Product Description
An omnibus edition of this author's work, which contains two of her novels; LIFE BEFORE MAN (1979) which looks at the relationship between a man and two women; and CAT'S EYE (1989) which chronicles the life of one woman through four decades. ... Read more

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A thoughtful, knowledgeable, and highly readable book,Margaret Atwood Revisited will be a valuable resource for students,scholars and readers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Informative
I found this book to be very helpful for researching Margaret Atwood's book "The Handmaid's Tale." Ms. Stein is very knowledgable on Margaret Atwood and her works, and her book was well organized so that I found the information I needed quite easily. Thanks to this book I will be able to achieve an A on my senior paper! ... Read more

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In this fantastic and funny picture book Margaret Atwood offers a deliciously ridiculous tale about the virtues of resisting restrictions. Rude Ramsay has reached the end of his rope! Sick of eating rock-hard rice, wrinkled ravioli, and raw rhinoceros, Ramsay and Ralph the red-nosed rat resolve to leave their rectangular residence in a quest for more refreshing repast and to prove that the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence. With lots of 'r's' to help the story roll along, Margaret Atwood's rollicking text, combined with Dusan Petricic's lively art, make this book a real treat for Margaret Atwood fans, old and new. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Delightful entertainment
My 6 months old son listened intently to the rymes of the text.His eyes became big when I pointed out individual characters or objects of the colourful illustrations in this book.I was amazed how this book kept my son's undivided attention from front to back cover.As an adult however, I have to admit the story-line suffers in an attempt to make the words rhyme.

R YOU READY FOR A LAUGH PROVOKING STORY?
Booker Prize winner Margaret Atwood certainly needs to introduction to readers - young or old.In addition to her bestsellers, the latest being Oryx and Crake, she has penned four other children's books.

This time out she has more fun than most can imagine with the letter R.There was a fellow named Rude Ramsay who "resided in a ramshackle rectangular residence with a roof garden, a root-cellar, and a revolving door."He had a passel of revolting relatives named Ron, Rollo, and Ruby.

Ramsay did have one friend, "Ralph the red-nosed rat."When living with his kin became too much for Ramsay, Ralph suggested he move on, so he followed Ralph to a field of raspberry bushes and radishes.However, Rillah, the owner of the radish field doesn't take too kindly to Ramsay pilfering her radishes.She's a pretty miss who once was wealthy but is now down on hr luck.

As in all good stories, there's a happy ending here for Ramsay, Ralph, and Rillah.Dusan Petricic's outrageously funny illustrations are a joy to behold.Just try reading this without bursting into laughter.

- Gail Cooke ... Read more

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Literature that confronts our students’ assumptions about the world and about text is the lifeblood of English classes in American high schools and colleges. Margaret Atwood offers works in a wide variety of genres that fulfill that need. This volume introduces readers, students, and teachers to the life and works of Atwood while also suggesting a variety of ways in which her works can become valuable additions to classroom experiences with literature and writing. Furthermore, this volume confronts how and why we teach English through Atwood’s writing. ... Read more

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Oryx and Crake is a work of speculative fiction by the international literary star, Margaret Atwood. Raised in a science-oriented household, Atwood is no stranger to the curiosities of the natural world and to topics concerning the essence of the universe. It is her extensive knowledge of life, as it is and as it may evolve, that Atwood brings to this novel.The story of Oryx and Crake opens with the end of the world as we have known it so far. Snowman is apparently the last man on earth, with the exception of the Crakers, a new species of human being that Snowman is determined to protect. The Crakers have been created by Crake who believes that the existing human species is fundamentally flawed and he sets out to replace it with a designer species better attuned to the new world he envisions. The novel asks more questions than it answers and is more timely with each new scientific breakthrough. The moral dilemmas that Atwood invents for her story appear in the news media every day. Unravel the concerns that Atwood poses with this comprehensive guide from Bookclub-in-a-Box. Explore human motivation throught the characters of Snowman/Jimmy, Crake and Oryx. Decide whether the future should be welcomed or feared.Every Bookclub-in-a-Box discussion guide includes complete coverage of the themes and symbols, writing style and interesting background information on the novel and the author. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Monotonous
An anthology is probably not the best way to read short stories.In any event, the stories became monotonous after a while (perhaps Margaret Atwood only likes one particular type of short story).A variety of people (usually women) who are very sad, and often otherwise psychologically disfunctional, numbly lament their sadness, dysfunctionality, family, mistakes, etc.Maybe if there had been a few stories that contained something other than elegant writing about depression, then I would have enjoyed the depression stories more.As it was, I could barely finish.The best one was "Edie, A Life." ... Read more

