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Dancing Girls and Other Stories
From the international bestselling author of The Handmaid's Tale , Dancing Girls and Other Stories showcases Margaret Atwood's masterly skill for storytelling.Students, journalists, farmers, birdwatchers, ex-wives, adolescent lovers - and dancing girls. All ordinary people.Or are they?In brilliant flashes of fantasy, humour and unexpected violence, Margaret Atwood reveals the complexities of human relationships and maps the motivations we scarcely know we have within us. Populated with characters who evoke laughter, compassion, terror and recognition, Atwood’s stories show why she remains one of our greatest, most original storytellers.'A remarkable collection' Sunday Times
242 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
595 people are currently reading
7290 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Atwood
664 books89.3k followersMargaret Atwood was born in 1939 in Ottawa and grew up in northern Ontario, Quebec, and Toronto. She received her undergraduate degree from Victoria College at the University of Toronto and her master's degree from Radcliffe College.
Throughout her writing career, Margaret Atwood has received numerous awards and honourary degrees. She is the author of more than thirty-five volumes of poetry, children’s literature, fiction, and non-fiction and is perhaps best known for her novels, which include The Edible Woman (1970), The Handmaid's Tale (1983), The Robber Bride (1994), Alias Grace (1996), and The Blind Assassin, which won the prestigious Booker Prize in 2000. Atwood's dystopic novel, Oryx and Crake, was published in 2003. The Tent (mini-fictions) and Moral Disorder (short stories) both appeared in 2006. Her most recent volume of poetry, The Door, was published in 2007. Her non-fiction book, Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth in the Massey series, appeared in 2008, and her most recent novel, The Year of the Flood, in the autumn of 2009. Ms. Atwood's work has been published in more than forty languages, including Farsi, Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Korean, Icelandic and Estonian. In 2004 she co-invented the Long Pen TM.
Margaret Atwood currently lives in Toronto with writer Graeme Gibson.
Associations: Margaret Atwood was President of the Writers' Union of Canada from May 1981 to May 1982, and was President of International P.E.N., Canadian Centre (English Speaking) from 1984-1986. She and Graeme Gibson are the Joint Honourary Presidents of the Rare Bird Society within BirdLife International. Ms. Atwood is also a current Vice-President of PEN International.
Throughout her writing career, Margaret Atwood has received numerous awards and honourary degrees. She is the author of more than thirty-five volumes of poetry, children’s literature, fiction, and non-fiction and is perhaps best known for her novels, which include The Edible Woman (1970), The Handmaid's Tale (1983), The Robber Bride (1994), Alias Grace (1996), and The Blind Assassin, which won the prestigious Booker Prize in 2000. Atwood's dystopic novel, Oryx and Crake, was published in 2003. The Tent (mini-fictions) and Moral Disorder (short stories) both appeared in 2006. Her most recent volume of poetry, The Door, was published in 2007. Her non-fiction book, Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth in the Massey series, appeared in 2008, and her most recent novel, The Year of the Flood, in the autumn of 2009. Ms. Atwood's work has been published in more than forty languages, including Farsi, Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Korean, Icelandic and Estonian. In 2004 she co-invented the Long Pen TM.
Margaret Atwood currently lives in Toronto with writer Graeme Gibson.
Associations: Margaret Atwood was President of the Writers' Union of Canada from May 1981 to May 1982, and was President of International P.E.N., Canadian Centre (English Speaking) from 1984-1986. She and Graeme Gibson are the Joint Honourary Presidents of the Rare Bird Society within BirdLife International. Ms. Atwood is also a current Vice-President of PEN International.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 454 reviews
December 25, 2015
A fascinating short story that both confronts and subverts rape culture through a wandering, uncouth narrator. In "Rape Fantasies," our protagonist, Estelle, discusses rape fantasies with her coworkers - and soon realizes that none of their ideas have anything to do with actual rape. While her coworkers dream of consensual encounters, Estelle imagines stories in which she ends up subduing and/or sympathizing with her attacker, because he gets his zipper stuck, or has a cold, or fights leprosy. Atwood employs her signature cutting and ironic voice to make readers question how we all discuss sexual assault, both to each other and within ourselves.
Estelle also serves as a fascinating character study. Her convoluted stream-of-thought consciousness complicates "Rape Fantasies" and adds another layer of subterfuge to the piece. I feel like literary types and feminists alike could spend hours dissecting this piece; while Atwood does not make her ultimate message super clear to us, she does force us to dissect the ways in which we imagine, or how we judge the imaginations of others. She published this several years ago, so good for her for shedding light on a subject so often stigmatized in our society, to the great cost of sexual assault survivors.
Estelle also serves as a fascinating character study. Her convoluted stream-of-thought consciousness complicates "Rape Fantasies" and adds another layer of subterfuge to the piece. I feel like literary types and feminists alike could spend hours dissecting this piece; while Atwood does not make her ultimate message super clear to us, she does force us to dissect the ways in which we imagine, or how we judge the imaginations of others. She published this several years ago, so good for her for shedding light on a subject so often stigmatized in our society, to the great cost of sexual assault survivors.
November 21, 2016
I read this short story because Margaret Atwood, and because of the catchy title. Going into it, I was sure I knew what a rape fantasy is, but the main character (Estelle) got me so confused that I googled it.
According to the almighty Wikipedia, a rape fantasy (sometimes rape play) or a ravishment is a sexual fantasy involving imagining or pretending being coerced or coercing another into sexual activity. And that's exactly what I thought it is. So I'm not sure why Estelle doesn't seem to understand that. All her fantasies are far from sexual, not even mildly arousing. Her imagined rapists all end up to be quite pathetic men, in need of comforting or psychiatric help.
According to the almighty Wikipedia, a rape fantasy (sometimes rape play) or a ravishment is a sexual fantasy involving imagining or pretending being coerced or coercing another into sexual activity. And that's exactly what I thought it is. So I'm not sure why Estelle doesn't seem to understand that. All her fantasies are far from sexual, not even mildly arousing. Her imagined rapists all end up to be quite pathetic men, in need of comforting or psychiatric help.
February 22, 2023
She had begun to have the feeling that nothing was waiting for her outside the bed’s edge. Not emptiness but nothing, the zero with legs in the arithmetic book.
There is a dreamlike, lyrical quality to these stories, but there is also something very real and familiar and biting in all of them too. This creates a feeling of discomfort when the ideas hover a bit close to home, despite some fairly outlandish premises. One of MA’s gifts is how she is so perceptive and can be witty and cutting and devastating in the turn of a sentence or two. It makes each story so compelling and hard to put down. It’s no wonder I have an entire shelf devoted just to her work. I’m actually sad I just now picked up this story collection, it’s very good and I wish I could have read it sooner. I honestly loved almost every single story, which is rare for me.
There is a dreamlike, lyrical quality to these stories, but there is also something very real and familiar and biting in all of them too. This creates a feeling of discomfort when the ideas hover a bit close to home, despite some fairly outlandish premises. One of MA’s gifts is how she is so perceptive and can be witty and cutting and devastating in the turn of a sentence or two. It makes each story so compelling and hard to put down. It’s no wonder I have an entire shelf devoted just to her work. I’m actually sad I just now picked up this story collection, it’s very good and I wish I could have read it sooner. I honestly loved almost every single story, which is rare for me.
