I dusted off this book, which has been on my shelves now for a decade. I knew it was an acclaimed book because I had purchased a hardback copy and I hadn’t given it to the book sales at the library in one of my periodic cleanouts. On the other hand, I couldn’t remember the story and the flyleaf was folded about 100 pages into the book, a sure sign that I had given up on it, but I couldn’t remember why.
It was being recommended by someone in our book reader’s group as their favorite of all time. Surely it was worth a second go. And there’s a hint at the reason I tried it in the first place. Having lived, married, and raised a family in England for a decade, I was now, upon return to the USA, a sucker for any literature by a British author. This includes Canadians. The expression, “a second go” is an English one; and having just read the book, these sorts of expressions creep back into my language use.
So, why did I give up on the book on the first go-around? Simply put, it appeared to be a “bodice-ripper,” aka Chick-Lit. This was a fun-filled fantasy for the author, and of interest to other women through the elaborately detailed descriptions of playfully romantic scenes with generic stylized men. 99% of all character development was of the women; leaving a paltry 1% to the men. The women think, plan, scheme, and emote; the men just act, and react.
Vive la différence! I don’t expect women to like sports or war stories. I enjoyed Laura Hillenbrand’s recent, “Unbroken,” which was strictly a male adventure; no love story, just family and camaraderie. From a craftsmanship point of view, Atwood gets full credits for plot-weaving and creativity. She is an excellent writer. She has done a good job of disguising the political nature of her writings; thus this book does not come off as a women’s lib treatise. The recommendation to take a look was accompanied by a disavowal of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Along with my “bodice-ripper” categorization for “Assassin,” goes a suggestion of a rerun of “The Story of O” wherein “The Handmaid;” is driven away at the end by strange men in a limo for purposes of (?). Personally I prefer Anne Rice for this sort of erotica; probably because she gives equal time to male fantasies.
It was being recommended by someone in our book reader’s group as their favorite of all time. Surely it was worth a second go. And there’s a hint at the reason I tried it in the first place. Having lived, married, and raised a family in England for a decade, I was now, upon return to the USA, a sucker for any literature by a British author. This includes Canadians. The expression, “a second go” is an English one; and having just read the book, these sorts of expressions creep back into my language use.
So, why did I give up on the book on the first go-around? Simply put, it appeared to be a “bodice-ripper,” aka Chick-Lit. This was a fun-filled fantasy for the author, and of interest to other women through the elaborately detailed descriptions of playfully romantic scenes with generic stylized men. 99% of all character development was of the women; leaving a paltry 1% to the men. The women think, plan, scheme, and emote; the men just act, and react.
Vive la différence! I don’t expect women to like sports or war stories. I enjoyed Laura Hillenbrand’s recent, “Unbroken,” which was strictly a male adventure; no love story, just family and camaraderie. From a craftsmanship point of view, Atwood gets full credits for plot-weaving and creativity. She is an excellent writer. She has done a good job of disguising the political nature of her writings; thus this book does not come off as a women’s lib treatise. The recommendation to take a look was accompanied by a disavowal of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Along with my “bodice-ripper” categorization for “Assassin,” goes a suggestion of a rerun of “The Story of O” wherein “The Handmaid;” is driven away at the end by strange men in a limo for purposes of (?). Personally I prefer Anne Rice for this sort of erotica; probably because she gives equal time to male fantasies.
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