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This study contains a reading of Margaret Atwood's works, such as "The Edible Woman", "Survival", "Lady Oracle", "Bluebeard's Egg", and "The Handmaid's Tale", through both a Gothic lens and a feminist perspective. ... Read more

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Canadian Fiction Studies are an answer to every librarian's, student's, and teacher's wishes. Each book, about 80 pages in length, contains clear, readable information on a major Canadian novel. These studies are carefully designed readings of the novels; they are not substitutes for reading them. Each book is attractively produced and follows the same format, so students will know exactly what to expect:

A chronology of the author's life The importance of the book Critical reception Reading of the text Selected list of works cited ... Read more

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The author of The Handmaid's Tale reads 26 of her poems. ... Read more

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High Latitudes chronicles the author’s journey across northernCanada in 1966. Engaging in what Margaret Atwood, in her introduction,calls "a salvation escapade," Mowat hoped to write a book basedon his experiences that would debunk the then-current idea of theNorth as a playground for developers and polluters. Until now, thatbook remained unwritten. Mowat’s compelling blend of suspensefulstorytelling and larger-than-life characters immerses readers in theArctic, a place Mowat dubs a "bloody great wasteland." In avoice alternately filled with rage, humor, and pathos, Mowat seasonshis story with photos, maps, and verbatim transcriptions oftestimonies from northern peoples — Inuit and white — at a timewhen the old ways of life were disappearing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not seals, not whales, and not wolves... this time Mowat is an advocate for the "Eskimo"
In 1966, writer Farley Mowat was sent east to west to explore the people and places of the Canadian Arctic.In 1993, he put this trip, and his tape recordings of the people he met, into this book.

It is haunting. Sobering.Maddening.Saddening.

It is a face of Canada's Far North that may never be recorded again.Mowat continues being the voice of the voiceless, the recorder of the unrecordable.I still need to read People of the Deer, which apparently has a similar theme.

And Mowat pulls no punches... he picks on missionaries, government workers, and even native people that work to destroy a complicated, self-sustaining society.In addition, he tells the personal stories - sad, endearing, heroic - of many Inuit, in their own words.

A few passages I want to remember:

"The transmutation of beluga into gold was to be Whale Cove's first great industrial achievement" (p. 17).

"He's a social anthropologist from some big university studying our habits.Those guys are everywhere in the north now, asking personal questions and busy taking notes like we was bugs for them to study.They crawl over us worse than lice" (p. 240; comments by Mary Carpenter).

"You want to know what I got out of my twelve years' schooling?I lost my Eskimo language.I lost contact with my parents, with most of my brothers and sisters, with the old people who were my relatives.When I left Aklavik mission school they sent me to Yellowknife.That was even farther from home.After Grade 12 they finally let me go home to Sachs at last.That was the first time since I was five.I didn't know the place.I didn't know what to say or what to do.I didn't know my parents.I couldn't talk Eskimo no better than one of the white missionaries!But you know what was the worst thing of all?I didn't know who I was any more..." (p. 242; comments by Mary Carpenter).

And the story of "Soosie E5-22" (chapters 18-21)... ah, the tragedy!

Who else tells these stories?Farley Mowat is the Lorax... "I speak for the trees."

This book has a short but enthusiastic introduction written by well-known writer Margaret Atwood:"High Latitudes gives us, with passion and insight, a vertical section of time past - the time that preceded our present.The choices that were made then affect our now, just as the choices we make now will determine the future.I'm sure Farley Mowat hopes that politicians today will be smarter than they were then, though he probably isn't betting on it" (p. xi).

A tragic topic, an impressive writer
A sad book. High Latitudes focuses on the disintegrating culture of North Canadian Natives. Much of the book is transcription of the natives in their own words and gives excellent insight into their plight. An overriding theme of the book is the devastating effect bureaucratic decisions of government and big business has had on these Inuits (Eskimos) and others.

This wasn't the adventure story I was expecting from Farley Mowat like "People of the Deer" in which he lived with an arctic community. This trip, taken in 1966, he travels by plane. Still none the less an adventure, he keenly describes a variety of northern communities including: Churchill ("a ...collection of mostly wooden structures between taiga and open tundra"), Povungnituk (the place that stinks), Old Crow (where "people catch lots of rats, won't let you go hungry there"), and many others. In typical fashion, Farley Mowat creates a gripping pathos about past cultures and events never to return, and often includes rich historical background for places he explores.