May 5, 2022
i hope margaret atwood gets to live forever
June 18, 2016
Writing effective short stories is probably more difficult than writing effective novels. You have very little space; you have to create viable, breathing characters in paragraphs instead of chapters; you have to weigh every word and know that it is essential or it must go; and you must convey something important, an idea, a thought, that lasts or has impact. Margaret Atwood does that like it is a science.
I’m not generally a fan of short stories. They seem too often to leave me feeling as if there is more to the story if only the author had had the time and pages to flesh it out. Atwood seldom left me with that feeling in this collection, although I admit to loving some of the stories and feeling a little confused about others.
The ones I loved:
Betty Almost a coming of age tale, with the adolescent narrator who doesn’t quite understand the world of the grown-ups that she observes. Betty is part of “Betty and Fred” the couple who live next door at the cottages where her family is spending the summer, and the girl and her sister are a bit taken with Fred, but it is Betty who makes them welcomed and treats them well. Fred seems so ideal to their young minds. About half way through the tale, our narrator observes, “I began to think that I might not want to be married to Fred after all. He unrolled from Betty’s mouth like a long ribbon of soggy newspaper printed from end to end with nothing but the weather.” That simile said all.
Under Glass I wanted to scream at this narrator who is involved in a relationship with a man who has just committed an infidelity and shrugs it off in a “boys will be boys” style. I wanted to tell him what no one’s ever taught him, how two people who love each other behave, how they avoid damaging each other, but I’m not sure I know.” and “He won’t come near me, touch me, doesn’t he that’s all he needs to do? He’ll wait for me to cool off, as he puts it. But if I go away like this I won’t be back.” She wishes she didn’t love him, but my question would be, why does she?
The Grave of the Famous Poet A tale of alienation and breakup that felt perfectly heartbreaking to me. The setting is right for romance, but the narrator knows the romance is over. ”I pull him into me, wanting him to be with me, but for the first time I feel it’s just flesh, a body, a beautiful machine, an animated corpse, he isn’t in it any more, I want him so much and he isn’t here.” If you have ever experienced the end of love, you will recognize its shadow, whispering your name.
The Sin Eater Joseph is an unorthodox shrink, who we meet through his "client" (because he doesn't call them patients or believe they are sick). "This world is all we have, says Joseph. It's all you have to work with. It is not too much for you. You will not be rescued."
I could turn that last one into a mantra and share it with everyone who is young and struggling, middle-aged and feeling unsure of the path they have taken, old and feeling their time run out. You will not be rescued, but then Joseph and Atwood would probably tell you that if you pay close attention you will discover you can rescue yourself.
I’m not generally a fan of short stories. They seem too often to leave me feeling as if there is more to the story if only the author had had the time and pages to flesh it out. Atwood seldom left me with that feeling in this collection, although I admit to loving some of the stories and feeling a little confused about others.
The ones I loved:
Betty Almost a coming of age tale, with the adolescent narrator who doesn’t quite understand the world of the grown-ups that she observes. Betty is part of “Betty and Fred” the couple who live next door at the cottages where her family is spending the summer, and the girl and her sister are a bit taken with Fred, but it is Betty who makes them welcomed and treats them well. Fred seems so ideal to their young minds. About half way through the tale, our narrator observes, “I began to think that I might not want to be married to Fred after all. He unrolled from Betty’s mouth like a long ribbon of soggy newspaper printed from end to end with nothing but the weather.” That simile said all.
Under Glass I wanted to scream at this narrator who is involved in a relationship with a man who has just committed an infidelity and shrugs it off in a “boys will be boys” style. I wanted to tell him what no one’s ever taught him, how two people who love each other behave, how they avoid damaging each other, but I’m not sure I know.” and “He won’t come near me, touch me, doesn’t he that’s all he needs to do? He’ll wait for me to cool off, as he puts it. But if I go away like this I won’t be back.” She wishes she didn’t love him, but my question would be, why does she?
The Grave of the Famous Poet A tale of alienation and breakup that felt perfectly heartbreaking to me. The setting is right for romance, but the narrator knows the romance is over. ”I pull him into me, wanting him to be with me, but for the first time I feel it’s just flesh, a body, a beautiful machine, an animated corpse, he isn’t in it any more, I want him so much and he isn’t here.” If you have ever experienced the end of love, you will recognize its shadow, whispering your name.
The Sin Eater Joseph is an unorthodox shrink, who we meet through his "client" (because he doesn't call them patients or believe they are sick). "This world is all we have, says Joseph. It's all you have to work with. It is not too much for you. You will not be rescued."
I could turn that last one into a mantra and share it with everyone who is young and struggling, middle-aged and feeling unsure of the path they have taken, old and feeling their time run out. You will not be rescued, but then Joseph and Atwood would probably tell you that if you pay close attention you will discover you can rescue yourself.
January 21, 2024
Un volum inegal, dar prozele bune sunt mai multe decât cele slabe. Atwood strălucește aici mai ales în comentarea subtilă a relațiilor dintre bărbați și femei.
February 20, 2011
Dancing Girls / 0-553-37791-4
This collection of Atwood short stories includes:
- The War in the Bathroom
- When It Happens
- The Man from Mars
- A Travel Piece
- Polarities
- The Resplendent Quetzal
- Under Glass
- Training
- The Grave of the Famous Poet
- Lives of Poets
- Dancing Girls
- Hair Jewelry
- Giving Birth
- Rape Fantasies
- Betty
- The Sin Eater
These stories are classic Atwood material: the stories explore pain in modern relationships, and the ennui that sets into modern life and leaves people feeling deeply sad, yet unable to explain their sadness. In the face of material security, socially acceptable relationships and jobs, and owning lavish goods and homes, why do we still feel so sad? Other stories carefully examine mental deterioration, whether mental illness ("The War in the Bathroom") as the main character slowly seems to spiral into dementia, or severe strain brought on by unusual circumstances ("A Travel Piece"). Atwood posits that, in the face of complete breakdown, a part of us still hangs onto our familiar routines, even when hanging on seems absurd. Whether this absurd cling to the familiar helps to maintain our sanity or whether it merely hastens the descent into madness is never made clear.
~ Ana Mardoll
This collection of Atwood short stories includes:
- The War in the Bathroom
- When It Happens
- The Man from Mars
- A Travel Piece
- Polarities
- The Resplendent Quetzal
- Under Glass
- Training
- The Grave of the Famous Poet
- Lives of Poets
- Dancing Girls
- Hair Jewelry
- Giving Birth
- Rape Fantasies
- Betty
- The Sin Eater
These stories are classic Atwood material: the stories explore pain in modern relationships, and the ennui that sets into modern life and leaves people feeling deeply sad, yet unable to explain their sadness. In the face of material security, socially acceptable relationships and jobs, and owning lavish goods and homes, why do we still feel so sad? Other stories carefully examine mental deterioration, whether mental illness ("The War in the Bathroom") as the main character slowly seems to spiral into dementia, or severe strain brought on by unusual circumstances ("A Travel Piece"). Atwood posits that, in the face of complete breakdown, a part of us still hangs onto our familiar routines, even when hanging on seems absurd. Whether this absurd cling to the familiar helps to maintain our sanity or whether it merely hastens the descent into madness is never made clear.
