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Old Babes in the Wood: Stories
A dazzling collection of short stories from the internationally acclaimed, award-winning author of The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments, stories that look deeply into the heart of family relationships, marriage, loss and memory, and what it means to spend a life together
Margaret Atwood has established herself as one of the most visionary and canonical authors in the world. This collection of fifteen extraordinary stories--some of which have appeared in The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine--explore the full warp and weft of experience, speaking to our unique times with Atwood's characteristic insight, wit and intellect.
The two intrepid sisters of the title story grapple with loss and memory on a perfect summer evening; "Impatient Griselda" explores alienation and miscommunication with a fresh twist on a folkloric classic; and "My Evil Mother" touches on the fantastical, examining a mother-daughter relationship in which the mother purports to be a witch. At the heart of the collection are seven extraordinary stories that follow a married couple across the decades, the moments big and small that make up a long life of uncommon love--and what comes after.
Returning to short fiction for the first time since her 2014 collection Stone Mattress, Atwood showcases both her creativity and her humanity in these remarkable tales which by turns delight, illuminate, and quietly devastate.
Margaret Atwood has established herself as one of the most visionary and canonical authors in the world. This collection of fifteen extraordinary stories--some of which have appeared in The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine--explore the full warp and weft of experience, speaking to our unique times with Atwood's characteristic insight, wit and intellect.
The two intrepid sisters of the title story grapple with loss and memory on a perfect summer evening; "Impatient Griselda" explores alienation and miscommunication with a fresh twist on a folkloric classic; and "My Evil Mother" touches on the fantastical, examining a mother-daughter relationship in which the mother purports to be a witch. At the heart of the collection are seven extraordinary stories that follow a married couple across the decades, the moments big and small that make up a long life of uncommon love--and what comes after.
Returning to short fiction for the first time since her 2014 collection Stone Mattress, Atwood showcases both her creativity and her humanity in these remarkable tales which by turns delight, illuminate, and quietly devastate.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published March 7, 2023
About the author
Margaret Atwood
600 books82.1k followersMargaret Atwood was born in 1939 in Ottawa and grew up in northern Ontario, Quebec, and Toronto. She received her undergraduate degree from Victoria College at the University of Toronto and her master's degree from Radcliffe College.
Throughout her writing career, Margaret Atwood has received numerous awards and honourary degrees. She is the author of more than thirty-five volumes of poetry, children’s literature, fiction, and non-fiction and is perhaps best known for her novels, which include The Edible Woman (1970), The Handmaid's Tale (1983), The Robber Bride (1994), Alias Grace (1996), and The Blind Assassin, which won the prestigious Booker Prize in 2000. Atwood's dystopic novel, Oryx and Crake, was published in 2003. The Tent (mini-fictions) and Moral Disorder (short stories) both appeared in 2006. Her most recent volume of poetry, The Door, was published in 2007. Her non-fiction book, Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth in the Massey series, appeared in 2008, and her most recent novel, The Year of the Flood, in the autumn of 2009. Ms. Atwood's work has been published in more than forty languages, including Farsi, Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Korean, Icelandic and Estonian. In 2004 she co-invented the Long Pen TM.
Margaret Atwood currently lives in Toronto with writer Graeme Gibson.
Associations: Margaret Atwood was President of the Writers' Union of Canada from May 1981 to May 1982, and was President of International P.E.N., Canadian Centre (English Speaking) from 1984-1986. She and Graeme Gibson are the Joint Honourary Presidents of the Rare Bird Society within BirdLife International. Ms. Atwood is also a current Vice-President of PEN International.
Throughout her writing career, Margaret Atwood has received numerous awards and honourary degrees. She is the author of more than thirty-five volumes of poetry, children’s literature, fiction, and non-fiction and is perhaps best known for her novels, which include The Edible Woman (1970), The Handmaid's Tale (1983), The Robber Bride (1994), Alias Grace (1996), and The Blind Assassin, which won the prestigious Booker Prize in 2000. Atwood's dystopic novel, Oryx and Crake, was published in 2003. The Tent (mini-fictions) and Moral Disorder (short stories) both appeared in 2006. Her most recent volume of poetry, The Door, was published in 2007. Her non-fiction book, Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth in the Massey series, appeared in 2008, and her most recent novel, The Year of the Flood, in the autumn of 2009. Ms. Atwood's work has been published in more than forty languages, including Farsi, Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Korean, Icelandic and Estonian. In 2004 she co-invented the Long Pen TM.
Margaret Atwood currently lives in Toronto with writer Graeme Gibson.
Associations: Margaret Atwood was President of the Writers' Union of Canada from May 1981 to May 1982, and was President of International P.E.N., Canadian Centre (English Speaking) from 1984-1986. She and Graeme Gibson are the Joint Honourary Presidents of the Rare Bird Society within BirdLife International. Ms. Atwood is also a current Vice-President of PEN International.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,133 reviews
March 23, 2023
Old Babes in the Wood: Stories by Margaret Atwood is a collection of fifteen short stories that feature a variety of themes and genres. A few of these stories have been published in the past among which are “Impatient Griselda” (featured in The Decameron Project, 2020), the title story “Old Babes in the Woods (published in New Yorker Magazine, April 2021), and the short story “My Evil Mother” (Amazon Original Stories, 2022).