If you're a Farley Mowat fan, I would rate this as important but not as engaging as some of his other books (I've read four others: "People of the Deer", "And No Birds Sang", "Never Cry Wolf", and "The Boat Who Wouldn't Float"). The book ends somewhat abruptly but he saves a great anecdote from the Yukon Territory for the end. A frustrating aspect about the events you read about in this book is that they took place in the sixties. I'd like to know how these settlements he visited have done since then. I'll probably never know. ... Read more

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The Journals of Susanna Moodie is a book of poetry by Margaret Atwood.Amazon.com Review
The poetic/artistic exploration of what it means to find yourself thrown into a hostile environment, these poems by Margaret Atwood and silk-screen illustrations by Charles Pachter are based on the journals of Canadian pioneer Susanna Moodie. The setting allows Atwood to write cutting lines about the fundamental tensions in creating and defining a self. One such tension, the assertion of will on the world as well as on one's self, set against the spirit-crushing tribulations of loneliness and hopelessness, is especially electric. The Journals of Susanna Moodie is a beautiful and hypnotic book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wonderful and informative poetry
"The Journals of Susanna Moodie" poems are interesting and spare in style.I have not gone through the whole collection, but Margaret Atwood has written a thought-provoking account (through poems) of SusannaMoodie.Any serious or avid poem reader should consider this collection ofrelated poems. ... Read more

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This is nonfiction commentary. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: The Handmaid's Tale, the Penelopiad, Oryx and Crake, Surfacing, the Edible Woman, Lady Oracle, the Robber Bride, Cat's Eye, the Blind Assassin, the Year of the Flood, Alias Grace, Life Before Man, Bodily Harm. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: The Handmaid's Tale is a feminist dystopian novel, a work of science fiction or speculative fiction, written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and first published by McClelland and Stewart in 1985. Set in the near future, in a totalitarian theocracy which has overthrown the United States government, The Handmaid's Tale explores themes of women in subjugation and the various means by which they gain agency. The Handmaid's Tale won the 1985 Governor General's Award and the first Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987, and it was nominated for the 1986 Nebula Award, the 1986 Booker Prize, and the 1987 Prometheus Award. It has been adapted for the cinema, radio, opera, and stage. The Handmaid's Tale is set in the Republic of Gilead, a country within the borders of what was formerly the United States of America.It was founded by a racist, male chauvinist, nativist, theocratic-organized military coup as an ideologically-driven response to the pervasive ecological, physical and social degradation of the country. Beginning with a staged terrorist attack (blamed on Muslim terrorists) that kills the President, a movement calling itself the "Sons of Jacob" launched a revolution under the pretext of restoring order, ousting Congress, suspending the U.S. Constitution. Given electronic banking they were quickly able to freeze the assets of all women and other "undesirables" in the country, stripping their rights away. The new theocratic military dictatorship, styled "The Republic of Gilead", moved q...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=165026 ... Read more

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The writing concentrates on the mythological and the contemporary aspect of Margaret Atwood's novel Surfacing. According to the analysis of the novel themetamorphosis of the narrator into a beast is ananswer to issues raised because of modern bodypolitics and questions of faith in the novel. Theinherent link between body and the divine isdemonstrated when the narrator experiences aShamanistic experience through her unusual experienceof pregnancy. In the analysis of the relationship of the body and the divine mainly poststructuralist, psychoanalyticand feminist criticism was applied. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

the pits
My favorite bit is when the 300-pound Edward VII, riding as a jockey on a racehorse, runs down and kills a Sufragette.Edward VII couldn't have mounted an elephant without endangering it.

A complete history spanning from prehistory forward on the state of womankind through the ages
Fifty percent of the population from the emergence of humanity has been women - surely, they have done something worth writing about. "From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World" is a complete history spanning from prehistory forward on the state of womankind through the ages. A deftly researched look at the contributions to civilization of the fairer sex in law, society, war, and numerous other topics. Any feminist reader who wants an uplifting look at their gender's contributions to the world, "From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World" is the book for them. ... Read more

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The first comprehensive study of this major Canadian author to be informed by feminist critical theory. Dr. Rigney examines Atwood's poetry, fiction and critical essays, as well as her artistic and political views, and affirms their relevance within a feminist context. ... Read more