~ Ana Mardoll
January 18, 2024
"Problema noastră, mi se părea mie, era că nici în lumea din jur și nici în viitorul care se întindea în fața noastră nu exista o imagine a ceea ce am fi putut ajunge. Eram prizonieri în prezent ca într-un vagon de metrou blocat, altfel gol, iar în această izolare ne agățam ursuzi fiecare de umbra celuilalt."
E un fragment din povestirea "Memento mori", care face parte din volumul de proza scurtă "Dansatoarele" de Margaret Atwood. Aceasta mi-a plăcut cel mai mult, deși mai sunt destule notate cu 5*: Omul de pe Marte, Betty, Polarități, Pregătire, Dansatoarele ș.a.
Cred că memento mori e, de fapt, fața cealaltă a iubirii care nu moare, stă mereu într-un colț al creierului protagonistei, deși povestea de dragoste s-a încheiat de mult timp, deși nimic nu mai e cum a fost, iar ei doi sunt acum alți oameni, cu familii si job (se cunoscuseră în studenție). Și...daca își amintește des că va muri, ea își aduce imediat în paralel și imaginea lui, pentru că el este tinerețea ei și viața aceea plină, romantică, de neegalat cu viața de acum.
"Rămas-bun", îți spun, așteptând privirea ta îngândurată, plină de regret. Ar trebui să-mi întorci spatele și să te îndepărtezi, dincolo de cuferele vechi, după colț, în spălătorie, și să dispari în spatele mașinii de spălat și al uscătorului; însă tu nu te clintești."
Dacă vă place cum scrie Atwood, veți gusta multe proze de aici.
E un fragment din povestirea "Memento mori", care face parte din volumul de proza scurtă "Dansatoarele" de Margaret Atwood. Aceasta mi-a plăcut cel mai mult, deși mai sunt destule notate cu 5*: Omul de pe Marte, Betty, Polarități, Pregătire, Dansatoarele ș.a.
Cred că memento mori e, de fapt, fața cealaltă a iubirii care nu moare, stă mereu într-un colț al creierului protagonistei, deși povestea de dragoste s-a încheiat de mult timp, deși nimic nu mai e cum a fost, iar ei doi sunt acum alți oameni, cu familii si job (se cunoscuseră în studenție). Și...daca își amintește des că va muri, ea își aduce imediat în paralel și imaginea lui, pentru că el este tinerețea ei și viața aceea plină, romantică, de neegalat cu viața de acum.
"Rămas-bun", îți spun, așteptând privirea ta îngândurată, plină de regret. Ar trebui să-mi întorci spatele și să te îndepărtezi, dincolo de cuferele vechi, după colț, în spălătorie, și să dispari în spatele mașinii de spălat și al uscătorului; însă tu nu te clintești."
Dacă vă place cum scrie Atwood, veți gusta multe proze de aici.
November 12, 2008
The only thing that saves this from the one-star category is the fact that I can imaging my creative writing professors at Rochester assigning these sorts of short stories, because they are right in line with all of the ones I read for class. I would read and become a bit excited near the end of the first third of the story, hoping with a bit of anticipation that now, after this confusion and meandering, everything will add up and lead to something beautiful or horrendous or at least meaningful. But after finishing the second third of the story, I finally realize that no, the first third was exactly what was going to happen throughout, and I would be destined to finish the story without finding any purpose to it at all, but I would finish it anyway, because I had already invested time and energy in the first two-thirds, and darn it, if there was some surprise at the end that made everything make sense, I didn't want to be such a lazy reader that I would miss it.
But I rarely missed anything. And so, after trying four or five stories in Dancing Girls, I returned it to the library. I'll look for a novel the next time I decide to delve into Atwood.
But I rarely missed anything. And so, after trying four or five stories in Dancing Girls, I returned it to the library. I'll look for a novel the next time I decide to delve into Atwood.
November 23, 2020
De todos los relatos me gustaron cinco con suerte. Me encanta como escribe Margaret Atwood, pero en este libro me pareció que los personajes se enrollan demasiado y a ratos sinceramente no entendía qué estaba leyendo ni hacia dónde me llevaba la autora.
Este libro contiene 14 cuentos que a través de diversas voces de mujeres, nos hablan sobre acoso, matrimonio, infidelidad, maternidad, pérdida.
Niñas, jóvenes y adultas narran momentos de sus vidas que a pesar de la distancia temporoespacial, me identificaron mucho. El libro original fue publicado en 1977 y duele constatar que hay cosas que aún no cambian para nosotras.
Este libro contiene 14 cuentos que a través de diversas voces de mujeres, nos hablan sobre acoso, matrimonio, infidelidad, maternidad, pérdida.
Niñas, jóvenes y adultas narran momentos de sus vidas que a pesar de la distancia temporoespacial, me identificaron mucho. El libro original fue publicado en 1977 y duele constatar que hay cosas que aún no cambian para nosotras.
May 1, 2018
This marvellous collection of short stories brings together the stories of men and women, but of course it is the women who Atwood finds more fascinating, and interesting - our motivations, our drives, our desires, mostly unspoken but made manifest by actions.
February 28, 2021
Kuigi mul on mitu raamatut pooleli, siis ükspäev haaras käsi justkui iseenesest riiulilt Atwoodi raamatu. Tegemist on lühikese jutukoguga, milles on vaid 5 juttu. Lühijutud räägivad igapäevasest elust ja tavalistest inimestest ning nende mõtetest. Lisaks avaneb lugejale keskkond, milles tegelased elavad. Originaalis on see jutukogu küll oluliselt mahukam, lausa kahju, et vaid osa raamatust sai toona tõlgitud. Tõlge muidugi kannab kohati oma aja märke. Üllatusin, kui kohtasin sõna 'kartulikrõpsik' ja veidi edasi lugedes tuli 'Prantsuse praekartulid', aga kui arvestada, et tõlge on aastast 1987, siis ei ole kobiseda midagi - polnud ju sel ajal meil õrna aimugi, mis on kartulikrõpsud või friikartulid, need on saanud igapäevaseks ikka aastaid hiljem. Muus osas ei ütle tõlke kohta ühtki halba sõna, ja ega eelöeldu pole ka halvana mõeldud.
Kui kunagi arvasin, et mulle ei meeldi lühijutte lugeda, siis pean oma arvamust korrigeerima. Tegelikult naudin lühijutte ja novelle väga - enne magamajäämist paras üks lugemisamps võtta. :)
Enda rõõmuks avastasin, et raamat ilmub uuesti 2021. aasta novembris Loomingu Raamatukogu kuldsarjas ja selles on olemas ka originaalkogumiku ülejäänud lood. Seega saan seda raamatut juba aasta lõpus uuesti lugeda. :)
Kui kunagi arvasin, et mulle ei meeldi lühijutte lugeda, siis pean oma arvamust korrigeerima. Tegelikult naudin lühijutte ja novelle väga - enne magamajäämist paras üks lugemisamps võtta. :)
Enda rõõmuks avastasin, et raamat ilmub uuesti 2021. aasta novembris Loomingu Raamatukogu kuldsarjas ja selles on olemas ka originaalkogumiku ülejäänud lood. Seega saan seda raamatut juba aasta lõpus uuesti lugeda. :)
April 20, 2023
Mi-a fost dor de ea teribil,nu știu de ce primăvara este anotimpul perfect să o citesc,trei sferturi din proze au fost pt mine la superlativ.
