Really Good, Actually - Monica Heisey

 51%

04.02.24

The quality of the writing was indeed really good. But not the awful, self-obsessed narrator, who did female characters as much of a disservice as those written by the male authors I've read recently. There was no conflict or plot or anything relatable to anyone who's not a white middle-class 20-something living in Toronto. It just went on and on. And on. And on a bit more.

The Enchantment Emporium - Tanya Huff

52%
23.12.15

This was surprisingly engaging for a parallel universe Canadian urban fantasy novel about a rather-too-close magical family that enjoy indulging in what they euphemistically call 'rituals'. Especially as I had no idea what was going on, or why, for most of it, as the author seems to practise neither the 'show' nor 'tell' form of fiction writing.

The Cruellest Month - Louise Penny

51%
13.10.12

When I got my first adult library tickets at the age of 14, I read every Agatha Christie book I could find. After 4 or 5, it became clear that they were not only formulaic but also that the murderer appeared to be randomly chosen from the cast list. This was, admittedly, more sophisticated, with its additional level of drama among the investigators, and a few well-laid twists and red-herrings, but it just never came alive.

The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

70%
20.03.12

I skipped much of this when I read it for the first time, 15 years or so ago. It seemed too dense, too tense, too darn improbable to bother wading through. Reading it now, with a little more life experience, I found the first half of the book raw and painfully gripping, considering that the narrator spends much of her time staring at the wall (or, given the nature of her predicament, the ceiling). Feminist writing is rarely as accomplished as this - other than, of course in Atwood's other novels. And yet... it runs out of steam towards the end, tries to build a weak plot, ends ambiguously and then shoots itself in the head with an ill-advised explanatory epilogue. That's the part I should have skipped this time round.

Unless - Carol Shields

54%
03.03.05




A feminist intellectual version of Anne Tyler, more self-absorbed and not as engaging. Some interesting concepts, though.

The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood

70%
26.11.02




Worthless men, pathetic women, miserable childhoods, bad parenting, a disgraceful number of typos and slightly improbable characters. Yes, it's a Margaret Atwood novel. It's overwritten, complicated and overlong but somehow it does end up as a rather good novel, a sort of dress rehearsal for the fantastic 'Blind Assassin'.

The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood

80%
22.12.01



The best book I've read since 'Northern Lights' [Edited: at this point I had not read 'Northern Lights' for a second time]. Complex and engrossing, delicately written and always gracious to the reader. The plot unfolds carefully, so that the denouement doesn't provoke surprise so much as a sigh of satisfaction.