The Tent
by Margaret Atwood
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 495)
Read in January, 2008
For the record, this is the first time I've actually finished a Margaret Atwood book. I've tried 3 times, 3 separate books, over the last 15 years to read her. I always find her books incredibly intriguing, but then I always for some reason lose interest (The Robber Bride, The Blind Assassin) or get frustrated with her writing style (The Handmaid's Tale). But I'm obviously in the minority here - many people I know whose opinions I respect and honor LOVE Margaret Atwood and probably think I'm ...more
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Read in February, 2008
Classic Atwood, she is very clever - writing all in the form of a free-spirited, playful confidence:
"Bring your ear down closer. Put your hand over the other ear. Think of seashells. There. Now you can hear me."
Atwood writes of writing in The Tent, the earnest futility of the human condition being mirrored in the act of writing.
"Why do think this writing of yours, this graphomania in a flimsy cave, this scribbling back and forth and up and down over the walls of...more
"Bring your ear down closer. Put your hand over the other ear. Think of seashells. There. Now you can hear me."
Atwood writes of writing in The Tent, the earnest futility of the human condition being mirrored in the act of writing.
"Why do think this writing of yours, this graphomania in a flimsy cave, this scribbling back and forth and up and down over the walls of...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
dreamers of dreams, short ones
This book is blindingly good. I am actually blind now. I cannot see the words I am typing. I don't care, I will keep typing to extol the virtues of Margaret Atwood's prose. Let me count the ways. Uh...it's hard to describe. She just tells, in this book, these minute, compact stories that shatter appearances. She tells the truth, and she tells it with a thesaurus that could obliterate you if it fell from a height onto your body. You would be pulped, a red smear on the pavement, or salt flats, or ...more
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Read in June, 2007
This was brilliant in short, sporadic doses: the kind of thing you pick up a month after having read the last short story. Her writing's like a sucker punch to the gut, for all she does and doesn't say. I could call them fables, but then that would imply that she finds something objectionably wrong with the way things are now (things referring to anything regarding sexism and gender and life and death and what seems like everything in between) and has an alternative to offer.
Almost like look...more
Almost like look...more
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Read in June, 2007
My first time reading Atwood. For some reason this great book was mixed in with all the romance novels and Dan Brown stuff in the English-language section of the Barcelona airport book store.
This is a collection of fictional short narratives and poetry. Themes are death, women's roles, age, post-colonialism, sex, writing, and, hilariously, worm plague. Some pieces made me laugh out loud on my flight, for which I received dirty looks from fellow passengers. Some pieces I could not unravel...more
This is a collection of fictional short narratives and poetry. Themes are death, women's roles, age, post-colonialism, sex, writing, and, hilariously, worm plague. Some pieces made me laugh out loud on my flight, for which I received dirty looks from fellow passengers. Some pieces I could not unravel...more
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I love some Atwood (Alias Grace, The Handmaid's Tale, Bluebird's Egg), loathe some (Cat's Eye) and am kind of intimidated by much of it. The Tent, being a collection of short pieces (very short!), contains something to elicit the entire range of reaction from me. What's up with the "Bottle" stories? "Chicken Little" is too ponderous. But "Our Cat Enters Heaven" is absolutely delicious, "Three Novels I Won't Write Soon" and "Encouraging the ...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
Atwoodoholics, people with short attention spans, people who like wicked laughs
This is a collection of microfictions, prose poems, and other oddities. In it Atwood ventriloquizes mythical beings, tells the other sides of stories, spins vast symbolic tales of ruin, and even seems to directly address the reader.
Basically, it's 155 pages of really good random stuff by Margaret Atwood. As if Atwood had a blog. And be honest. If Atwood had a blog, wouldn't you read it?
Basically, it's 155 pages of really good random stuff by Margaret Atwood. As if Atwood had a blog. And be honest. If Atwood had a blog, wouldn't you read it?
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Read in March, 2006
recommends it for:
people who are sick of workshopped nonfiction
I love this hybrid kind of book: is it fiction? nonfiction? it doesn't matter. This book is just well-written. I love that Atwood refers to the collection as "fictional essays". I learned quite a bit about the form of an essay fromt this collection. I enjoyed the imaginative qualities and found it at times to be similar to a prose poem. So, if you want to break out from form and theory read this book, it was very refreshing, liberating and exciting.