January 3, 2018
“So I hand it to him and heʼs very obliging, he twists the top off and hands it back to me, and I squirt him in the eye. I hope you donʼt think thatʼs too vicious. Come to think of it, it is a bit mean, especially when he was so polite and all.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 5, 2018
Confieso que no soy muy amiga de los libros de cuentos. Incluso de autores que considero mis favoritos, nunca termino conforme del todo con la lectura. Por lo mismo, no me atrevería a decir que Chicas bailarinas me gustó cabalmente.
Atwood tiene la gracia de darle un tono y ritmo distinto a cada uno de sus cuentos y sus historias nunca terminan como imaginas (pienso en Historia de un viaje y Cuando sucede). Mi cuento favorito es Joyería capilar y estuve a punto de darle 4 estrellas solo por él, pero con muchos otros no pude conectar nada como me paso con Dar a luz, por ejemplo.
¿Es recomendable? Por supuesto. Leer a Atwood nunca será una pérdida de tiempo. ¿Si se transformará en tu libro favorito de todos los tiempos? Ahí tengo mis dudas.
Frases para el recuerdo:
De niña, siempre se identificaba con la novia engañada o la hermana fea; siempre que el cuento empezaba “Érase una vez una doncella tan bonita como bondadosa”, tenía la certeza de que no se trataba de ella.
Su madre aprovechó para decir que el problema con las personas de otra cultura era que nunca sabía si estaban locos o no, porque sus pautas de comportamiento eran muy distintas.
No lo imaginaba en el ejército, ni en ningún bando; no encajaba con él, y , hasta donde sabía no tenía ideología alguna. Debía de ser algo anodino, al margen, como ella; tal vez se había hecho intérprete.
El interior desprendía ese olor dulce y tristón de las tiendas en las que se vende de todo, mezcla del aroma de los cucuruchos de helado, las galletas Oreo, los caramelos duros y las barritas de regaliz que se exponían en el mostrador, y eso otro olor, almizcleño y penetrante, a sudor y a rancio.
En cuanto a Fred, ha dejado de intrigarme. Os Freds de este mundo se delatan por lo que hacen y por lo que eligen. Son las Bettys las que resultan misteriosas.
El desorden solo le interesaba en las mujeres, pero no podía vivir en él.
La pobre Louise había intentado forjarse a sí misma a partir de las personas que conocía. Únicamente de él no había tomado nada: al pensar en su gélido interior, un puro embrión malogrado, comprendió que no tenía nada que ella pudiera tomar.
Yo soy el círculo. Tengo los polos en mí interior. Lo que debo hacer es seguir intacta, depende de mí.
Comprendió que solo quería a la Louise desesperanzada y loca, la indefensa y privada de toda aspiración. Con una Louise cuerda y capaz de juzgarlo, nunca podría entenderse.
Sus propios esfuerzos por seguir siendo humano, el trabajo inútil, el amor estéril, ¿qué ocurría cuando todo se agotaba?, ¿qué le sucedería a él?
Aunque tener una calabaza o un tomate, sería en los tiempos que corren, más agradable y útil que tener un bebé. El mundo no necesita mis genes. Pero esto es una excusa.
Barajo mi juego de impertinencias y saco una: haces el amor como un cowboy violando a una oveja. Llevo tiempo queriendo decírselo, pero acaso la paz sea más importante.
Deseo explicarle lo que nadie le ha enseñado, cómo se comportan dos personas que se quieren, que evitan hacerse daño, pero no estoy segura de saber.
Nos amamos, eso es cierto signifique lo que signifique, pero no nos amamos bien: para algunos es talento, para otros adicción.
Resucito a través de la ropa. Tanto es así que me resulta imposible recordar lo que hice, lo que me sucedió, a menos que recuerde lo que llevaba puesto. Siempre que deshecho un suéter o un vestido, deshecho parte de mi vida.
Creía que si llevaba prendas muy holgadas formarían una especie de tienda a mí alrededor y sería menos visible. Pero era al revés.
Estoy perdidamente enamorada y voy a la estación de tren para escapar.
En aquella época de mi vida, el amor no correspondido era la única clase de amor que yo parecía capaz de sentir. Esto me causaba un gran dolor. Pero, con mi actual perspectiva, comprendo que tenía sus ventajas. Proporcionaba todos los sobresaltos emocionales de la otra clase de amor, sin implicar ninguno de sus riesgos.
Pero el amor no correspondido no exigía el desnudo.
Es más fácil amar a un demonio que a un hombre, aunque sea menos heroico.
¿Por qué resultan tan irresistibles para las jóvenes la melancolía y cierto sentido de futilidad?
Las mujeres siempre se sienten impulsadas a apaciguar a los hombres que tratan de ligárselas, al rechazarlos.
Nunca he entendido por qué la gente considera la juventud una época de libertad y alegría. Probablemente se debe a que ha olvidado la propia.
Con el puño del abrigo hasta los nudillos, no tenía aspecto de ser titular de una tarjeta de crédito.
Ya no tengo aventuras, porque odio los recuerdos que no pueden desecharse.
Incluso quienes jamás irían a los lugares que ella describía, quienes no podrían permitírselo, no querían oír hablar de peligros, ni siquiera de incomodidades; era como si desearan creer que quedaba un lugar en el mundo donde todo iba bien, donde no ocurría nada desagradable.
Es la calma ininterrumpida, tanto interna como externa, lo que la irrita. A todo el mundo le ocurren cosas, ¿por qué no a mí?, piensa. Por otra parte, está convencida de que sí ocurren cosas a su alrededor, pero que se las ocultan.
Todo el mundo cree que los escritores saben más acerca de la mente humana, pero es un error. Saben menos. Por eso escriben. Para tratar de descubrir lo que todos los demás dan por sentado.
Había empezado a tener la sensación de que nada la esperaba fuera de los límites de la cama. No se trataba de vacío, sino de nada, un cero con patas en el libro de aritmética.
La sangre, el fluido elemental, el jugo de la vida, subproducto del nacimiento, preludio de la muerte.
Ann se compadeció de su soledad, pero no quería implicarse. Ya tenía bastantes problemas para afrontar la suya.
La inteligencia era un activo, sostenía Joseph. Solo teníamos que fijarnos en lo que les pasaba a las tontas.
Los niños no tienen piedad; ha de inculcárseles.
Atwood tiene la gracia de darle un tono y ritmo distinto a cada uno de sus cuentos y sus historias nunca terminan como imaginas (pienso en Historia de un viaje y Cuando sucede). Mi cuento favorito es Joyería capilar y estuve a punto de darle 4 estrellas solo por él, pero con muchos otros no pude conectar nada como me paso con Dar a luz, por ejemplo.
¿Es recomendable? Por supuesto. Leer a Atwood nunca será una pérdida de tiempo. ¿Si se transformará en tu libro favorito de todos los tiempos? Ahí tengo mis dudas.
Frases para el recuerdo:
De niña, siempre se identificaba con la novia engañada o la hermana fea; siempre que el cuento empezaba “Érase una vez una doncella tan bonita como bondadosa”, tenía la certeza de que no se trataba de ella.
Su madre aprovechó para decir que el problema con las personas de otra cultura era que nunca sabía si estaban locos o no, porque sus pautas de comportamiento eran muy distintas.