Divided into three segments, Parts I and III (a total of seven stories) feature Nell and Tig, a married couple with the latter segment focusing on an older Nell as she adjusts to being alone after Tig’s demise.
While I did enjoy Atwood’s prose and the range of emotions depicted in the first section, I wasn’t quite as engaged as I was with subsequent sections. My ratings for the stories (with summaries) in the first section are as follows:
“First Aid” (3/5):
“Two Scorched Men” (2.5/5)
“Morte de Smudgie” (3.5/5)
Part II features a collection of stories that vary between dark humor, sci-fi and fantasy and historical fiction.I thoroughly enjoyed this segment which was characterized by exceptional imaginative storytelling as we have come to expect from the author. Themes range from pandemics and dystopian futures, magical realism to friendship, feminism and aging.
“My Evil Mother” (5/5)
“The Dead Interview” (5/5)
Impatient Griselda (4.5/5)
“Bad Teeth” (3/5)
“Freeforall” (4/5)
Metempsychosis (5/5)
Airborne: A Symposium (3/5)
“Death By Clamshell” (5/5) :
Touching upon themes of marriage, family, aging, loss and grief,the stories in the third section are reflective, insightful, melancholic and nostalgic in tone, emotionally powerful and eloquently penned.
I found the stories “Widows”(5/5) and “Wooden Box”(5/5) particularly moving.
“A Dusty Lunch”(3/5):
“Old Babes in the Wood” (4/5) :
Fans of Margaret Atwood would enjoy this collection. For those who have yet to read anything by this author, this would be a great introduction to her range of storytelling. Overall, this is an impressive collection of stories that will appeal to readers with varied tastes and preferences.
Many thanks to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the much-appreciated digital review copy of this selection of short stories. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Divided into three segments, Parts I and III (a total of seven stories) feature Nell and Tig, a married couple with the latter segment focusing on an older Nell as she adjusts to being alone after Tig’s demise.
While I did enjoy Atwood’s prose and the range of emotions depicted in the first section, I wasn’t quite as engaged as I was with subsequent sections. My ratings for the stories (with summaries) in the first section are as follows:
“First Aid” (3/5):
“Two Scorched Men” (2.5/5)
“Morte de Smudgie” (3.5/5)
Part II features a collection of stories that vary between dark humor, sci-fi and fantasy and historical fiction.I thoroughly enjoyed this segment which was characterized by exceptional imaginative storytelling as we have come to expect from the author. Themes range from pandemics and dystopian futures, magical realism to friendship, feminism and aging.
“My Evil Mother” (5/5)
“The Dead Interview” (5/5)
Impatient Griselda (4.5/5)
“Bad Teeth” (3/5)
“Freeforall” (4/5)
Metempsychosis (5/5)
Airborne: A Symposium (3/5)
“Death By Clamshell” (5/5) :
Touching upon themes of marriage, family, aging, loss and grief,the stories in the third section are reflective, insightful, melancholic and nostalgic in tone, emotionally powerful and eloquently penned.
I found the stories “Widows”(5/5) and “Wooden Box”(5/5) particularly moving.
“A Dusty Lunch”(3/5):
“Old Babes in the Wood” (4/5) :
Fans of Margaret Atwood would enjoy this collection. For those who have yet to read anything by this author, this would be a great introduction to her range of storytelling. Overall, this is an impressive collection of stories that will appeal to readers with varied tastes and preferences.
Many thanks to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the much-appreciated digital review copy of this selection of short stories. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
May 3, 2023
There’s an ocean of sorrow in old age - if you’re lucky enough to make it there relatively unscathed and fully aware of where exactly you stand in the trajectory of a lifetime. At 83, Margaret Atwood is rowing with the paddle of creativity as her trusted tool and companion. In the face of loss and decay she does what she knows best: she writes.
There are fifteen stories in her latest collection. Seven of them feature an aged couple, Nell & Tig. The three opening the book are tales from their life together. The closing four are of Nell alone; Tig has died. Nell is the widow trying to come to terms with grief. Nell is a thin disguise for Atwood herself and Tig is one for novelist Graeme Gibson, Atwood’s partner of 45 years, who passed away in 2019. These stories are the most personal and impactful of the collection. They serve as bookends for the other eight that feature an assortment of the author’s favorite themes: sci-fi dystopias, historical fantasy, domesticated witchcraft, female camaraderie, afterlife wild-guessing.
For all their variety, they all share the same backbone; that of fragility and despair for all that is lost or soon to go. Their truths are blunt but their humor is as wry as their wisdom is sharp - and only occasionally charitable.
When I first got hold of this, I had thought that the title was a pun on our author’s last name. Turns out that there is a story of two Old Babes (thinly disguised Atwood and her sister) spending time at a cabin In A Wood. It’s the book’s finale, a rather sad, half-pragmatic, half-magical-thinking finale. However poignant, it had me smiling at the playful use of the word ‘babes’ for its octogenarian protagonists. My fifth star is for the author’s unflinching stare at her reality and her inspired ways of getting out of the woods as much as that reality allows.
A gorgeous babe, indeed!
There are fifteen stories in her latest collection. Seven of them feature an aged couple, Nell & Tig. The three opening the book are tales from their life together. The closing four are of Nell alone; Tig has died. Nell is the widow trying to come to terms with grief. Nell is a thin disguise for Atwood herself and Tig is one for novelist Graeme Gibson, Atwood’s partner of 45 years, who passed away in 2019. These stories are the most personal and impactful of the collection. They serve as bookends for the other eight that feature an assortment of the author’s favorite themes: sci-fi dystopias, historical fantasy, domesticated witchcraft, female camaraderie, afterlife wild-guessing.
