adrianlarose's review against another edition
4.0
A circular journey from 1970s Toronto to rural Italy that leaves you with more questions than answers - and with new friends in the form of full, hearty characters. A story of the community, low and high, that surrounds one woman. Read it to see how much still rings true today, decades later.
hollyway's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
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
4.0
A lot of thoughts about this novel but they're all still cooking so for now I'll just say, this was really interesting and surprisingly funny. Always a pleasure to get to my Margaret Atwood of the year.
heartsneedle's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5
Torment, Identity, Gothic-Romance
“My life was a snarl, a rat’s nest of dangling threads and loose ends. I couldn’t possibly have a happy ending, but I wanted a neat one.”
Overall: Poses interesting novel-within-a-novel parallel between Joan and other versions of herself, yet suffered from unevenness and rote ended plots.
Pros:
-- Writing about other books
-- nostalgic, witty passages out of genre
Cons:
-- Progression was slow, complicated, and often bloated
-- unneeded flashbacks, repetitive attempts to bridge characterization
Torment, Identity, Gothic-Romance
“My life was a snarl, a rat’s nest of dangling threads and loose ends. I couldn’t possibly have a happy ending, but I wanted a neat one.”
Overall: Poses interesting novel-within-a-novel parallel between Joan and other versions of herself, yet suffered from unevenness and rote ended plots.
Pros:
-- Writing about other books
-- nostalgic, witty passages out of genre
Cons:
-- Progression was slow, complicated, and often bloated
-- unneeded flashbacks, repetitive attempts to bridge characterization
mariavdl's review against another edition
dark
reflective
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
gorecki's review against another edition
3.0
I finished Lady Oracle over a weekend, without being able to put it down. And yet, once I’d finished it, I was left having mixed feelings about it.
Lady Oracle started off strong, with the first paragraph grabbing my attention immediately. After only a few sentences I knew I want to dedicate my full attention to the book and read it until my eyes hurt. The narration was full of Atwood’s usual poignant insights on the human heart and behavior. You can see the main character’s, Joan’s, complicated personality grow into something wild and intense as a result of bad parenting, bullying at school, and fighting with obesity and being overlooked. Atwood’s observations and understanding were so strong, that I couldn’t help but feel I’m reading something very personal and multilayered. It sometimes even brought back memories from my own past, and gave me the opportunity to look back at them from another perspective.
But somewhere in Part Four of the book, something went wrong. The story started meandering into directions I was not very fond of – Canadian nationalists, communists, dynamite, enemies leaving dead animal’s corpses on doorsteps… Suddenly there was so much happening, so many unrealistic events making Joan look paranoid, but yet strangely absent-minded and detached at the same time, that I lost that fascination I had in the beginning of the book. I did not understand why half of the things happened or how they related to the story, nor did I feel they received any closure in the end of the book. While I felt Joan had turned into an unreliable narrator, partly living in the romantic gothic novels she writes for a living, there were still actual events happening around her that showed she was not all that unreliable. Still, these events did not receive any actual ending. From something serious and insightful, this book became a comedy very much verging on the absurd.
I love Atwood. Always have, always will. Even though Lady Oracle did not become a favorite of mine, I still believe that despite the strangeness of the second half of this book, the first half of it was simply incredible.
Lady Oracle started off strong, with the first paragraph grabbing my attention immediately. After only a few sentences I knew I want to dedicate my full attention to the book and read it until my eyes hurt. The narration was full of Atwood’s usual poignant insights on the human heart and behavior. You can see the main character’s, Joan’s, complicated personality grow into something wild and intense as a result of bad parenting, bullying at school, and fighting with obesity and being overlooked. Atwood’s observations and understanding were so strong, that I couldn’t help but feel I’m reading something very personal and multilayered. It sometimes even brought back memories from my own past, and gave me the opportunity to look back at them from another perspective.
But somewhere in Part Four of the book, something went wrong. The story started meandering into directions I was not very fond of – Canadian nationalists, communists, dynamite, enemies leaving dead animal’s corpses on doorsteps… Suddenly there was so much happening, so many unrealistic events making Joan look paranoid, but yet strangely absent-minded and detached at the same time, that I lost that fascination I had in the beginning of the book. I did not understand why half of the things happened or how they related to the story, nor did I feel they received any closure in the end of the book. While I felt Joan had turned into an unreliable narrator, partly living in the romantic gothic novels she writes for a living, there were still actual events happening around her that showed she was not all that unreliable. Still, these events did not receive any actual ending. From something serious and insightful, this book became a comedy very much verging on the absurd.
I love Atwood. Always have, always will. Even though Lady Oracle did not become a favorite of mine, I still believe that despite the strangeness of the second half of this book, the first half of it was simply incredible.
alicegraf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kasiq's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
bibliotequeish's review against another edition
3.0
While not my favorite Atwood book I found this to be an enjoyable and cleaver read.
Witty and fast moving this is the kind of book you can get through in one or two sittings.
Following Joan a Naïve writer and her relationships from mother to husband.
Witty and fast moving this is the kind of book you can get through in one or two sittings.
Following Joan a Naïve writer and her relationships from mother to husband.
laura_lupin's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0