books, the universe, and everything » margaret atwood http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:21:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Moral Disorder – Cover Designs http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2008/02/16/moral-disorder-cover-designs/ http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2008/02/16/moral-disorder-cover-designs/#comments Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:35:57 +0000 chowmeyow http://booksuniverseeverything.wordpress.com/?p=501

Here’s an example of a vast improvement of cover design from the hardcover to softcover release.

I don’t hate the hardcover design; it’s unusual and definitely stands out at the bookstore. And I think the design style somewhat fits her style of writing. (In general, I haven’t read this specific collection of short stories yet.) But I’m not sure it stands out in a good way. If someone had never read Margaret Atwood before, I doubt they would be likely to even pick up this book based on the hardcover design.

The softcover design looks like a modern classic. I also think it’s important that they added “And Other Stories” to the cover/title. The hardcover title and cover are a little vague, and you can’t even really tell if it’s fiction or non-fiction.

The softcover reminds me of two other covers. A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor has a comparable (but more subdued) color palate and a similar concept of pieces of a woman’s face. It also bears a strong resemblance to The Female Thing by Laura Kipnis, a non-fiction book about how women can be their own worst enemy in battles for equal rights.

Most likely the design similarities to these two titles are a coincidence, but an interesting one. A Good Man is Hard to Find is a book of short stories, and The Female Thing explores feminism and female rights. Many of Margaret Atwood’s novels and stories explore issues of female identity and roles.

The Female Thing: Dirt, envy, sex, vulnerability (Vintage)
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]]> http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2008/02/16/moral-disorder-cover-designs/feed/ 0 52nd Book of the Year – The Blind Assassin http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2007/09/26/52nd-book-of-the-year-the-blind-assassin/ http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2007/09/26/52nd-book-of-the-year-the-blind-assassin/#comments Thu, 27 Sep 2007 02:47:24 +0000 chowmeyow http://booksuniverseeverything.wordpress.com/?p=382
The Blind Assassin: A Novel
Margaret Atwood

I finished my 2007 New Year’s Resolution last week – reading 52 books this year. The 52nd book was The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood.

From what I’ve heard, people either love Margaret Atwood or hate her after reading one of her books. I haven’t heard of many people in the middle ground, but maybe they’re just not as vocal.

As I mentioned before, this is my second Atwood novel. I loved The Edible Woman, after reading it for a college class. I loved The Blind Assassin more.

The best thing about The Blind Assassin is the three different ways shes uses to tell the story of the Chase family and their downfall. You read their story through the actual novel narrated by one of the main characters, and a novel within the novel (the complete novel “The Blind Assassin” that one of the story’s fictional characters wrote and which has become a classic inside the plot). You read a few chapters of the “real” novel, and then a few from the “fake” classic novel. Both stories are supplemented throughout with news articles from the characters’ lives. It sounds confusing, and it does take a few chapters to get used to, but it works very well and makes the entire work tremendously unique.

I’m always impressed when a writer creates an complex, wonderful narrator who is old.  It’s amazing when they can put the reader directly inside the thoughts and feelings of an elderly person, in a very believable way. Most of us (if we’re lucky) are going to grow to be quite old, and old age is not something most of us want to think about. We don’t want to think about the time when our bodies will start working against us, no longer seeming to be on our team. The time when most of the population views you as worthless, redundant, or a burden. But this happens and it seems best that we read and think about it now. It also seems that so few books have elderly narrators. It impresses me because anyone can write about youth… we’ve all been through it. True old age is something even writers in their 50s and 6os haven’t experienced personally yet. Another wonderful book that has a narrator who is very old is Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen.

Back to the point: The Blind Assassin is a novel about family, consequences, control, love, and forgiveness. And it’s great.

(This post was brought over from emilyw.vox.com. Click here for the original post and comments.)
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