For all their variety, they all share the same backbone; that of fragility and despair for all that is lost or soon to go. Their truths are blunt but their humor is as wry as their wisdom is sharp - and only occasionally charitable.
When I first got hold of this, I had thought that the title was a pun on our author’s last name. Turns out that there is a story of two Old Babes (thinly disguised Atwood and her sister) spending time at a cabin In A Wood. It’s the book’s finale, a rather sad, half-pragmatic, half-magical-thinking finale. However poignant, it had me smiling at the playful use of the word ‘babes’ for its octogenarian protagonists. My fifth star is for the author’s unflinching stare at her reality and her inspired ways of getting out of the woods as much as that reality allows.
A gorgeous babe, indeed!
February 21, 2023
In a Nutshell: A collection of short stories in varied genres by acclaimed Canadian writer Margaret Atwood. Some work, some don't.
I picked up this book not because I am a Margaret Atwood fan but because I am a short story fan. I have heard plenty of wonderful things about the author’s writing (and I do intend to read her full-length works some day.) So this felt like a good way of getting a glimpse at her writing style. Did it work? Not exactly.
While the author is the same across the stories, the genres and the themes are quite different. You have sci-fi, dystopian, historical, humour, dramatic, and speculative within the same book. Her writing clicks in a few stories but doesn’t for the others, and this hit-or-miss isn’t genre-specific. So if you, just like me, plan to give this a try to know Atwood’s writing style, that agenda will not be accomplished. If, however, you treat it as a regular ‘multi-genre anthology by a single author’, you will like it far better.
The fifteen stories in this collection – some new, some published in the past – are divided into three sections.
Section I – Tig & Nell has three stories featuring the titular couple dealing with certain events in their lives. Section III – Nell & Tig has the same characters but older, and contains four stories about Nell’s life after Tig’s death. The two central characters are the only common point; there’s nothing else to interlink the stories or make them mutually dependent. Section III was quite bittersweet, with some truly moving tales.
Section II – My Evil Mother contains seven disparate stories, including the titular ‘My Evil Mother’ that had been a hit with many of my friends last year. This was the best section of the book for me, as most of the stories featured interesting characters, unusual plots, and a gripping writing style. Surprisingly, the popular favourite ‘My Evil Mother’ was my least favourite story in this section. (I have reviewed the story separately HERE.)
The lengths of the tales is quite inconsistent, with some being too long to be called ‘short stories’ as they were more like novellas. Nevertheless, if you go into the book expecting ‘longish’ short tales, you will not be much bothered by the varying word count.
As always, I rated the stories individually. Like in every anthology, some stories were great, other not so much. Of the fifteen stories, seven stories reached/crossed the four star mark for me, which is not at all a bad hit rate, though I did expect better. These were my top favourites:
As I have never read any Atwood work prior to this, I am not in a position to compare her prowess in full-length fiction with this short work. But her imagination and range has definitely left me curious to know more.
Recommended to Atwood fans, and to those wanting to dabble in Atwood waters before taking the plunge.
3.6 stars, based on the average of my ratings for each story.
PS: I love how the cover pic works on a dual level, as a partial visage of a cat AND as a bird under a tree. But I don’t think it suits the anthology well.
My thanks to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “Old Babes in the Wood”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
———————————————
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I picked up this book not because I am a Margaret Atwood fan but because I am a short story fan. I have heard plenty of wonderful things about the author’s writing (and I do intend to read her full-length works some day.) So this felt like a good way of getting a glimpse at her writing style. Did it work? Not exactly.
While the author is the same across the stories, the genres and the themes are quite different. You have sci-fi, dystopian, historical, humour, dramatic, and speculative within the same book. Her writing clicks in a few stories but doesn’t for the others, and this hit-or-miss isn’t genre-specific. So if you, just like me, plan to give this a try to know Atwood’s writing style, that agenda will not be accomplished. If, however, you treat it as a regular ‘multi-genre anthology by a single author’, you will like it far better.
The fifteen stories in this collection – some new, some published in the past – are divided into three sections.
Section I – Tig & Nell has three stories featuring the titular couple dealing with certain events in their lives. Section III – Nell & Tig has the same characters but older, and contains four stories about Nell’s life after Tig’s death. The two central characters are the only common point; there’s nothing else to interlink the stories or make them mutually dependent. Section III was quite bittersweet, with some truly moving tales.
Section II – My Evil Mother contains seven disparate stories, including the titular ‘My Evil Mother’ that had been a hit with many of my friends last year. This was the best section of the book for me, as most of the stories featured interesting characters, unusual plots, and a gripping writing style. Surprisingly, the popular favourite ‘My Evil Mother’ was my least favourite story in this section. (I have reviewed the story separately HERE.)
The lengths of the tales is quite inconsistent, with some being too long to be called ‘short stories’ as they were more like novellas. Nevertheless, if you go into the book expecting ‘longish’ short tales, you will not be much bothered by the varying word count.
As always, I rated the stories individually. Like in every anthology, some stories were great, other not so much. Of the fifteen stories, seven stories reached/crossed the four star mark for me, which is not at all a bad hit rate, though I did expect better. These were my top favourites:
From Section I:
Morte de Smudgie – 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫 - Nell’s poetic ode to her dead cat. Loved the writing and ending in this one.