No lo imaginaba en el ejército, ni en ningún bando; no encajaba con él, y , hasta donde sabía no tenía ideología alguna. Debía de ser algo anodino, al margen, como ella; tal vez se había hecho intérprete.
El interior desprendía ese olor dulce y tristón de las tiendas en las que se vende de todo, mezcla del aroma de los cucuruchos de helado, las galletas Oreo, los caramelos duros y las barritas de regaliz que se exponían en el mostrador, y eso otro olor, almizcleño y penetrante, a sudor y a rancio.
En cuanto a Fred, ha dejado de intrigarme. Os Freds de este mundo se delatan por lo que hacen y por lo que eligen. Son las Bettys las que resultan misteriosas.
El desorden solo le interesaba en las mujeres, pero no podía vivir en él.
La pobre Louise había intentado forjarse a sí misma a partir de las personas que conocía. Únicamente de él no había tomado nada: al pensar en su gélido interior, un puro embrión malogrado, comprendió que no tenía nada que ella pudiera tomar.
Yo soy el círculo. Tengo los polos en mí interior. Lo que debo hacer es seguir intacta, depende de mí.
Comprendió que solo quería a la Louise desesperanzada y loca, la indefensa y privada de toda aspiración. Con una Louise cuerda y capaz de juzgarlo, nunca podría entenderse.
Sus propios esfuerzos por seguir siendo humano, el trabajo inútil, el amor estéril, ¿qué ocurría cuando todo se agotaba?, ¿qué le sucedería a él?
Aunque tener una calabaza o un tomate, sería en los tiempos que corren, más agradable y útil que tener un bebé. El mundo no necesita mis genes. Pero esto es una excusa.
Barajo mi juego de impertinencias y saco una: haces el amor como un cowboy violando a una oveja. Llevo tiempo queriendo decírselo, pero acaso la paz sea más importante.
Deseo explicarle lo que nadie le ha enseñado, cómo se comportan dos personas que se quieren, que evitan hacerse daño, pero no estoy segura de saber.
Nos amamos, eso es cierto signifique lo que signifique, pero no nos amamos bien: para algunos es talento, para otros adicción.
Resucito a través de la ropa. Tanto es así que me resulta imposible recordar lo que hice, lo que me sucedió, a menos que recuerde lo que llevaba puesto. Siempre que deshecho un suéter o un vestido, deshecho parte de mi vida.
Creía que si llevaba prendas muy holgadas formarían una especie de tienda a mí alrededor y sería menos visible. Pero era al revés.
Estoy perdidamente enamorada y voy a la estación de tren para escapar.
En aquella época de mi vida, el amor no correspondido era la única clase de amor que yo parecía capaz de sentir. Esto me causaba un gran dolor. Pero, con mi actual perspectiva, comprendo que tenía sus ventajas. Proporcionaba todos los sobresaltos emocionales de la otra clase de amor, sin implicar ninguno de sus riesgos.
Pero el amor no correspondido no exigía el desnudo.
Es más fácil amar a un demonio que a un hombre, aunque sea menos heroico.
¿Por qué resultan tan irresistibles para las jóvenes la melancolía y cierto sentido de futilidad?
Las mujeres siempre se sienten impulsadas a apaciguar a los hombres que tratan de ligárselas, al rechazarlos.
Nunca he entendido por qué la gente considera la juventud una época de libertad y alegría. Probablemente se debe a que ha olvidado la propia.
Con el puño del abrigo hasta los nudillos, no tenía aspecto de ser titular de una tarjeta de crédito.
Ya no tengo aventuras, porque odio los recuerdos que no pueden desecharse.
Incluso quienes jamás irían a los lugares que ella describía, quienes no podrían permitírselo, no querían oír hablar de peligros, ni siquiera de incomodidades; era como si desearan creer que quedaba un lugar en el mundo donde todo iba bien, donde no ocurría nada desagradable.
Es la calma ininterrumpida, tanto interna como externa, lo que la irrita. A todo el mundo le ocurren cosas, ¿por qué no a mí?, piensa. Por otra parte, está convencida de que sí ocurren cosas a su alrededor, pero que se las ocultan.
Todo el mundo cree que los escritores saben más acerca de la mente humana, pero es un error. Saben menos. Por eso escriben. Para tratar de descubrir lo que todos los demás dan por sentado.
Había empezado a tener la sensación de que nada la esperaba fuera de los límites de la cama. No se trataba de vacío, sino de nada, un cero con patas en el libro de aritmética.
La sangre, el fluido elemental, el jugo de la vida, subproducto del nacimiento, preludio de la muerte.
Ann se compadeció de su soledad, pero no quería implicarse. Ya tenía bastantes problemas para afrontar la suya.
La inteligencia era un activo, sostenía Joseph. Solo teníamos que fijarnos en lo que les pasaba a las tontas.
Los niños no tienen piedad; ha de inculcárseles.
January 1, 2012
I prefer Atwood's novels to her short stories but I've had this book for eons and figured it was time to read it. And sure enough, I was nonplussed by most of the stories, hated a few, and enjoyed fewer still.
The overall mood was definitely depressing, the attitude cynical, and if the pieces reflect Atwood's (then) opinions of relationships, she considered all men to be cheating deadbeats and women to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Several stories reminded me of dreams - disjointed, with people and places suddenly shifting so that you wonder if she's still talking about the same time period or character. And several stories seemed to be cut off a couple of sentences before the end. I'd turn the page but then...
Many of the stories dealt with young women and their first jobs, first apartments, first lovers and first babies, which is to be expected given that this was one of her earliest books, comprised of stories originally printed in various magazines and periodicals at the start of her career. One can assume she was struggling to find her way as a young author in the midst of '70s feminism, with not much hope yet for a happy and balanced relationship.
I can't say I loved this collection but it was interesting to get a glimpse of Margaret Atwood in her formative years as an author.
The overall mood was definitely depressing, the attitude cynical, and if the pieces reflect Atwood's (then) opinions of relationships, she considered all men to be cheating deadbeats and women to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Several stories reminded me of dreams - disjointed, with people and places suddenly shifting so that you wonder if she's still talking about the same time period or character. And several stories seemed to be cut off a couple of sentences before the end. I'd turn the page but then...
Many of the stories dealt with young women and their first jobs, first apartments, first lovers and first babies, which is to be expected given that this was one of her earliest books, comprised of stories originally printed in various magazines and periodicals at the start of her career. One can assume she was struggling to find her way as a young author in the midst of '70s feminism, with not much hope yet for a happy and balanced relationship.
I can't say I loved this collection but it was interesting to get a glimpse of Margaret Atwood in her formative years as an author.
October 21, 2024
A nice collection of short stories. A few of the better stories are:
The War in the Bathroom - A woman has moved from a dumpy boardinghouse room to an even dumpier one down the street when issues arise over the shared bathroom.
Under Glass - A woman talks about the miserable creep who is her boyfriend and how she loves him in spite of his disgusting behavior.
When It Happens - An older woman fantasizes about the end of civilization and what she would do.
Dancing Girls - A young woman tells about an Arab man who lives in the room next to hers in a boarding house and a party he threw with dancing girls.
The War in the Bathroom - A woman has moved from a dumpy boardinghouse room to an even dumpier one down the street when issues arise over the shared bathroom.
