of various sorts. There is the bond between a political activist and his kidnapped cat, a woman and her dead psychiatrist, a potter and the group of poets who live with her and mythologize her, an artist and the strange men she picks up to use as models. There is a man who finds himself surrounded by women who are literally shrinking, and a woman whose life is dominated by a fear of nuclear warfare; there are telling relationships among parents and children.By turns humorous and warm, stark and frightening, Bluebeard's Egg explores and illuminates both the outer world in which we all live and the inner world that each of us creates.*Le Anne Schreiber, Vogue
AD
Buy now:
More Details:
Author
Margaret Atwood
Pages
281
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published Date
2013-01-29
ISBN
0544146735 9780544146730
Ratings
Google: 4
Community ReviewsSee all
"I think I had built Atwood up so much in my head that I couldn't help but be a little disappointed with this collection. However, looking back on it after I finished it, I have more respect for the stories that I didn't like in the moment. <br/><br/>"Significant Moments in the Life of My Mother"— A thought-provoking start with some great quotes.<br/><br/>"Hurricane Hazel"— Melancholy, but an interesting coming-of-age story. <br/><br/>"Loulou; or, The Domestic Life of the Language"— I wish this story had a more satisfying ending because Loulou was a fascinating character study. <br/><br/>"Uglypuss"— My absolute least favorite story. So depressing and cruel in more ways than one. <br/><br/>"Betty"— I read this story as almost a companion piece to "Hurricane Hazel," like another example in the narrator's life that determined how she saw love and relationships. <br/><br/>"Bluebeard's Egg"— Devastating and beautiful. Definitely worth being the titular story. <br/><br/>"Spring Song of the Frogs"— Depressing and bittersweet, but has a killer opening paragraph. <br/><br/>"Scarlet Ibis"— I felt uneasy the whole time like I was waiting for something worse to happen. Unsettling. <br/><br/>"The Salt Garden"— Beautiful but sad. Similar to "Betty" but with an alternative relationship dynamic. <br/><br/>"The Sin Eater"— Absolutely amazing. My favorite. So honest and vulnerable yet sweet. <br/><br/>"The Sunrise"— A girl boss in a positive light, with an aptly artistic and optimistic ending. <br/><br/>"Unearthing Suite"— A beautiful final piece. Calm. The most positive perspective offered on parents. Truthful and honest in vulnerable ways."
K R
Kayla Randolph