From Section II:
Impatient Griselda - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫 – Loved the unexpected narrator of the story, and loved their narrative style even more.
Metempsychosis, or, the Journey of the Soul - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫 – A snail’s soul somehow latches itself to a human body and tries to get used to this new “shell”. Is that imaginative or what! I loved how the title doffed a hat at Kafka’s Metamorphosis, but has the process exactly in reverse.
Death by Clamshell - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 – Hypatia speaks to us from the afterlife, wow!!! The only 5 star story for me. Brilliant!
Other notable mentions were ‘The Dead Interview’, ‘Widows’, and ‘Wooden Box’, each with 4 stars.
As I have never read any Atwood work prior to this, I am not in a position to compare her prowess in full-length fiction with this short work. But her imagination and range has definitely left me curious to know more.
Recommended to Atwood fans, and to those wanting to dabble in Atwood waters before taking the plunge.
3.6 stars, based on the average of my ratings for each story.
PS: I love how the cover pic works on a dual level, as a partial visage of a cat AND as a bird under a tree. But I don’t think it suits the anthology well.
My thanks to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “Old Babes in the Wood”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
April 2, 2023
Old Babes in the Wood shows a large variety, ranging from poetic mourning for dead cats, snails transfiguring in bank employees, Hypatia of Alexandria, mediums channeling Orwell and witchlike mothers. Grief, loss and memory however form the main theme of the book
What does one ever do with these cryptic messages from the dead?
More thoughts to follow but loved Margaret Atwood her usual wit and the large variety in this book
What does one ever do with these cryptic messages from the dead?
More thoughts to follow but loved Margaret Atwood her usual wit and the large variety in this book
January 9, 2024
Margaret Atwood is marvelous. It took me a few hours of reading this to wonder why I have never read any of her short stories before. These are fun, wise and bittersweet. I especially loved My Evil Mother and the final stories in the book about the couple, Nell &Tig. They made me sad, but they are also lovely as they record the end of life's journey. How do we go on after our special someone has gone? Each person makes their own peace with it and sometimes it's good to still talk to them. Are they listening? Maybe. It helps anyway.
June 24, 2023
Margaret Atwood. She HAS to live forever. David Bowie died a while ago now, which I thought was a physical impossibility, and we recently lost Cormac McCarthy, who was supposed to guide us through the darkness indefinitely, but Margaret Atwood, now that's where I draw the line. She can't go anywhere. My heart just wouldn't be able to take it. Do you hear me, Universe??
She's one of the first writers I discovered as a young adult. She's the very foundation of my love of literature, and I need her always HERE, and always NOW. I have no openness to any other arrangement.
I mention this particularly because in this collection, she's continually reminding me of her mortality, with stories that look back, with stories peopled with aging characters, who are plagued with wobbly triceps and the pain of grief and loss of relevancy.
She's a brilliant writer, point final. However, my own experience reading this collection was a mixed one, and that's only because of who I happen to be as a reader. There are some really fantastic stories here ("First Aid" and "My Evil Mother" being a few of my favourites) but there are ones that didn't quite reach me. I don't typically connect to science fiction or speculative fiction. I am so much more interested in what happens between people than what might happen.
I wish I could go along with the flow easier, as a reader. I felt myself bristle when a story started from the point of view of a mythological character who was skinned alive, and I sighed and rolled my eyes when it was a snail who shoots into the body of a bank teller. (There are wonderful, piquing elements to both of these stories, by the way... which had me fascinated and questioning my initial impatience.)
There's also a very playful and glib tone to many of the stories, in which I felt the author winking at me, over and over again. For example, I loved "Airborne" at first, which explores the authorial experience of a mis-representative book cover eliciting all kinds of nasty reviews, and how female authors are particularly prone to this kind of reaction... but after there is the most tongue in cheek banter between aging friends - Margaret Atwood winking so much during this part that I wondered if she had a facial tic - so I disengaged.
I had this feeling, on and off, that is brilliantly expressed in "A Dusty Lunch":
I should give up. I'm the wrong person. The wrong reader for you. I'm sorry. All I can say is: I hear you. Or I hear something. Or I'm trying to hear something. Yes?
There's so much playfulness here, but underneath the themes are aging and loss, and those are no laughing matter. Atwood recently lost her longtime companion, writer Graeme Gibson, and it's clear that the Nell and Tig stories come from that significant life event. The final four Nell and Tig stories are a tender window into that experience. The playfulness ebbs here, the humanity emerges in all its vulnerability. She's brilliant in these stories.
So what I will say is I respect it all, particularly loved certain moments, but wasn't as engaged as I wished I could have been. I don't know what that says about me as a reader.
She needs to live forever (and write forever), though. That I do know.
3.5 stars, rounded up, for Nell and Tig xo
She's one of the first writers I discovered as a young adult. She's the very foundation of my love of literature, and I need her always HERE, and always NOW. I have no openness to any other arrangement.
I mention this particularly because in this collection, she's continually reminding me of her mortality, with stories that look back, with stories peopled with aging characters, who are plagued with wobbly triceps and the pain of grief and loss of relevancy.
