Lady Oracle
by Margaret Atwood
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1060)
Read in August, 2008
After finishing Bodily Harm, I started to wonder if I was burning out on The Atwood Project. Maybe I was just getting sick of her style, the old "familiarity breeds contempt" issue; however, that book was hardly true to her typical form, although it of course contained her pet theme (woman's search for identity), treated with as much gravity as usual with political upheaval thrown in for good measure. Also, my paternal grandmother died the day I finished reading it, so there w...more
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Read in February, 2007
I love Margaret Atwood and she can do (almost) no wrong, so it's probably not shocking that I really liked this book. After all, I have read (in order): The Handmaid's Tale (multiple times), Cat's Eye, Robber Bride (I should go back and re-read these as it's been a long time) The Blind Assassin, Alias Grace and The Penelopiad.
Lady Oracle treads over some of what most readers of Margaret Atwood will realize is familiar ground. The premise of the book is that Joan Foster, a woman who for all a...more
Lady Oracle treads over some of what most readers of Margaret Atwood will realize is familiar ground. The premise of the book is that Joan Foster, a woman who for all a...more
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Read in January, 2004
recommends it for:
someone interested in jouissance
I read lady oracle to complete my lit degree. Well, this one is nice storytelling with metafiction and some fantasies. Atwood always build her character with her alienation towards her surrounding, to let her character find her own identity.
This character, Joan Foster is built to overcome her problem of writing Gothic Romance, which seems very non-intellectual works compared to her husband's, Arthur, an activist who likes to stamp footnotes in his politic books.
Joan is only able to writ...more
This character, Joan Foster is built to overcome her problem of writing Gothic Romance, which seems very non-intellectual works compared to her husband's, Arthur, an activist who likes to stamp footnotes in his politic books.
Joan is only able to writ...more
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Read in February, 2005
This is the third Atwood book I’ve read, and I really enjoy her work. Her stories tend to suck you in, and by the middle of the book you’re having trouble putting it down because you want to finish it. It’s as if some of her stories are so implausible that you can’t imagine what could happen next, so you have to keep reading.
In Lady Oracle Atwood describes the life of Joan, a woman who has had mnay negative experiences as a child and makes some bad choices as an adult. The story go...more
In Lady Oracle Atwood describes the life of Joan, a woman who has had mnay negative experiences as a child and makes some bad choices as an adult. The story go...more
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Read in January, 2008
This book really pissed me off. I guess there's no real character arc. The main character starts out weak, unself-aware and just really messed up (for plenty of good reason, so I did sympathize with her) -- but nothing has really changed by the end of the book. She's still messed up and unself-aware. Ugh. The whole book made me feel really impatient and uncomfortable. I felt kind of sick and nervous the whole time I was reading it, as if doom was just around the corner. That probably says a lot ...more
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recommends it for:
people who read for the language of the book, not necessarily for plot
I am a big Margaret Atwood fan, mainly for her writing. Her books don't always have a lot of plot and sometimes I find her endings too pat, but I still devour her books for the language. Lady Oracle has one of my favorite beginnings to a book:
"I planned my death carefully; unlike my life, which meandered along from one thing to another, despite my feeble attempts to control it. My life had a tendency to spread, get flabby, to scroll and festoon life the frame of a baroque mirror, which ...more
"I planned my death carefully; unlike my life, which meandered along from one thing to another, despite my feeble attempts to control it. My life had a tendency to spread, get flabby, to scroll and festoon life the frame of a baroque mirror, which ...more
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Read in February, 2007
I love M. Atwood, but this book...I still can't believe she wrote it.
In most cases Atwood's themes revolve around women in some form or another. For the first time I felt myself becoming so frustrated with the female protagonist. I wanted to slap her and tell her to (ironically) grow some balls and stop feeling sorry for herself; there are people who have worst problems! She was weak and doubtful for superficial reasons and I couldn't believe Atwood would resort to using weight a major reaso...more
In most cases Atwood's themes revolve around women in some form or another. For the first time I felt myself becoming so frustrated with the female protagonist. I wanted to slap her and tell her to (ironically) grow some balls and stop feeling sorry for herself; there are people who have worst problems! She was weak and doubtful for superficial reasons and I couldn't believe Atwood would resort to using weight a major reaso...more
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Sickly funny, in a way that's typically attributed only to men. The book begins with the narrator's (a writer of Harlequin romances) own faked death and becomes, finally, a woman writer enjoying her woman-ness, fat jokes and all. You could talk to this book over coffee about things that matter in your life, and it wouldn't start crying and gushing about Oprah. Plus it's got a delicious title. I can't believe it is a second novel.
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
Atwood fans
A good book, but not a great book. A fascinating tale of a woman who writes "lurid Gothics" in her spare time, becomes a fraud of a poet overnight and fakes her own death to escape her multiple, bizarre affairs (including one with a man named, I kid you not, the Royal Porcupine).
