From the Bookshelf of Classics Without All the Class

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

No group discussions for this book yet.

What Members Thought

Cecily
What it's about

"We are survivors of each other. We have been shark to one another, but also lifeboat. That counts for something."

The power of abusive friendships and relationships is the theme of this book, though not all the relationships are tainted, so it's not depressing and at times it's quite amusing (e.g. discerning the mysteries of puberty).

There is also a fair bit about art and artists, with a dash of early feminism.

Plot structure

Elaine is an artist in her late fifties/early sixties
...more
Shanea
Apr 17, 2012 rated it really liked it
Shelves: classic, fiction, 1001, canada
Every book is unique, some more so than others. This is one of my favorite things about Mararet Atwood. As a reader you do not receive the same formula over and over again, as can happen with some authors.
Her characters and plotlines are not nice and neat little boxes wrapped with bows. They are realistically forgetful, and selfish, and emotionally disconnected. Elaine, her family, and her friends are all complete wrecks at various points in the novel, which more frequently than not occurs in r
...more
Yesha
Jul 01, 2007 marked it as to-read
Kristina
Mar 28, 2008 rated it it was amazing
Shelves: canlit, favourites
Carol
Jan 13, 2009 marked it as to-read
Shelves: have, 1001
Beckina
Mar 12, 2009 rated it really liked it
Shelves: favorite-authors
Terry
Jun 17, 2009 rated it really liked it
Elisa
Sep 17, 2009 rated it it was amazing
Heather (DeathByBook)
Feb 08, 2010 marked it as to-read
Lee-Ann
Jun 24, 2011 rated it it was amazing
Shelves: favorites
Corine Aubry
Jul 22, 2011 rated it really liked it
Jeska Duman
Jun 05, 2012 rated it really liked it
Nanci Svensson
Jul 05, 2013 rated it it was ok
Carol
Nov 16, 2013 marked it as to-read
Shelves: atwood
Beth Given
Jan 15, 2014 marked it as to-read
Wendy
Mar 15, 2014 marked it as to-read
Lindsay
Jun 26, 2015 marked it as to-read
Y_M_A
Jul 24, 2015 marked it as to-read
Rob
Dec 07, 2015 rated it liked it
Taylor Kobran Cruz
Jan 08, 2016 rated it really liked it
Patricia Ng
May 31, 2016 marked it as to-read
Shelves: contemporary
Felisa
May 25, 2017 marked it as to-read
Katrin
Dec 06, 2017 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: kanada, 2017
Mary Anne
Jan 20, 2019 marked it as to-read
Kat
Jan 27, 2020 marked it as to-read
Shelves: 1001-books
Katherine
Dec 24, 2021 marked it as to-read
Katrin
Feb 03, 2022 rated it it was amazing
Erin Leiter
Sep 10, 2024 marked it as to-read
Shelves: dane-s-top-11
« previous 1 3