She's a brilliant writer, point final. However, my own experience reading this collection was a mixed one, and that's only because of who I happen to be as a reader. There are some really fantastic stories here ("First Aid" and "My Evil Mother" being a few of my favourites) but there are ones that didn't quite reach me. I don't typically connect to science fiction or speculative fiction. I am so much more interested in what happens between people than what might happen.
I wish I could go along with the flow easier, as a reader. I felt myself bristle when a story started from the point of view of a mythological character who was skinned alive, and I sighed and rolled my eyes when it was a snail who shoots into the body of a bank teller. (There are wonderful, piquing elements to both of these stories, by the way... which had me fascinated and questioning my initial impatience.)
There's also a very playful and glib tone to many of the stories, in which I felt the author winking at me, over and over again. For example, I loved "Airborne" at first, which explores the authorial experience of a mis-representative book cover eliciting all kinds of nasty reviews, and how female authors are particularly prone to this kind of reaction... but after there is the most tongue in cheek banter between aging friends - Margaret Atwood winking so much during this part that I wondered if she had a facial tic - so I disengaged.
I had this feeling, on and off, that is brilliantly expressed in "A Dusty Lunch":
I should give up. I'm the wrong person. The wrong reader for you. I'm sorry. All I can say is: I hear you. Or I hear something. Or I'm trying to hear something. Yes?
There's so much playfulness here, but underneath the themes are aging and loss, and those are no laughing matter. Atwood recently lost her longtime companion, writer Graeme Gibson, and it's clear that the Nell and Tig stories come from that significant life event. The final four Nell and Tig stories are a tender window into that experience. The playfulness ebbs here, the humanity emerges in all its vulnerability. She's brilliant in these stories.
So what I will say is I respect it all, particularly loved certain moments, but wasn't as engaged as I wished I could have been. I don't know what that says about me as a reader.
She needs to live forever (and write forever), though. That I do know.
3.5 stars, rounded up, for Nell and Tig xo
June 10, 2023
https://instagram.com/p/CqVXctLLPZD/
A brilliant collection that is equal parts delightful and devastation. Margaret Atwood yet again delivers expertly crafted stories which are hilarious, dark, reflective, and simply poetic. From following a married couple over several decades to a martyr’s expose to a women dealing with her mother’s magical reputation, Old Babes in the Woods delivers both the best and worst of people, the most outrageous of occurrences to the simplest of pleasures. The everyday collides with the fantastical to create a unique read that will claw its way into your heart. Another wonderful piece by Margaret Atwood!!
A brilliant collection that is equal parts delightful and devastation. Margaret Atwood yet again delivers expertly crafted stories which are hilarious, dark, reflective, and simply poetic. From following a married couple over several decades to a martyr’s expose to a women dealing with her mother’s magical reputation, Old Babes in the Woods delivers both the best and worst of people, the most outrageous of occurrences to the simplest of pleasures. The everyday collides with the fantastical to create a unique read that will claw its way into your heart. Another wonderful piece by Margaret Atwood!!
May 2, 2023
Own: ebook…
— alternated reading & listening.
The (borrowed from the library) Audiobook delights with a killer-top-notch full cast:
Margaret Atwood, Linda Lavin, Dan Stevens, Kimberly Farr, Rebecca Lowman, Bahni Turpin, Dawn Harvey, Allan Corduner
……8 hours and 44minutes
With an emphasis on the importance of life - love - family - friendships - marriage - history - daily trials and tribulations- memories - aging - loss — death — appreciation…..
written by an extraordinary author - [age 83]
- a woman/author in a league of her own —
I’m finally old enough to fully appreciate the depth — humor - heartbreak- intelligence- beauty - power - and wisdom.
I understand that I didn’t understand everything—but I understood plenty!!! (including the humble vulnerable pain)
Wishing to thank Margaret Atwood for this gift.
Such a significant loss …
Atwood’s husband died in 2019. I’m sorry for her loss (and my friend’s loss of her husband this year) ….
I’m just sorry!!
In my opinion….these stories are *especially* recommended for those of us at a ‘certain age’.
I found these stories moving, funny, indelible, and quite affecting.
Chocolate . . . Tea . . . let’s have some!!
Served with love!!!!!
— alternated reading & listening.
The (borrowed from the library) Audiobook delights with a killer-top-notch full cast:
Margaret Atwood, Linda Lavin, Dan Stevens, Kimberly Farr, Rebecca Lowman, Bahni Turpin, Dawn Harvey, Allan Corduner
……8 hours and 44minutes
With an emphasis on the importance of life - love - family - friendships - marriage - history - daily trials and tribulations- memories - aging - loss — death — appreciation…..
written by an extraordinary author - [age 83]
- a woman/author in a league of her own —
I’m finally old enough to fully appreciate the depth — humor - heartbreak- intelligence- beauty - power - and wisdom.
I understand that I didn’t understand everything—but I understood plenty!!! (including the humble vulnerable pain)
Wishing to thank Margaret Atwood for this gift.
Such a significant loss …
Atwood’s husband died in 2019. I’m sorry for her loss (and my friend’s loss of her husband this year) ….
I’m just sorry!!
In my opinion….these stories are *especially* recommended for those of us at a ‘certain age’.
I found these stories moving, funny, indelible, and quite affecting.
Chocolate . . . Tea . . . let’s have some!!
Served with love!!!!!
Currently reading
March 12, 2023Okay but this cover design deserves its own Pulitzer
May 3, 2023
An ok mix of short stories, some good - I enjoyed the Tig and Nell stories - and some were underwhelming, however, I loved My Evil Mother, that one was a cracker. 3.5 stars rounded down.