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What do we mean when we say that someone is a writer? Is he or she an entertainer? A high priest of the god Art? An improver of readers’ minds and morals? And who, for that matter, are these mysterious readers? In this wise and irresistibly quotable book, one of the most intelligent writers now working in English addresses the riddle of her art: why people pursue it, how they view their calling, and what bargains they make with their audience, both real and imagined.
To these fascinating issues Margaret Atwood brings a candid appraisal of her own experience as well as a breadth of reading that encompasses everything from Dante to Elmore Leonard. An ambitious artistic inquiry conducted with unpretentiousness and charm, Negotiating with the Dead is an unprecedented insider’s view of the writer’s universe.Amazon.com Review
After having been through the "wash-and-spin cycle" a few times, Margaret Atwood realized that her "own experience in the suds may be relevant to others." Thus was born Negotiating with the Dead, six essays about what it means to be a writer, particularly a female writer. Each essay explores one aspect of writerly contemplation: art vs. commerce; the ideal reader; the separation between the part of a person that writes and the part that lives; and, as the title suggests, the constant presence of those who came before (both writers and other ancestors). Atwood relates her own experiences as a female poet (to be taken seriously, it would have helped to commit suicide) and as a bestselling novelist (whether your books are good or bad, sell well or don't, people will look down at you for it). These are intriguing meditations, with references to works by Virgil, Isak Dinesen, Robertson Davies, and countless others (Atwood's own dead, no doubt). --Jane Steinberg ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Not what I was expecting
As a high school English teacher, I wanted to perfect my craft of teaching writing to my students.Who better to know writing than a real writer, right?Unfortunately, this book is not about the nuts and bolts of writing per se; it is more about Atwood's journey to being a writer, her literary life.

The book is divided into six chapters, each based on a lecture Atwood delivered in 2000 at Cambridge University.Here is an overview of the topics discussed:

Ch. 1- "Orientation", How Atwood became a writer (Educated parents, solitude, early/voracious reader) and the literary sub-culture.
Ch. 2- "Duplicity", The duality of the Writer (Self v. Muse).
Ch. 3- "Dedication", Literary success v. financial success and their subsequent perceptions/pressures on the Writer.
Ch. 4- "Temptation", The Writer v. Social Repsonsibility (Is Art merely decorative or does it serve a greater purpose?)
Ch. 5- "Communion", The Reader's role in literature (Analysis/interpretation of the Writer's work)
Ch. 6- "Descent", Telling stories because we're human, because we're connected with others.

As one can tell from the topics discussed, the book might be insightful for those who want to make writing a career, giving good advice on how best to do this.However, if you are looking for a book on the craft of writing, the steps one goes through to produce a published work, this is probably not the best book for you.

Luminous and Illuminating
Perhaps the greatest book ever written on the creative process.A treat for writers and non writers alike.Illuminating and inspiring for everyone, you do not need to be an Atwood afficionado to appreciate this.Lovers of words will find themselves, as always, entranced by Ms Atwood's prose.A yummy confection that will stimulate your mind and gobsmack you with its content and style.This is a book which will have you reading and rereading time and time again, scouring for that quotation or thought.A delightful tour inside the mind of a creative genius!

some books just make you smart
so, some books just make you smart.just like some people can't help but be smart.one such person, who demonstrates her intelligence through authorship, is margaret atwood.margaret atwood, who's literary acquaintance i made first nearly 15 years ago, when my mentor, an artist in la, esther raucher, was reading cat's eye in a book group she was in.margaret atwood is one brilliant woman, with profound insight, and professional respect for her craft.this book is a testimony to that respect--and offers even those every day writers, with miles of published accomplishments (like atwood herself) the whys and wherefores that remind you what you do, why it's important, and why it's impossible, if you're really a writer, to do anything else.

Negotiating with the Dead, who's title lept out at me in my present mood, began it's life as a series of lectures put on by Cambridge University--so i guess it helps that she's smart. the book has all the stuff of university writing.it has quotes and notes, introductions and acknowledgments, a bibliography that makes a stunning reading list, and 180 pages of writer insight.While remaining easy to read, the reader is made smarter through the references atwood uses, the juxtaposition of writers she quotes, the notes she adds and the ideas, wholly her own, that inform the organization of her insight.this book makes you smarter.you can feel it as your eyes scan the page.

