The Robber Bride

Very Canadian, very 90s, very chick-lit, but in that special, Atwood kind of way.

Too many people, smarter than I, have written too many perfect words to describe and dissect this novel. I won't try to top them. What could I possibly add to the discussion, or change? After all, "how old do you have to be before wisdom descends like a plastic bag over your head and you learn to keep your big mouth shut?" I will say only this: The Robber Bride is completely worth it. And I...more

Too many people, smarter than I, have written too many perfect words to describe and dissect this novel. I won't try to top them. What could I possibly add to the discussion, or change? After all, "how old do you have to be before wisdom descends like a plastic bag over your head and you learn to keep your big mouth shut?" I will say only this: The Robber Bride is completely worth it. And I know I will spend the rest of my life with it.   hide

When you first start you are wondering what in the hell is going on, but then you are introduced to the three women who suffered because of gender stereotypes and the reality that they are based on. Zenia is the archetypal femme fatale, and this story is about how three women in the modern world combat their dark roots. Atwood weaves a tale of overcoming the bad to embrace the good, despite the...more

When you first start you are wondering what in the hell is going on, but then you are introduced to the three women who suffered because of gender stereotypes and the reality that they are based on. Zenia is the archetypal femme fatale, and this story is about how three women in the modern world combat their dark roots. Atwood weaves a tale of overcoming the bad to embrace the good, despite the stupidity of men.   hide

With every book I read of Ms. Atwood's, my appreciation of her storytelling talent increases: her ability to construct metaphors that are spot-on and utterly unique; her genre-busting way of writing that defies pigeon-holing (though, it seems, many critics try to pin the "feminist" writer label on her); her method of describing her characters in a hyper-realistic and believable way. "The Robber...more

With every book I read of Ms. Atwood's, my appreciation of her storytelling talent increases: her ability to construct metaphors that are spot-on and utterly unique; her genre-busting way of writing that defies pigeon-holing (though, it seems, many critics try to pin the "feminist" writer label on her); her method of describing her characters in a hyper-realistic and believable way. "The Robber Bride", while not without its faults (long-windedness, for one) is to me her best work. Her depiction of a triumvirate of friends bound together as a result of a common nemesis: a freak of nature named Zenia hell-bent on leaching onto their lives and stealing their husbands/boyfriends. Sorta-kinda loosely based on Grimm's "The Robber Bridegroom", Atwood turns the fairy tale on its head and comes up with a fairy-tale-esque story of her own, one grounded in reality, yet fanciful enough to be a delight to read.   hide

Atwood at her best. This is similar in style to 'Alias Grace' with its catchy plot and engaging characters. Definitely up to Atwood's usual calibre. The story holds you (although it is slow to move forward in parts)is that of 3 friends overshadowed by the treacherous Zenia - an incessant yet believable liar, who holds all in her thrall. All women offer succour to her and become 'suckers'in...more

Atwood at her best. This is similar in style to 'Alias Grace' with its catchy plot and engaging characters. Definitely up to Atwood's usual calibre. The story holds you (although it is slow to move forward in parts)is that of 3 friends overshadowed by the treacherous Zenia - an incessant yet believable liar, who holds all in her thrall. All women offer succour to her and become 'suckers'in return. Poignant, humourous, sad, provoking. As ever, Atwood's writing is heavily laden with intertextual references and she challenges even the most literary to recognise all the subtle references.   hide

The most interesting about this book, is how the friendship of 3 women is based on nothing but mutual hate for the central character Zenia. this is greate depiciton of how as women, we are more prone to blaming other women for our romantic problems, than our male partners. The women in the book all seem to blame their misfortunes in love and life on Zenia, when in reality it is their own...more

The most interesting about this book, is how the friendship of 3 women is based on nothing but mutual hate for the central character Zenia. this is greate depiciton of how as women, we are more prone to blaming other women for our romantic problems, than our male partners. The women in the book all seem to blame their misfortunes in love and life on Zenia, when in reality it is their own mistakes and low self esteem that causes them to chose the wrong men. Zenia is the epitemy of the "other" woman, mysterious and overblown in the minds of these women, into almost a mythical character, capable of doing anything and eating every man she desires... when in reality she is a single, beautiful and lonely woman who has learned that utilizing her looks she can take advantage of the men who view her as nothing but a sexual object. Zenia is not so much a Robber Bride, but an avanger of women who are used by their partners, for emotional / financial support.   hide

This was my first Margaret Atwood book. It was well-written, had pretty good character development, was intelligent (in the words, writing and topics, I mean), yada, yada, yada... So, I'm really not sure why it didn't grab me more than it did, it just didn't. One possibility is that I don't enjoy it when every character's life was a horrendous tragedy, and that is the case here. Not one person...more

This was my first Margaret Atwood book. It was well-written, had pretty good character development, was intelligent (in the words, writing and topics, I mean), yada, yada, yada... So, I'm really not sure why it didn't grab me more than it did, it just didn't. One possibility is that I don't enjoy it when every character's life was a horrendous tragedy, and that is the case here. Not one person just had normal parents, a normal childhood, and a normal college experience. It just gets to be too much, and I stop feeling sorry for them or caring, period. Also, the plot potential was great, Ms. Atwood just didn't do as much with it as she could have. The conflicts could have been so much greater, but they turned out to be pretty ho-hum and boring. The villainess, Zenia, could have created so many more and more dramatic fireworks, but the fireworks that were there seemed like fizzling duds after the build-up they received in the cover blurb.And even though she gave a lot of information about her characters (hence my statement that the character development was pretty good), it was annoying information. The three female leads were quite stereotypical of various feminist types yet seemed way too concerned with the loss of their men to Zenia to really fit the feminist category. I think Ms. Atwood missed a great opportunity to portray at least one as a stronger woman who realized she was better off without a man who was so easily stolen by a woman who wasn't much more than sexy and conniving, and who (as I've already said, could have been so much more, herself). And the men? I guess Ms. Atwood doesn't have much faith in them. They certainly all walked away from loving, faithful, supportive women with not a lot of persuasion. At least one finally recognized his mistake, but it apparently took him all of about 4 decades to do it.Yeah, so, the more I write about the book, the more it becomes clear that I didn't really like it at all. I was going to give it 3 stars, now want to give it just 1, but will end up giving it 2 b/c it was, in fact, well-written enough that these things didn't bother me so much until after the reading was done and I was thinking back over the story as a whole.   hide

So far my favorite of Atwood's books. I really like the contrast between the 4 women characters, and would love to see this transferred to a film or play.

Margaret Atwood makes you feel for the women in this book. It really is all about the value of sisterhood and advocates women believing in themselves and being independent. It's a while since I've read this one but Atwood's style is masterfully simple and inciteful, with just enough emotional intensity for her characters not to verge on melodrama and self-ingulgence. Every woman who has ever had...more

Margaret Atwood makes you feel for the women in this book. It really is all about the value of sisterhood and advocates women believing in themselves and being independent. It's a while since I've read this one but Atwood's style is masterfully simple and inciteful, with just enough emotional intensity for her characters not to verge on melodrama and self-ingulgence. Every woman who has ever had self esteem issues should read Margarate Atwood. The scales fall from your eyes.   hide