November 27, 2022
Loneliness, loss, and a sense of incredulity and amazement: that’s what getting old really feels like. For those who are far from those aging milestones, Margaret Atwood’s latest short story collection may seem almost like an anthropological study. But for those of us who are rapidly reaching (or have already reached) our Medicare years, these stories ring with a poignant and authentic truth.
Margaret Atwood is 83. Her husband and life partner, the writer Graeme Gibson, died a few years back. Ms. Atwood believes she was descended from a woman lynched for supposedly being a witch. It’s important to keep all this in mind while delving into these stories, which, at their heart, are at least a little bit autobiographical.
About half the stories revolve around an aging married couple named Nell and Tig. Particularly worthy for me is the one entitled Widows, where Ms. Atwood writes that, “Time has ceased to be linear, with life events and memories in a chronological row like beads on a string. It’s the strangest feeling or experience, or rearrangement. I’m not sure I can explain it to you.” Some of the Nell and Tig stories lose their emotional attachment through the details of everyday life; others shine.
Others that are sandwiched in provide a bit of comic relief mixed with irony and headshaking. Chief among these is Airborne, where professional women gather together to work on creating a panel. During their time together, they reminisce about the devolvement of language, joke about passwords and political correctness and feminism, and ruefully consider the changes that have taken place. Another good one is Metempsychosis, about a snail who is reincarnated within the body of a female bank teller. The Dead Interview, a dialogue between Ms. Atwood and George Orwell (one of her influences), is illuminating and well-crafted.
Although this is not the strongest of Margaret Atwood’s short story collections, it is perhaps her most personal, and as such, a must-read. I am grateful to Doubleday and NetGalley for enabling me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review.
May 19, 2023
I absolutely love Margaret Atwood's new book of short stories, Old Babes in the Wood. Poignant, gentle, and infused with the keen insight we have come to expect from this exceptional writer. Many of these stories feel like memories, not fiction.
April 23, 2023
The breadth of stories in this collection—from intimate family portraits to imagined interviews with dead authors, dystopian sci-fi and elegiac meditations on grief—is matched by the depth of Atwood’s skill at writing about growing older, mourning the loss of a loved one, and finding our specific place in a nebulous world. Only a writer with as many works under her belt as Atwood can bring together such disparate stories into a collection that feels complete.
I loved the structure; seven of the fifteen stories center on Nell & Tig (presumably a stand-in for Atwood and her recently deceased partner of 46 years, Graham Gibson). We follow these two over many years, particularly Nell as she deals with the experiences that come after a longtime partner is gone.
The other eight stories in the middle of the collection vary wildly. “My Evil Mother” recounts a young woman whose mother convinces her she’s a Samantha-esque witch, but how many of her childhood memories are as picture perfect as they once seemed? “Freeforall” recalls the dystopia that Atwood pioneered with The Handmaid’s Tale asking the reader what are we willing to do to keep the world populated. In “The Dead Interview” Atwood inserts herself into the narrative and utilizes a spiritual medium to talk to George Orwell from beyond the grave.
At once funny and harrowing, Atwood has crafted another excellent collection that asks more questions than it answers, reflecting back the complexity of human existence in a world that doesn’t seem to give up.
I loved the structure; seven of the fifteen stories center on Nell & Tig (presumably a stand-in for Atwood and her recently deceased partner of 46 years, Graham Gibson). We follow these two over many years, particularly Nell as she deals with the experiences that come after a longtime partner is gone.
The other eight stories in the middle of the collection vary wildly. “My Evil Mother” recounts a young woman whose mother convinces her she’s a Samantha-esque witch, but how many of her childhood memories are as picture perfect as they once seemed? “Freeforall” recalls the dystopia that Atwood pioneered with The Handmaid’s Tale asking the reader what are we willing to do to keep the world populated. In “The Dead Interview” Atwood inserts herself into the narrative and utilizes a spiritual medium to talk to George Orwell from beyond the grave.
At once funny and harrowing, Atwood has crafted another excellent collection that asks more questions than it answers, reflecting back the complexity of human existence in a world that doesn’t seem to give up.
March 18, 2023
4 Stars - Enjoyed Atwood’s short stories - “My Evil Mother” which everyone but me has read was excellent! Some take place in the past (“Death by Clamshell”) and some in the possible future (“Freeforall “). I especially liked the “Interview” via medium with George Orwell.
February 27, 2023
3.5 stars out of 5
Old Babes in the Wood is a collection of short stories written by Margaret Atwood. It’s a good variety of stories that show off her range as a writer. There are fifteen stories in all, seven of them featuring a married couple, Tig and Nell. While each one can be read as a standalone, you are best served reading the stories in order.
Both my husband and I read the book and the Tig and Nell stories were the ones we drawn to the most. When you’ve been with a partner for so long and you aren’t getting any younger, you can’t help but wonder what life will be like when the other person is gone. Some of these stories hit us on an emotional level.
The Dead Interview features an “interview” between the author and George Orwell. Very creative with some great lines. Bad Teeth and My Evil Mother were good reads as well.
Recommend if you are a fan of the author and enjoy short stories.
Thank you Doubleday for sending me an advance copy! All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.
