Good Bones and Simple Murders: 05/21/07
When I was still relatively new to BookCrossing, I signed up for a pair of Atwood book rings that I really enjoyed: Oryx and Crake and The Handmaid's Tale. Having enjoyed those two books, I signed up for more book rings and so far I've been disappointed with what I've read (Alias Grace and Cats-Eye).

My latest Atwood read, Good Bones and Simple Murders is the last of these book rings and it's right in the middle. There are stories I really enjoyed and others that annoyed me to no end. In the end, the annoying stories out numbered the enjoyable ones, making for a tedious read.

The Good:
Atwood illustrated all her stories . They are delightful and add a certain something to the stories. They are all thankfully short so even the annoying stories are over quickly. There are some lovely alternate future stories that take apart modern society in the vein of Oryx and Crake and The Handmaid's Tale. There are some amusing retellings of classic stories, like Gertrude's advice to her son, Hamlet.

The Bad:
I really don't like "battle of the sexes" stories. These comparisons between men and women get tiresome fast and this book is overly full of stories based around these stereotypes. I don't like stories that are strictly a rant by an overly emotional protagonist. Again, this book is rather heavy with ranting protagonists.

books | bookcrossing | fiction | margaret atwood