Under Glass - A woman talks about the miserable creep who is her boyfriend and how she loves him in spite of his disgusting behavior.
When It Happens - An older woman fantasizes about the end of civilization and what she would do.
Dancing Girls - A young woman tells about an Arab man who lives in the room next to hers in a boarding house and a party he threw with dancing girls.
April 27, 2020
Reading this was slow and painful, it reaffirmed my 'unpopular' opinion that Atwood truly cannot write
March 7, 2020
3.6 stelle, diciamo.
Amo di più la Atwood romanziera che autrice di racconti, ma devo dire che alcuni sono delle perle.
Altri sono un po' claustrofobici, ma è l'effetto voluto dall'autrice, in fondo... Deve piacere lo stile.
Dancing Girls, titolo originale di Fantasie di stupro, è una raccolta che pone le donne al centro e che, libera dalla retorica di questi periodi, descrive donne di varie età e condizione sociale nella bruttura della società contemporanea (sia in situazioni quotidiane che in alcuni casi in situazioni emergenza). A 360°, come la Atwood è solita fare, quindi parla di donne nel bene e nel male. Le donne della Atwood non saranno mai creature avulse da difetti o in cui i difetti possono essere minimizzati perché donne e quindi comunque da difendere o giustificare.
Le donne di Margaret Atwood sono meschine, vendicative, rinunciatarie... subiscono violenza ma dimostrano quella mentalità maschilista più o meno consapevole per cui la violenza è quasi piacevole. È il caso del racconto in cui una studentessa, la quale vive con disagio la sua corporatura e il giudizio unanime sul fatto che ciò le precluda l'essere considerata bella (condiviso anche dalla madre), è vittima di uno stalker, che la segue, si presente a casa sua e diventa una presenza pesante e pericolosa nella sua vita... eppure lei ci rimane male quando non solo questo scompare, ma alla scoperta che la loro non era una relazione "monogama". La ragazza malgrado l'ansia scopre che queste attenzioni non richieste le facevano piacere, e sapere di essere una tra le tante vittime dello stalker la piomba nella disperazione. E leggendola non c'è l'apologia dello stalking, quanto la cruda osservazione di come possiamo noi donne possiamo essere "tarate", nel senso di programmate, a vivere di gratificazione per l'attenzione maschile.
Ecco, la Atwood è in grado di scrivere storie così con un'arguzia e un'analisi sottile e spietata... non la definisco con la parola femminista perché so che la Atwood non vuole essere definita così, eppure è per me quanto di più femminista, onesto e senza vergogna io conosca.
In un mondo in cui la comunicazione si fa sempre più di aut aut e slogan (bianco o nero, giusto o sbagliato, buono e cattivo), le sfumature di ombre e i toni sempre sovrapposti della sua narrazione è sempre accattivante. Però in alcuni casi, almeno per questi racconti, l'effetto mi è parso un po' strascicato.
Magistrale l'ultimo racconto sul parto.
Amo di più la Atwood romanziera che autrice di racconti, ma devo dire che alcuni sono delle perle.
Altri sono un po' claustrofobici, ma è l'effetto voluto dall'autrice, in fondo... Deve piacere lo stile.
Dancing Girls, titolo originale di Fantasie di stupro, è una raccolta che pone le donne al centro e che, libera dalla retorica di questi periodi, descrive donne di varie età e condizione sociale nella bruttura della società contemporanea (sia in situazioni quotidiane che in alcuni casi in situazioni emergenza). A 360°, come la Atwood è solita fare, quindi parla di donne nel bene e nel male. Le donne della Atwood non saranno mai creature avulse da difetti o in cui i difetti possono essere minimizzati perché donne e quindi comunque da difendere o giustificare.
Le donne di Margaret Atwood sono meschine, vendicative, rinunciatarie... subiscono violenza ma dimostrano quella mentalità maschilista più o meno consapevole per cui la violenza è quasi piacevole. È il caso del racconto in cui una studentessa, la quale vive con disagio la sua corporatura e il giudizio unanime sul fatto che ciò le precluda l'essere considerata bella (condiviso anche dalla madre), è vittima di uno stalker, che la segue, si presente a casa sua e diventa una presenza pesante e pericolosa nella sua vita... eppure lei ci rimane male quando non solo questo scompare, ma alla scoperta che la loro non era una relazione "monogama". La ragazza malgrado l'ansia scopre che queste attenzioni non richieste le facevano piacere, e sapere di essere una tra le tante vittime dello stalker la piomba nella disperazione. E leggendola non c'è l'apologia dello stalking, quanto la cruda osservazione di come possiamo noi donne possiamo essere "tarate", nel senso di programmate, a vivere di gratificazione per l'attenzione maschile.
Ecco, la Atwood è in grado di scrivere storie così con un'arguzia e un'analisi sottile e spietata... non la definisco con la parola femminista perché so che la Atwood non vuole essere definita così, eppure è per me quanto di più femminista, onesto e senza vergogna io conosca.
In un mondo in cui la comunicazione si fa sempre più di aut aut e slogan (bianco o nero, giusto o sbagliato, buono e cattivo), le sfumature di ombre e i toni sempre sovrapposti della sua narrazione è sempre accattivante. Però in alcuni casi, almeno per questi racconti, l'effetto mi è parso un po' strascicato.
Magistrale l'ultimo racconto sul parto.
January 9, 2021
"Everyone thinks writers must know more about the inside of the human head, but that’s wrong," says a character in this superb collection of stories, Atwood's first from back in 1977. "They know less, that’s why they write. Trying to find out what everyone else takes for granted." These stories act out that search. Their protagonists span a fairly wide range - children, adolescents, and elderly widows; urbane types and poor rural farmers; grad students and starving poets and ordinary working stiffs. But most of them have a kernel of emotional vulnerability, whether about their looks (a plain girl with a pretty older sister followed by an eccentric foreign student with leech-like persistence), career (a sensitive high-schooler burdened by his family's expectation that he will become a doctor, forming a bond with a girl with severe cerebral palsy he volunteers with); love life (a writer unable to admit to herself that her artist boyfriend is unfaithful) or safety (a retiree in rural Canada increasingly convinced that mysterious invaders will burn down her farm and steal her preserves). The stories are terse but beautifully written, condensing reams of information and symbolism into brief, moving miniatures. The best of them is probably The Resplendent Quetzal, combining a portrayal of a broken marriage from both perspectives, a backstory about subterranean grief, and a D.H. Lawrence-like backdrop of atavistic pre-Columbian wildness. An amazing debut collection from a writer who has gone on to a prolific and distinguished career. (I read the Virago edition, which omits the somewhat controversial story Rape Fantasies.)
