N S Ford

Tag: Margaret Atwood

  • Review of ‘My Evil Mother’ by Margaret Atwood

    A marvellous short story about mothers and daughters. It’s only a half-hour read but well worth it! A woman looks back on her teenage days in suburban Toronto and how her mother was different from the others, both a domestic goddess and something like a witch, although that word isn’t used. The story is darkly funny, superbly crafted and so well-written, as you’d expect from Margaret Atwood. I sort of predicted how it would go, so I wouldn’t say there were any twists. The magic is in the perceptive relationship between mother and daughter and how it’s not certain whether the mother really has supernatural powers. To some extent she was explaining the world differently to protect her daughter, especially in an era when fathers were not usually absent. The title is interesting, because the mother is not an evil person, but a strong and assertive character. I enjoyed this story very much and recommend it if you want a short read.

    Published as an Amazon Original, 2022.

    Book cover shows yellow cooking pot with occult symbols on it.

  • Review of ‘The Testaments’ by Margaret Atwood

    Praise be. The sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale is an excellent read. I have to confess I’m not a huge fan of The Handmaid’s Tale; I appreciate the book and have read it twice but am unlikely to re-read. However, The Testaments jointly won the Booker Prize last year, it’s had a lot of hype and it just happened to be available as an e-book from my library. I decided that I had to try it.

    The story is set in the same totalitarian state, Gilead (formerly part of the US), in the future. It’s a dystopia in which oppression of women is justified by religious fervour. There are three narrators, although at first I was confused as to who they were and whether they were all meant to be the same person. Eventually I understood. I found the writing style gripping, although I felt it flagged a little in the middle before ramping up to a tense and fast-paced conclusion. I won’t say what the story is about, in case of spoilers. It was a rewarding read, well-crafted and exploring issues still as relevant today as when Atwood first wrote The Handmaid’s Tale.

    I would definitely recommend The Testaments if you want to find out more about the workings of Gilead, its relationship with Canada and whether the regime is brought down. I can’t comment on whether it’s worthy of the Booker Prize, as I haven’t read any of the other contenders except for My Sister the Serial Killer and The Wall, both of which were longlisted.

    First published in 2019.

  • My mum’s favourite books

    As it’s Mother’s Day and my mum likes books as much as I do… Here are some of her favourites!

    “I would choose either Animal Farm or 1984 (both brilliant, although 1984 is too rambling at the end and apparently Orwell was going to edit and shorten the story but died before he could do so). I would also pick The Handmaid’s Tale, Pride and Prejudice (I like Emma but P&P is my favourite) and The Railway Children (much preferred it to The Phoenix & the Carpet) as I love steam trains and had a childhood fantasy about living next to a railway line. Another is Anne of Green Gables (the relationship between Anne and Diana was a bit like that between my friend Penny and myself – she was always getting into scrapes and I was seen as the “sensible” one). My favourite Dickens is A Christmas Carol, even though it gave me nightmares as a child. Also, either Rebecca or My Cousin Rachel (can’t decide which). My fave “chick lit” is the Shopaholic series – I find them so funny.”

    I think we share similar reading tastes, although I read a lot more non-fiction and I’m not as keen on dystopias or chick lit. We both like classic authors and have a fondness for children’s literature. This means we can share and recommend books!

    Do you like to read the same books as your mum or other family? I wonder if one ‘inherits’ reading tastes…