Old Babes in the Wood is a collection of short stories written by Margaret Atwood. It’s a good variety of stories that show off her range as a writer. There are fifteen stories in all, seven of them featuring a married couple, Tig and Nell. While each one can be read as a standalone, you are best served reading the stories in order.
Both my husband and I read the book and the Tig and Nell stories were the ones we drawn to the most. When you’ve been with a partner for so long and you aren’t getting any younger, you can’t help but wonder what life will be like when the other person is gone. Some of these stories hit us on an emotional level.
The Dead Interview features an “interview” between the author and George Orwell. Very creative with some great lines. Bad Teeth and My Evil Mother were good reads as well.
Recommend if you are a fan of the author and enjoy short stories.
Thank you Doubleday for sending me an advance copy! All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.
March 28, 2023
3.5
I liked these stories enough while I was reading them, but I don’t think most will stick with me. Many of them, notably the ones in the middle section, have already dissolved from my memory. I remember the one about talking to Orwell via a séance, but that’s because I found it mostly didactic. The stories I enjoyed the most are of the first and last section, of Nell and Tig, obviously based on the longtime partnership of Atwood and Graeme Gibson, and of his death a few years ago. Old widows deserve stories too.
I liked these stories enough while I was reading them, but I don’t think most will stick with me. Many of them, notably the ones in the middle section, have already dissolved from my memory. I remember the one about talking to Orwell via a séance, but that’s because I found it mostly didactic. The stories I enjoyed the most are of the first and last section, of Nell and Tig, obviously based on the longtime partnership of Atwood and Graeme Gibson, and of his death a few years ago. Old widows deserve stories too.
March 27, 2023
An imaginative and witty collection of stories which mainly revolve around time, past recollections, declining years and afterlife.
September 5, 2023
"why must i suffer? the ultimate puzzle. that is what it is to be human, i suppose: to question the terms of existence."
sometimes, i’m reminded of how old some of my favorite authors are, and i get scared. namely: margaret atwood, thomas pynchon, jacqueline wilson, and judy blume. and every time i read something new atwood puts out, i make sure that i’m in a headspace to be able to fully digest and appreciate her writing.
atwood, while engraving her signature style in whatever book or tale she writes, has such an incredible breadth of books that never lack in depth. in short, there's nothing more to say about margaret atwood that hasn't already been said. she is quite literally, living history and a pillar of modern literature.
there is a consistent theme of loss, mortality, and loneliness throughout her stories. one of the things i look for in a short story collection is the diversity of writing style while having a cohesive tone altogether. atwood, a veteran in both, pulls it off beautifully. some stories in old babes in the wood show atwood at her best—incredibly careful with her plot and characters while being audaciously imaginative.
my top five stories of the collection:
1. first aid [first story of nell & tig, an elderly couple. they take a first aid course together in this story.]
2. my evil mother [complicated mother-daughter relationship where the daughter suspects her mother of being a witch.]
3. death by clamshell [posthumous pov of hypatia of alexandria as she retrospectively details her death. haunting and moving.]
4. metempsychosis [sort of a reverse kafka—a snail becomes trapped in a woman’s body and has a dissociating existential crisis.]
5. a dusty lunch [nell examines her father in law’s life.]
there were some stories that didn't echo as much as the others—in short, they were a hit or miss. while there will always be more hits with atwood, some stories fell a bit short. but with her, i always want to tell her “it’s not you, it’s me!” whenever a story of hers doesn’t work for me.
September 13, 2023
Many of the stories here are about a couple, Nell and Tig, touching on memory and grief after Tig dies. There’s also some sci-fi and fantasy (eg a snail reincarnated into a female bankteller. An alien telling a story to a crèche, Atwood interviewing George Orwell through a medium, and more) told with wit and humour. An enjoyable read.
March 29, 2023
3.5 stars
I get the feeling from this collection that Ms. Atwood is feeling her mortality. Unsurprising really, since she is in her early eighties and has fairly recently lost her main partner in crime, Graeme Gibson. I am sure she would protest vehemently, but I can't help but see the final section of the book (Tig & Nell) as a way of processing her feelings about Graeme's death. One of the stories (the one with the vulture migration) is something I heard her relate as a personal experience in a radio interview. And, yes, I know writers mine their personal lives for fictional details, but still….
I have enjoyed Atwood's fiction for as long as I can remember. I was a bit dismayed after the first section of this collection, when I didn't connect at all with Nell & Tig. What relief when I moved on to My Evil Mother, which was delightful. I also enjoyed her imagined interview with the shade of George Orwell. The middle section was the Atwood that I remember. The third section returns to Nell, now a widow and having to deal with Tig's absence. The natural history details appealed to me here. No doubt some are personal memories from growing up with Atwood's biologist father and living in the field.
I can't give this an unalloyed 4 star rating. For me, it is more 3 ½ stars, but I am still pleased to have read it.
I get the feeling from this collection that Ms. Atwood is feeling her mortality. Unsurprising really, since she is in her early eighties and has fairly recently lost her main partner in crime, Graeme Gibson. I am sure she would protest vehemently, but I can't help but see the final section of the book (Tig & Nell) as a way of processing her feelings about Graeme's death. One of the stories (the one with the vulture migration) is something I heard her relate as a personal experience in a radio interview. And, yes, I know writers mine their personal lives for fictional details, but still….