Somehow, Atwood manages to make this sound a lot less zany than it comes off. The ending has an unresolved quality that is very symptomatic (I feel) of Atwood's earlier novels. A brilliant read, flaws and
Somehow, Atwood manages to make this sound a lot less zany than it comes off. The ending has an unresolved quality that is very symptomatic (I feel) of Atwood's earlier novels. A brilliant read, flaws and
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Read in July, 2008
I enjoyed much of this book. It's well written, as all the Atwood novels I've read are. I was enthralled in the story, wondering why the main character's mother kept appearing and what the deal with Arthur was, but I was also unsettled by how unhappy the main character continued to be. It was slightly depressing to be so involved with a character that refuses to let those closest to her really know her. I was surprised that Atwood would write such a weak female character. Despite all this, I sti...more
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Read in January, 2008
I read this book for a book club and wouldn't have done so otherwise. I hated the main character. She was a well written character, but she was completely unbelievable. I did not find any of the characters likeable. I didn't actually think the majority of the things in the book were possible. M. Atwood is an awesome writer. She puts words into amazing images and and can create emotion. But for me, the emotion is frustration at her weak, indecisive characters. Given my prior experiences wi...more
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Read in May, 2000
recommends it for:
those that want to escape.
This is one of those books that makes you feel kind of intellectual, but doesn't take any effort at all to slip into. Who can't relate to wanting to escape the life that you've built, or let happen, around you, at least from time to time? Atwood is such an accomplished writer that the themes are almost secondary to her skill with the language. A pure pleasure to read.
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recommended to Allan by:
Book Club
After reading this book, I feel like I have to re-read it again. The story is reavealed to to the reader in such a way that you might not exactly know what's going on until chapters later. Throughout the book, you feel as if something underlying is going on. And at the end, you just want to psychoanalyze the main character.
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This is my favourite of Atwood's books, probably because in some ways it's the silliest. Joan Foster is melodramatic and hapless, but entirely loveable. Plus, there's a mystery! And a fake death! And a secret life in a foreign villa! It's kind of like reading a romance novel, only a lot more with the intentional funny.
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Read in August, 2008
recommends it for:
romance novel lovers who want a more sophisticated read.
I have to admit, I was pretty disappointed with Atwood on this one. This is the third book of her's that I've read, the only one that wasn't set in a distopian future, and by far my least favorite. It wasn't so much that it was a BAD book, but more that it was entirely forgettable. No seriously, I just finished reading it a few days ago and I can't really remember most of the plot points. If you want to read one of her better novels, I suggest The Handmaiden's Tale or Oryx and Crake.
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Read in March, 2008
I love Margaret Atwood, both her poetry and novels. I just finished this book last week, and -- not surprisingly -- I really liked it, although I think I'd like anything of hers. At times laugh-out-loud funny, it follows the coming of age and career of a Canadian woman who secretly writes romance novels to escape her own less-than-satisfying existance.
That said, it wasn't my favorite Atwood. Blind Assassin and Handmaid's Tale (and even Oryx and Crake) are easily better, I think.
That said, it wasn't my favorite Atwood. Blind Assassin and Handmaid's Tale (and even Oryx and Crake) are easily better, I think.
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Read in July, 2008
I'm not sure I'll put it at the top of my list of favorite Margaret Atwood books (I reserve that space for The Robber Bride, Alias Grace, A Handmaid's Tale), but it was very good. And I believe I've now read all of her books!
That said, once again, she writes about the cruelty of young girls in a way that brings me back to 6th-8th grade and gives me chills. I have not encountered another writer who captures this subject matter quite so well.
That said, once again, she writes about the cruelty of young girls in a way that brings me back to 6th-8th grade and gives me chills. I have not encountered another writer who captures this subject matter quite so well.
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Atwood's books are all a bit quirky, strange, difficult -- not your typical novels to pick up and enjoy an escape. They all can be quite dark, searching, haunting, etc. Of all of her books, this was my favorite, second to Handmaid's Tale.
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Read in May, 2008
Finished it last night- I didn't like it as well as the Handmaid's Tale or Alias Grace, but it was still an excellent read. Atwood's insight is incredible- even though I have practically nothing in common with the main character, Joan, I still totally sympathize with her, as Atwood constantly touches on feelings and issues that we all, men and women, experience at some point or other. The ending is good, too.
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Read in April, 2008
I enjoy most Atwood novels and this was no exception. The story is about a female writer who fakes her own death to start a new life. As always, Atwood's writing style is excellent. The story line was interesting in terms of the reflection of our different selves throughout life. Unfortunately the end was a little disappointing. Not my favorite Atwood, but I would still give it 4 stars and recommend it.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.63 (1060 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.64 (1025 ratings) number of reviews: 61popular shelves
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"I sang out the words unflinchingly though, as I stomped around the toadstool in clouds of church-basement dust, with a damp Gnome hand clutched in each of mine."
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