Describe your latest work. When I started working on Plant-Thinking in 2008, I had no idea that the project would turn out to be as broad as it did....
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KateH, September 1, 2011 (view all comments by KateH)
Atwood gives a fresh voice to stolid Penelope in a tale that fits seamlessly next to Homer's. You get what you'd expect from Atwood here: a story worth listening to, intellectual insight, deft yet meaty writing, female perspectives, and light grace notes of humor. An enjoyable and quick read for Greek mythology geeks as much as those new to the tale.
Felicity, November 19, 2008 (view all comments by Felicity)
I lent this book to my grandmother. She sat down at the table to read, and soon I heard a mordant chuckle. As she finished Chapter 1, she crowed across the room, "I LIKE this book!" For the rest of the afternoon, while I ran errands, my nephew spoke his first words and the family spread the news by telephone, Grandma sat there emitting wicked ripples of laughter, and turned the last page by suppertime. One sitting. That's a recommendation.
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dgodzisz, March 17, 2008 (view all comments by dgodzisz)
Margaret Atwood takes a story we have all heard told and retold many times and presents it with such a unique perspective that the ancient becomes remarkably new. This is an intensely powerful read that deserves to be put on the shelf along side your other classics.
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"Publishers Weekly Review"
by Publishers Weekly,
"Drawing on a range of sources, in addition to The Odyssey, Atwood scripts the narrative of Penelope, the faithful and devoted wife of Odysseus and her 12 maids, who were killed upon the master's return. Atwood proposes striking interpretations of her characters that challenge the patriarchal nature of Greek mythology. The chapters transition between the firsthand account of Penelope and the chorus of maids as listeners are taken from Penelope's early life to her afterlife. Laural Merlington charmingly delivers the witty and perceptive Penelope with realistic inflection and emphasis. Some of her vocal caricatures seem over the top, but most voices maintain a resemblance to our perceptions of these mythic people. The maids are presented as a saddened chorus by a cloning of Merlington's voice. These dark figures speak straightforwardly in their accusations of Penelope and Odysseus, while, at other times, they make use of rhyming. This format works well, though sometimes the cadence and rhyming scheme are off beat. This benefits the production by creating an eerie resonance and haunting demeanor that enhances this engaging tale." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Review"
by Chicago Tribune,
"Along with her presentation of the hallucinatory maids and Penelope's straight talk about her husband...Atwood's brilliance emerges in the skillful way she has woven her own research on the anthropological underpinnings of Homer's epic into the patterns of her own stylized version of the poem."
"Review"
by New York Times,
"Here, amid the moon cults and palace of women and the returned king...is fabulous Atwood territory."
"Synopsis"
by Ingram,
Telling the story of Homer's Odyssey from the point of view of Penelope and her 12 hanged maids, the bestselling author of Oryx and Crake draws on Greek mythology for Volume 2 in the Myths series.
"Synopsis"
by Firebrand,
Margaret Atwood returns with a shrewd, funny, and insightful retelling of the myth of Odysseus from the point of view of Penelope. Describing her own remarkable vision, the author writes in the foreword, “Ive chosen to give the telling of the story to Penelope and to the twelve hanged maids. The maids form a chanting and singing Chorus, which focuses on two questions that must pose themselves after any close reading of the Odyssey: What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to? The story as told in the Odyssey doesnt hold water: there are too many inconsistencies. Ive always been haunted by the hanged maids and, in The Penelopiad, so is Penelope herself.” One of the high points of literary fiction in 2005, this critically acclaimed story found a vast audience and is finally available in paperback.
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