The Tent
by Margaret Atwood
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 637)
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 August, 2008
i kind of have a thing for hardcover books with black, white, and red color schemes. this book is a collection of short, fictional essays, and perhaps two to three poems scattered about -- musings, really. but they are very beautiful, and some of them left me stunned.
my favorites in this collection are "salome was a dancer," "our cat enters heaven," "chicken little goes too far," "the animals reject their names and things return to their origins," &q...more
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Read in September, 2008
What are three novels that you wouldn't write? For Margaret Atwood, they'll be "Worm Zero", "Sponge Death" and "Beetle Plunge". Through the plot outlines of these improbable stories, Atwood wittily pokes fun at literary pretensions, recycled thriller plots and Hollywood excesses. Like "Three novels I won't write so soon", the other fictional essays in "The Tent" are shrewd observations of the times we live in, packed into inventive micro tales - ...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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Read in July, 2008
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 August, 2008
It took me a bit to get into the abstract nature of the pieces, but now that I'm there, I'm enjoying the ride. I especially like "Salome was a Dancer."
I went to the Arizona State Capitol, where the original building exists solely as a museum, and I thought I had entered into "Heritage House."
"Take Charge" and "Bring Back Mom: An Invocation" are simply stunning.
I went to the Arizona State Capitol, where the original building exists solely as a museum, and I thought I had entered into "Heritage House."
"Take Charge" and "Bring Back Mom: An Invocation" are simply stunning.
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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, 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 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 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 August, 2008
Atwood's style of writing always gets me. It was interesting to re-read a couple of the "chapters" and get different perspectives. I appreciate how she tells the everyday story in a different light. A lot of this book deals with world problems, but on a microcosmic scale. Lots to make you think.
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