Reviews

Surfacing by Margaret Atwood

thecatrocks's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5/5 stars

bebhie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

sassylk's review against another edition

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i’m sorry, i just wasn’t getting much out of it, it felt very stagnant and as someone who is feeling stagnant in life right now it’s just not fun to read that kind of thing

sj_books's review against another edition

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3.0

Not my favourite Atwood novel, felt too slow.

pearl10's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

bookswithcesco's review against another edition

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2.0

What kind of novel is this?

Atwood is a renowned author of feminist literature, and considering this was one of her earliest works I tried to read it with a grain of salt. The prose is spectacular and thought provoking, however, the message is buried far too deep to be worth engaging with.

I think it’s a great book to close read and analyze, but falls short of being an actual psychological thriller-esque novel.

The protagonist remains unnamed which accentuates the Bildungsroman narrative it has. The protagonist’s strength is shown throughout her grapples with her past traumas regardless of her psychological spiral.

The novel was just bad to me and was far out of what I enjoy when I read. This was a book I read for a Canadian literature class. Most of the redeeming factors of this novel came about from examples and examination in class.

katys_books's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

rainebothunder's review against another edition

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5.0

Boy is the description deceptive!

lydiagardiner's review against another edition

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4.0

A brilliant but deeply uncomfortable read 

miffyf's review against another edition

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5.0

Deep, very deep. I haven't read this for some time, but the feeling of melancholy that comes over me when I think about this novel is quite profound. I first read this when I was in my early twenties, and the insights I gained about relationships and families have stayed with me.