September 30, 2018
Encuentro interesantes y conmovedores cada uno de los relatos; las sentí mujeres que bailan alrededor de su realidad, pero que no la afrontan, bailan a su alrededor. Tejen su historia imaginaria en lo que suspenden su felicidad. Me quedo con: “Tengan cuidado, deseo escribir, existe un futuro”
I find each of the stories interesting and moving; I felt them women who dance around their reality, but who do not face it, they dance around it. They weave their imaginary story in which they suspend their happiness. I stay with: "Be careful, I want to write, there is a future"
I find each of the stories interesting and moving; I felt them women who dance around their reality, but who do not face it, they dance around it. They weave their imaginary story in which they suspend their happiness. I stay with: "Be careful, I want to write, there is a future"
September 24, 2022
[3.5] first time reading margaret atwood.
each story gave a great observation on lots of topics and i loved the writing. was left confused from a number of them but they were still quite intriguing. excited to read more atwood.
my favs: Lives of the Poets, The Sin Eater, Giving Birth
each story gave a great observation on lots of topics and i loved the writing. was left confused from a number of them but they were still quite intriguing. excited to read more atwood.
my favs: Lives of the Poets, The Sin Eater, Giving Birth
December 7, 2015
The first collection of short stories by the ever prolific Margaret Atwood. When I started my #summerofwomen, one of my big goals was to bootstrap myself on the works of both Atwood and Toni Morrison, two authors I'd embarrassingly missed my entire life. Though I enjoyed Atwood's first three novels (The Edible Woman, Surfacing, and Lady Oracle), it was jumping forward to The Handmaid's Tale in October that made me realize that she really hit her stride a bit later. As such, this 1976 collection of short pieces feels not altogether formed. If I had it to do over again, I might start with Bluebeard's Egg or Wilderness Tips instead.
In many cases, the ideas behind the stories are quite good -- I find myself fonder of them by explaining what they were about to a friend of mine -- but the actual experience of reading them is a bit lackluster. "The War in the Bathroom" is a short, strange piece about an old woman living in an apartment with a shared bathroom. The narrative choice (someone describing her day to day semi-omniciently, but also suggesting that she lives with the woman) gives it an unsettling edge, but not much payoff.
"The Man From Mars" holds up all too well, a skin-crawling story about a "well-meaning" stalker who harrasses a college girl. It's made clear that the man, also a student, is from another country and may not understand personal barriers so well. Nonetheless, he is a stalker, and the experience is rendered in uncomfortable detail. One of the best stories in the collection, but not a happy read.
"Polarities" is intriguing. Again taking place on a college campus, it concerns an adjunct professor and his friendship with an eccentric female graduate student who gets more agitated and strange as the story progresses. She begins to think that the city's electricity is getting out of control, and needs to be re-routed on an east-west axis, with human agents acting as resistors to push it in the right direction.
"Under Glass" is the first of several stories of relationships on the rocks, many of them in similar ways. Here, the new wife visits her husband (they still live separately?) to find that he's already had an affair, and probably will continue to do so. The emphasis here is on the hopelessness of knowing you've entered into a long-term contract with someone, and they've broken the cardinal rules right out of the gate.
"The Grave of the Famous Poet" has a couple visiting a small town in search of literary tourism. The hum-drum of their relationship is broken by a too-violent sexual escapade that is likely to break them apart.
Despite the name, "Rape Fantasies" is the funniest story in the collection, and one of the most interesting. Starting with a Cosmo-style magazine piece about how all women have rape fantasies once in a while, the ladies of the office pool compare theirs. Our snarky narrator spins increasingly hilarious and absurd variants, partly to amuse herself and partly to annoy her co-workers. My favorite is the one where a rapist with a cold comes into her window, only to find that she, too, has a cold. "I'b goig to rabe you," he says through stuffy nose. They lie in bed handing each other kleenex and watching the Late Show.
"Hair Jewelry" is the third relationship-on-the-rocks-in-more-or-less-the-same-way story in the book, and it's long to boot. I did like this line: "Surrounded now by the doleful young, I can only feel grateful for having escaped, hopefully forever (for I no longer believe in reincarnation), from the intolerable bondage of being twenty-one."
"When It Happens" is one of the most fully realized stories in the collection. An old wife, putting up her canned pickles for the winter, begins to fantasize about the possibility of complete societal breakdown, and cannot stop. Her husband has to leave to join a militia party to keep them safe. Or does he? She sees smoke in the distance. Is the town on fire? She knows the electricity will not last much longer...
"A Travel Pieces" begins lackadaisically, a travel writer grousing quietly about the quality of air travel, before the plane crashes in the middle of a large body of water. On a lifeboat, we see little attempts at power and order, calm from chaos and good planning. But they still only have a few peanuts and one bottle of water. And the sun is hot, and it's been more than 24 hours now. Immobile and unsettling.
"The Resplendent Quetzal" is the best of the relationship-on-the-rocks stories, with a few interesting spins on the she's bored/he's distracted dynamic. And it's about birdwatching! (Hi Mo!)
"Training" is about a young man (mid-teens) named Rob, who works with disabled kids at an outdoor camp. He takes a particular liking to Jordan, who has to be restrained in her wheelchair due to seizures and involuntary muscle spasms. He has taken the job because he comes from a long line of doctors, but as a sensitive child, he has not learned to be clinical in the face of infirmity -- everything affects him. Some of the other patients, boys, are both handicapped and bullies, especially to Rob. An unfortunate incident at the talent show changes everything, and Rob accidentally receives his critical distance.
"Lives of the Poets" is another campus fable about the impossibility of making a living through art, and even sustaining oneself through the written word. Short but effective.
The title story takes place in a tightly-packed apartment complex, a single woman living alone, a nosy, xenophobic landlady, and a strange foreign man who lives downstairs. The dancing girls of the title are heartbreaking, and the last lines are beautiful. A superb story.
The final story, "Giving Birth," is an internal meditation of the fears and uncertainties of impending motherhood. Though fiction, it could just as easily have been a personal essay were it not for the presence of a ghost woman who our narrator sees on occasion, a proxy for herself, a sort of apparition of the worst case scenario. Effective and haunting.
The style of the stories throughout is on par with Atwood's earliest books, which is strong and effectively crafted, but hasn't quite broken through into full-blooded mastery that it would in the years to come. A very fine start, and I look forward to exploring further.
In many cases, the ideas behind the stories are quite good -- I find myself fonder of them by explaining what they were about to a friend of mine -- but the actual experience of reading them is a bit lackluster. "The War in the Bathroom" is a short, strange piece about an old woman living in an apartment with a shared bathroom. The narrative choice (someone describing her day to day semi-omniciently, but also suggesting that she lives with the woman) gives it an unsettling edge, but not much payoff.
"The Man From Mars" holds up all too well, a skin-crawling story about a "well-meaning" stalker who harrasses a college girl. It's made clear that the man, also a student, is from another country and may not understand personal barriers so well. Nonetheless, he is a stalker, and the experience is rendered in uncomfortable detail. One of the best stories in the collection, but not a happy read.
"Polarities" is intriguing. Again taking place on a college campus, it concerns an adjunct professor and his friendship with an eccentric female graduate student who gets more agitated and strange as the story progresses. She begins to think that the city's electricity is getting out of control, and needs to be re-routed on an east-west axis, with human agents acting as resistors to push it in the right direction.
"Under Glass" is the first of several stories of relationships on the rocks, many of them in similar ways. Here, the new wife visits her husband (they still live separately?) to find that he's already had an affair, and probably will continue to do so. The emphasis here is on the hopelessness of knowing you've entered into a long-term contract with someone, and they've broken the cardinal rules right out of the gate.
"The Grave of the Famous Poet" has a couple visiting a small town in search of literary tourism. The hum-drum of their relationship is broken by a too-violent sexual escapade that is likely to break them apart.
