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The Robber Bride Margaret Atwood Books

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The Robber Bride Margaret Atwood Books

The Robber Bride is one of those books that I liked better when I thought about it for a while and discussed it with someone else. The actual reading experience was not, for me, as enjoyable as with the other books I've read lately (including two other novels by Atwood -- The Blind Assassin before and Cat's Eye right after). I just didn't find the characters, plot, or style as captivating as I've found some of Atwood's other novels. Part of this is somewhat deliberate on Atwood's part. I've seen other reviewers complain about predictable or mechanical plotting and characters that seem too much like "types." I definitely got that sense, too, but I think that Atwood is purposely employing archetypes here as a key feature in her revisionist fairy tale or re-telling of "The Robber Bridegroom." As someone who wrote a dissertation in literature and teaches English, I appreciate what she is doing with the form, and as I've said in other reviews, one of the many things I admire about Atwood as a writer is the way she plays with genre and produces works that either question or complicate ideas of what is appropriate or required of any given genre. So, again, the archetypal feel of this novel didn't make for the most satisfying reading experience, as I found the novel to be a slow read and each time I'd start reading it would take me a while to get into it. Ultimately, I didn't find any of the three characters (Tony, Charis, and Roz) all that intriguing and Zenia, the villain, ended up piquing my interest most. Her character is an unknown, only approached from the outside through the lenses of the other characters; Zenia also seems more complex as a result, less typical, and thus more interesting. Even though she antagonizes the three characters whom we get to know much better, I suspect Atwood does not necessarily want the reader to condemn Zenia outright or to automatically label Tony, Charis, and Roz as "good" and Zenia as "bad." One of the most curious moments of the novel comes at the end when the other women know that they are finally done with Zenia in her physical form, thus she can no longer wreak the havoc on their lives that she has wrought over the last few decades. Instead of feeling joy, they seem to mourn. Instead of pure relief, their sense of loss is what is palpable. In many ways, these women's identities have depended on Zenia. Who are they without her?


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The Robber Bride Margaret Atwood Books Reviews

Margaret Atwood never disappoints! "The Robber Bride" tells the story of three 50-something Canadian women who come from very different backgrounds. There's Tony, a history professor with an eccentric husband; Charis, a New-Age flower child; and Roz, a successful businesswoman. These women have one thing in common they've all been duped by Zenia, a former classmate of theirs who befriended each woman in turn and eventually stole all of their men. Although Zenia supposedly died in an explosion years ago, the women are stunned when she turns up in a restaurant one afternoon, still very much alive.

"The Robber Bride" constantly jumps back in time, telling each woman's individual story and explaining how the mysterious Zenia managed to dupe all of them. The characters are all very interesting, especially Zenia (for some reason I can picture Catherine Zeta Jones playing her in a movie adaptation of this book), but the novel lacks the depth and focus that is prevalent in Atwood's other books.

This is a very entertaining story, but it's not Atwood's best effort (although I did enjoy it).
I read this in the 90s, then again just now. I could re-read it again and learn more from yet more layers.

Some complain that the male characters are flat. One point of the novel is women's difficulty in understanding men; since the story is told from the points of view of the three main female characters, the men will be seen murkily. However, Atwood draws the three main characters - Charis, Tony, and Roz - marvelously, including how mystifying they find men.

Zenia is also a technical challenge. As a person, she defines herself in terms of the people she's with; therefore, as a character, we don't come to know the 'real' Zenia well. (It could be argued that there is no 'real' Zenia, but I think that's erroneous. I have met some of the real people she's modeled after.) However, Atwood's skill is more than up to the task of helping us get to know such a nebulous character.

Tony, Charis, and Roz are "everywoman", and yet they're not - they stand as realistic, 3-dimensional characters. You'll find yourself in bits of each of them. And you'll find yourself asking why you allow yourself the weaknesses that these three have. And maybe you'll get a hint at an answer.

To some extent, the novel is like Zenia herself - it is what you make of it. If you look for funny, you'll find it. If you look for sad, you'll find that. If you look for complicated, knotty problems that, just as in real life, don't have easy answers, you'll find that, too.
The 3 characters Tony, Ron and Charis had interesting back stories. Would have loved more about these women discovering themselves in one another’s stories, finding there is true love in enduring friendships with an understanding and respect that is missing in some romantic relationships; unfortunately this was not the path the author chose. Instead these women live in judgement of themselves, the antagonist and their “friends” too loud, too large, too flighty, too trusting, too hawkish, unlovable...
Margaret Atwood is simply one of the best English-language writers in the world today, and when I re-read "The Robber Bride" recently I was reminded why. Her use of language is careful, subtle, and powerful, and her fiction always includes little insights into character that make them utterly real in their imperfect humanity. "The Robber Bride" strikes a very different note than some of her better-known work, which combines that with enormous scope (the apocalypse of the Oryx & Crake books or the dystopian vision of "The Handmaid's Tale," for example) but the intimacy of the story here just puts a brighter light on her talent. Read "The Robber Bride" and then read every other word Atwood's written.
The Robber Bride is one of those books that I liked better when I thought about it for a while and discussed it with someone else. The actual reading experience was not, for me, as enjoyable as with the other books I've read lately (including two other novels by Atwood -- The Blind Assassin before and Cat's Eye right after). I just didn't find the characters, plot, or style as captivating as I've found some of Atwood's other novels. Part of this is somewhat deliberate on Atwood's part. I've seen other reviewers complain about predictable or mechanical plotting and characters that seem too much like "types." I definitely got that sense, too, but I think that Atwood is purposely employing archetypes here as a key feature in her revisionist fairy tale or re-telling of "The Robber Bridegroom." As someone who wrote a dissertation in literature and teaches English, I appreciate what she is doing with the form, and as I've said in other reviews, one of the many things I admire about Atwood as a writer is the way she plays with genre and produces works that either question or complicate ideas of what is appropriate or required of any given genre. So, again, the archetypal feel of this novel didn't make for the most satisfying reading experience, as I found the novel to be a slow read and each time I'd start reading it would take me a while to get into it. Ultimately, I didn't find any of the three characters (Tony, Charis, and Roz) all that intriguing and Zenia, the villain, ended up piquing my interest most. Her character is an unknown, only approached from the outside through the lenses of the other characters; Zenia also seems more complex as a result, less typical, and thus more interesting. Even though she antagonizes the three characters whom we get to know much better, I suspect Atwood does not necessarily want the reader to condemn Zenia outright or to automatically label Tony, Charis, and Roz as "good" and Zenia as "bad." One of the most curious moments of the novel comes at the end when the other women know that they are finally done with Zenia in her physical form, thus she can no longer wreak the havoc on their lives that she has wrought over the last few decades. Instead of feeling joy, they seem to mourn. Instead of pure relief, their sense of loss is what is palpable. In many ways, these women's identities have depended on Zenia. Who are they without her?