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What Members Thought
This book is Margaret Atwood having fun in another dystopian society- I think a combination of the Adam and Eve story, (tasting forbidden fruits, then running from rather than getting exiled from Eden) with some major digs at consumerism of the weirdest sort: possilibots that can get completely out of hand, Elvis impersonators, music choices from yesteryear) and a Stepford Wives backdrop. In a world where most people are scratching and stealing to survive, It's just too perfect inside.
I should b ...more
I should b ...more
Nov 29, 2015
Jessica
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
speculative-fiction,
dystopia
Atwood's a long-standing favorite of mine, and I'm particularly intrigued by the world she's established here. Her stories are often rooted in the social anxieties of the moment, and her take on how large-scale income inequality could manifest into a dystopian future is particularly timely. Atwood has such a gift for setting up scenarios just anchored enough in reality to feel plausible, and the way she unfurls the consequences have justifiably made her one of the leading lights of contemporary
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The fact of living in one's car compared with the living arrangement in a community where one has to spend every other month in a prison has some appeal, but the reality of the situation is much more difficult. Atwood at her best.
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Like all plausible dystopian stories, this is slightly unsettling. Whilst the basic premise of how society is "dealt with" was credible I did think that the book got a bit daft as it went on and not what I would expect from this author.
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While I loved the Elvis bits, I just couldn't get into this audiobook. Maybe I'd have liked it more reading it on paper or even serially as it was originally published. Overall, it felt dark and grating and irritating rather than comedic or creepy as I'd anticipated. Alas!
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Jun 17, 2015
Sam
marked it as to-read
Jul 06, 2015
Rachel
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Sep 30, 2015
Nikki Morse
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Dec 07, 2015
Lindsay
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Aug 14, 2016
Ching-In
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Oct 24, 2016
O'Rissa
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Apr 09, 2017
Claire Fun
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Feb 05, 2020
Tammy AZ
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Jan 28, 2023
Sara
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