Despite the name, "Rape Fantasies" is the funniest story in the collection, and one of the most interesting. Starting with a Cosmo-style magazine piece about how all women have rape fantasies once in a while, the ladies of the office pool compare theirs. Our snarky narrator spins increasingly hilarious and absurd variants, partly to amuse herself and partly to annoy her co-workers. My favorite is the one where a rapist with a cold comes into her window, only to find that she, too, has a cold. "I'b goig to rabe you," he says through stuffy nose. They lie in bed handing each other kleenex and watching the Late Show.
"Hair Jewelry" is the third relationship-on-the-rocks-in-more-or-less-the-same-way story in the book, and it's long to boot. I did like this line: "Surrounded now by the doleful young, I can only feel grateful for having escaped, hopefully forever (for I no longer believe in reincarnation), from the intolerable bondage of being twenty-one."
"When It Happens" is one of the most fully realized stories in the collection. An old wife, putting up her canned pickles for the winter, begins to fantasize about the possibility of complete societal breakdown, and cannot stop. Her husband has to leave to join a militia party to keep them safe. Or does he? She sees smoke in the distance. Is the town on fire? She knows the electricity will not last much longer...
"A Travel Pieces" begins lackadaisically, a travel writer grousing quietly about the quality of air travel, before the plane crashes in the middle of a large body of water. On a lifeboat, we see little attempts at power and order, calm from chaos and good planning. But they still only have a few peanuts and one bottle of water. And the sun is hot, and it's been more than 24 hours now. Immobile and unsettling.
"The Resplendent Quetzal" is the best of the relationship-on-the-rocks stories, with a few interesting spins on the she's bored/he's distracted dynamic. And it's about birdwatching! (Hi Mo!)
"Training" is about a young man (mid-teens) named Rob, who works with disabled kids at an outdoor camp. He takes a particular liking to Jordan, who has to be restrained in her wheelchair due to seizures and involuntary muscle spasms. He has taken the job because he comes from a long line of doctors, but as a sensitive child, he has not learned to be clinical in the face of infirmity -- everything affects him. Some of the other patients, boys, are both handicapped and bullies, especially to Rob. An unfortunate incident at the talent show changes everything, and Rob accidentally receives his critical distance.
"Lives of the Poets" is another campus fable about the impossibility of making a living through art, and even sustaining oneself through the written word. Short but effective.
The title story takes place in a tightly-packed apartment complex, a single woman living alone, a nosy, xenophobic landlady, and a strange foreign man who lives downstairs. The dancing girls of the title are heartbreaking, and the last lines are beautiful. A superb story.
The final story, "Giving Birth," is an internal meditation of the fears and uncertainties of impending motherhood. Though fiction, it could just as easily have been a personal essay were it not for the presence of a ghost woman who our narrator sees on occasion, a proxy for herself, a sort of apparition of the worst case scenario. Effective and haunting.
The style of the stories throughout is on par with Atwood's earliest books, which is strong and effectively crafted, but hasn't quite broken through into full-blooded mastery that it would in the years to come. A very fine start, and I look forward to exploring further.
November 23, 2016
Questa raccolta di racconti mi lascia un'impressione duplice: da un lato è veramente bella, i temi, lo stile, le riflessioni infinite dei protagonisti, le ansie e le fantasie.
Dall'altro ho avuto molte difficoltà nella lettura: lo stile è circonvoluto (non trovo modo migliore di definirlo) e con un vocabolario ricchissimo, c'è un continuo discorso interiore dei personaggi che si mescola in modo spesso difficile da distinguere con la realtà. Non è possibile lasciare a metà un racconto e riprenderlo a fine giornata senza dover tornare indietro di qualche paragrafo per capire se si sta leggendo una parte di riflessione o di narrazione. Una lettura complessa e molto più lenta di quello che mi sarei aspettata dopo The Handmaid's Tale.
La tematica è la vita, in ogni sua sfaccettatura: amore, nascita, morte, follia, paure, solitudine. L'ambientazione è quasi sempre grigia, sporca, sciatta, fredda. I desideri, una volta soddisfatti, sono niente, le relazioni sono tutte segnate dall'incomprensione e dall'insoddisfazione.
Racconti che lasciano l'amaro in bocca.
Dall'altro ho avuto molte difficoltà nella lettura: lo stile è circonvoluto (non trovo modo migliore di definirlo) e con un vocabolario ricchissimo, c'è un continuo discorso interiore dei personaggi che si mescola in modo spesso difficile da distinguere con la realtà. Non è possibile lasciare a metà un racconto e riprenderlo a fine giornata senza dover tornare indietro di qualche paragrafo per capire se si sta leggendo una parte di riflessione o di narrazione. Una lettura complessa e molto più lenta di quello che mi sarei aspettata dopo The Handmaid's Tale.
La tematica è la vita, in ogni sua sfaccettatura: amore, nascita, morte, follia, paure, solitudine. L'ambientazione è quasi sempre grigia, sporca, sciatta, fredda. I desideri, una volta soddisfatti, sono niente, le relazioni sono tutte segnate dall'incomprensione e dall'insoddisfazione.
Racconti che lasciano l'amaro in bocca.
July 27, 2010
Atwood has written a collection of stories that are almost overwhelming in their depressing portrayal of the impossibility of intimacy in relationships. Each of the narrators is isolated and overly analytical. Yet, like all her stories, they offer a look at human motivation and draw the reader in.
January 12, 2019
Nonostante sia il primo libro letto quest'anno sono sicura che rimarrà il migliore. Una serie di short stories che mi ha fatta emozionare e riflettere, tutto condito dalla scrittura strabiliante della Atwood che è capace di rendere vivida e reale la più inimmaginabile descrizione
November 9, 2019
i really loved these stories. her prose is incredible, her insight into the male/female dynamic is mind blowing. you’ll see yourself in at least one of these characters. me? i might be the empty husk of a guy in Polarities.
March 4, 2023
I LOVE Margaret Atwood's novels... Unfortunately, I am not a huge fan of her short stories. I don't think it is particularly her fault - I just don't like this kind of slice-of-life narratives. When it comes to short stories, I prefer sci-fi and horror - basically anything with a weird twist to it.
TRIGGER WARNING: some stories explore (every day) racism
TRIGGER WARNING: some stories explore (every day) racism
April 11, 2019
What a brilliant author, Atwood is! This book is beyond delightful. Mostly told in first person, and by women, it is a raw and honest portrayal of the many deviousness women choose to hold onto their sanity. If women did say all these things out loud- I can hardly believe anyone would love them, or even pretend to. And yet, this earnest honesty.. damn, so gratifying! You have women who are bored with exciting careers, women who are tired of men's boyishness, women who have grown old with men and have started saying goodbyes to them in anticipation of the final, women who were in love and once enchanted, now disenchanted.. Brilliant!!
November 18, 2025
A fascinating and clever look into juvenile perceptions of sex and sexual assault, examining the anxieties and ‘plausible deniability’ that are the true underpinning of so-called ‘rape fantasies’.
I was recommended to read this by another book concerning point of view in fiction. As it was a short story, and I have already significantly lowered my reading challenge aims (plus the macabrely intriguing title), I picked it up.
Margaret Atwood is a genius.
I was recommended to read this by another book concerning point of view in fiction. As it was a short story, and I have already significantly lowered my reading challenge aims (plus the macabrely intriguing title), I picked it up.
Margaret Atwood is a genius.
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