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
fans of Atwood
A newer collection of short stories from my favorite author. And while they are, mostly, brilliant, I was disappointed. There's an unremitting darkness here. She's always touched on dark themes, but there is usually at least one little glimmer of hope. These don't hold out much. There are funny bits, of course, but not enough.
It pains me to only give 3 stars to something by Atwood, but any more would be a lie.
It pains me to only give 3 stars to something by Atwood, but any more would be a lie.
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Read in January, 2008
Wow, I was all set to read this book of fictional essays as a treat and was dissapointed to find that I simply could not get into them. I stumbled through the first few, but was in a mood where I needed characters, plot or setting to be readily discernible, and none were. Maybe I just wasn't getting it, but it really wasn't working for me.
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Read in February, 2008
Atwood's commentary on the status of worldwide events is couched in the language of story and folktale, as though she is some wise woman or Sphinx making pronouncements on a race that she herself has been disconnected from for years. There's a certain snarkiness, too, to some of these essays, which is characteristic of much of her work.
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Most of these short stories are really the epitome of short, being all of 2 or 3 pages long. But Atwood sure packs a punch without having to wax poetic. No less than 90% of the stories herein were stellar, in my humble opinion. Look for a lot of overtones - politics, feminism, human nature, and death. Definitely worth a read.
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
those fond of short stories & esssays
Margaret Atwood is one of the most accomplished writers today and she proves it again in this book with her witty and highly imaginative commentary on a broad range of subjects. Having said that, I did not really enjoy this book - I thik part of the reason is because I prefer engaging long reads and these are very short stories.
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Read in March, 2006
Wildly uneven collection of fictional essays. Atwood's a great writer, but a lot of these feel to me like warm-up exercises rather than finished products. The long poem about Mom is heart-wrenching, and the essay "Our Cat Enters Heaven" is hilarious. Interesting and kind of like peeking into your favorite painter's sketchbook.
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Read in March, 2008
Beautiful, sharp, well honed words. Almost poetry but powerful prose.
I saw Margaret Atwood speak once when I was in grad school. I loved the way she answered lengthy winded questions with short pith and a solid stare. This book is fiction but I imagine it would be like spending an evening or two in Atwood's company.
I saw Margaret Atwood speak once when I was in grad school. I loved the way she answered lengthy winded questions with short pith and a solid stare. This book is fiction but I imagine it would be like spending an evening or two in Atwood's company.
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Read in November, 2007
A series of really short, dreamy stories that read almost like fables or myths. I especially liked the updated version of "Chicken Little" in which Chicken Little is hunted down and killed by right-wing conservatives fearful of the expensive repercussions Chicken Little's environmental messages.
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Read in February, 2008
Atwood's short stories are little masterpieces. Her ability to economize on words without compromising the quality and substance is really remarkable. Her narrative easily balances between humorous and deadly serious and reflects the tense atmosphere of the situations she describes.
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Read in January, 2008
interesting little vignettes...some flew right over my head though, some were great (our cat enters heaven and chicken little are my faves). great for my new job with short breaks and not enough time to get deep into a story. atwood is so good, this book did remind me of that!
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I love Margaret Atwood, but this book reminds me of a high school stoner girl's notebook--filled with doodles of mermaids and psuedo-profound thoughts on life. Okay, it's not that bad, but it's still pretty silly.
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Read in June, 2007
I liked it, particularly the story about cat heaven. The story on orphans was interesting too. It's a difficult book to describe since it's composed of short stories/musings usually only 2-3 pages long.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.60 (336 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.60 (280 ratings) number of reviews: 48popular shelves
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quote
"No more photos. Surely there are enough. No more shadows of myself thrown by light onto pieces of paper, onto squares of plastic. No more of my eyes, mouths, noses, moods, bad angles. No more yawns, teeth, wrinkles. I suffer from my own multiplicity. Two or three images would have been enough, or four, or five. That would have allowed for a firm idea: This is she. As it is, I'm watery, I ripple, from moment to moment I dissolve into my other selves. Turn the page: you, looking, are newly confused. You know me too well to know me. Or not too well: too much."
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