Having read only atwood's poetry before, i was astounded by her sentences, paragraphs and pages.while guiding me carefully, i felt included in her insights.she was talking to her peers.she was inclusive and revealing.she invited us into her inner dichotomies of thought and longing.throughout this book, she helps us try on the ideas of orientation, duplicity, dedication, temptation, communion and descent.she asks us and answers herself with research, study and still no answer.she invites us further into the mystery of writer and written word, humanity and tale telling.she takes us on a guided tour of a labyrinth, who's only way out is to write one.

contemplating who we do it for, i was moved to tears by atwood's story of her secret society--the revelation that it was brownies and brown owl, the leader, the mentor, the teacher in cat's eye (a book i have not read--but my esther has and was all those years ago), was the first reader atwood wrote for.i was moved--maybe because of hormones or grief, but tears came to my eyes and a cry caught in my chest for the beauty of her story--and her love for her beloved brown owl--her first reader.and it is in this contemplation and discussion, i lingered longest."for myself" has been my answer forever--but my longings and adventures have been vain attempts to find a community of peers.this section of atwood's book brought me back to the randomness of brown owl and other such figures, who feature for a moment in real life--a moment significant and memorable enough, to keep you doing it--whatever it is you do--long after those beings have returned to invisibility and memory.

and then, the title verse is revealed in her final section, and there is a good many thought bodies to devour while contemplating food for the dead.it is because the dead are hungry that we write, atwood insists, and then elucidates her position with romantic references.i am stuck here, in this idea of how to communicate to the grave, through the grave and from the grave, as this is the only way i will ever come to understand my father now that he's passed on.and so it is in writing--the dead offer what could not be understood in life, and writing offers the food--the food of the dead--the food for the dead--the food for the living from the dead who are still with us--and because there are words, there are writers who string them together to form sustenance for the eventual end of the human who writes.the word, alone, remains in the world, silently waiting on the silent page, to break the silence open--with life--recorded for the living, from the dead, for the future, from the past, a voice, wholly out of time, that speaks in silences of life.

The pen is mightier than the sword...
This is my first book reading experience by Maraget Atwood.It is a personable memoir that opened my eyes to the value, importance and creativity of writing.If anyone writes--in any way---they'll learn from this book.I was especially astonished to read how most writers have a sort of "double identity".It makes perfect sense in that a writer has to take on many forms, personalities and feelings in order to emote a character.She also points out that 'an art of any kind is a discipline'.I loved this book...and I feel like I'm a WIZARD (as in the Wizard of Oz).You'll understand what I mean if you read this book.I have to leave some element of suprise.Trust me, you will be surprised.A great book--for writers of any type. ;)

Brimful of brilliant!
I just finished reading this book and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I feel that anyone who truly ponders the intricacies involved in the process of writing, anyone who has grappled with the process itself, will find this book relevant, beneficial, and even entertaining.
Margaret Atwood mingles wit with wisdom. Erudition with transparency.
It is unpretentious from start to finish, which I think is an Atwood hallmark.
As explained in the prologue, the six chapters are really six re-worked lectures, delivered in the year 2000 at Cambridge University. They are intended for "specialists in literature, general readers, and - especially - writers at an earlier stage or dewier stage than my own."
They are not sequentially built upon each other, but rather, they circle like gulls over a set of common themes having to do with the writer, the writer's medium, and the writer's art.
The three main questions covered are as follows: "Who are you writing for? Why do you do it? Where does it come from?"

Who, why, and where... and nowhere how.
This is not a book about how to write.
It is a book about what it is like to write.
What it MEANS, to be a writer.

The most interesting section, in my opinion, was the third, entitled "The Great God Pen" because it focused on the second question "Why does the writer write?"... my favorite of the three. Here, Atwood talked about the topic of "art for art" and it was fascinating. Does the writer write to make money? For hope of fame? To project a moral statement? Create something beautiful? Exonerate oneself? Impress the masses?
Her prodigious and eclectic wealth of reference points and allusions show that she did not begin her thoughts on this topic just last week. In this chapter (and the entire book) we are the recipients of a very-much-still-alive LIFETIME of experiential and theoretical research, of such a caliber it can be considered among the finest scholarship in the field.
And again, witty as all get out.
Here is an example of what I mean by that: "I can still hear the sneer in the tone of the Parisian intellectual who asked me, `Is it true you write the bestsellers?'
`Not on purpose,' I replied somewhat coyly." (p.68).

Much of the book reads as memoir yes! (as other reviewers have commented). But how can this be a negative thing? If it is the writer's life we are concerned with learning about, is it not wonderful that one of the best in the world will share with us relevant glimpses and pieces of her own?


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