I have enjoyed Atwood's fiction for as long as I can remember. I was a bit dismayed after the first section of this collection, when I didn't connect at all with Nell & Tig. What relief when I moved on to My Evil Mother, which was delightful. I also enjoyed her imagined interview with the shade of George Orwell. The middle section was the Atwood that I remember. The third section returns to Nell, now a widow and having to deal with Tig's absence. The natural history details appealed to me here. No doubt some are personal memories from growing up with Atwood's biologist father and living in the field.
I can't give this an unalloyed 4 star rating. For me, it is more 3 ½ stars, but I am still pleased to have read it.
April 21, 2023
I FINALLY got to read My Evil Mother! It was good. I loved the variety of style and subject in these stories. I really enjoyed everything except one of the main components..Tig and Neil. Lol. Oh well
Stand outs include:
Metempsychosis: Or, The Journey Of The Soul (if you told me my favorite story would be about snails I would not have believed you)
The Impatient Griselda
Death by Clamshell
Airborne
Bad Teeth
My Evil Mother (duh)
Stand outs include:
Metempsychosis: Or, The Journey Of The Soul (if you told me my favorite story would be about snails I would not have believed you)
The Impatient Griselda
Death by Clamshell
Airborne
Bad Teeth
My Evil Mother (duh)
April 16, 2023
Astonishing stories for the amazing liberties Atwood allows herself. Some stories are stronger than others, but every single one of them is gloriously wrong, in the sense that they break the rules of every creative writing course. These sad stories are illuminated by the joy of writing them. The best ones are profound, wise, moving and unforgettable.
April 17, 2023
A strong collection of stories, closest in topic and tone to Dearly from Atwood's recent oeuvre and reprinting seven pieces that had been previously published in some form (including, intriguingly, a new version of one dystopian tale that appeared in the Toronto Star in 1986).
The first and last sections ("Tig & Nell"/"Nell & Tig") appear to be autofiction in that they are about an older couple and, later, a widow living in a somewhat primitive cabin in Canada. The first set are about the increasing risks involved in ageing and memories of time spent in France. "Morte de Smudgie," about the death of a beloved cat, is a highlight.
The second set are about Tig's decline with dementia and the artefacts he left behind, such as "Wooden Box," which is almost unbearably poignant. In "Widows," Nell writes an honest letter about how she's doing After, then scraps it and sends what she knows her friend wants to hear instead. The title story, which closes the collection, has Nell and her sister looking after the cabin one summer as best they can with their slightly reduced capabilities.
Taken together, these realistic stories are substantial and reminiscent of Moral Disorder, another linked story collection. [EMBARRASSED UPDATE: I didn't remember until after I looked back at my review of this from 3.5 years ago that, indeed, its main characters are also called Nell and Tig, so it's not the first time she's used this fictional alter ego.]
However, the way the middle section interrupts the Nell and Tig material makes it feel like the latter should have been its own book, a novel of sorts. The eight stories of the "My Evil Mother" central section, by contrast, are good examples of Atwood's funny, speculative work and cultural critiques. I recognized "Impatient Griselda," of course, it being my favourite story from The Decameron Project.
"My Evil Mother" itself was an Amazon Original story and is fantastic. A teenager resents her single mother's claims to be a witch, then finds it useful to adopt the same strategy when she becomes a mother herself. In "The Dead Interview," Atwood chats about totalitarianism and visions of the future with the ghost of George Orwell.
"Death by Clamshell" is voiced by Hypatia of Alexandria, and "Metempsychosis: Or, the Journey of the Soul" by a snail transplanted into the body of "a mid-level female customer service representative at one of the major banks." (This story made me laugh the most of them all.) "Airborne: A Symposium" was another favourite, about a group of older female academics trying to figure out how to be good feminists in a postmodern world.
There are two forgettable stories in this section, and one each in the Nell & Tig segments, but that's still a pretty good hit rate of 11/15.
Favourite lines:
"We resist the notion that we'll become mere handfuls of dust, so we wish to become words instead. Breath in the mouth of others."
(re: Smudgie the cat) "There is no 'only a,' she told herself. Nothing and no one is 'only a.'"
Orwell: "Satire in extreme times is risky. Choose any excess, think you're wildly exaggerating, and it's most likely to have been true."
"Am I checking all the boxes of the prescribed grieving process? ... No. Because it's not a tunnel. There's isn't any other end. Time has ceased to be linear, with life events and memories in a chronological row, like beads on a string. It's the strangest feeling, or experience, or rearrangement."
The first and last sections ("Tig & Nell"/"Nell & Tig") appear to be autofiction in that they are about an older couple and, later, a widow living in a somewhat primitive cabin in Canada. The first set are about the increasing risks involved in ageing and memories of time spent in France. "Morte de Smudgie," about the death of a beloved cat, is a highlight.
The second set are about Tig's decline with dementia and the artefacts he left behind, such as "Wooden Box," which is almost unbearably poignant. In "Widows," Nell writes an honest letter about how she's doing After, then scraps it and sends what she knows her friend wants to hear instead. The title story, which closes the collection, has Nell and her sister looking after the cabin one summer as best they can with their slightly reduced capabilities.
Taken together, these realistic stories are substantial and reminiscent of Moral Disorder, another linked story collection. [EMBARRASSED UPDATE: I didn't remember until after I looked back at my review of this from 3.5 years ago that, indeed, its main characters are also called Nell and Tig, so it's not the first time she's used this fictional alter ego.]
However, the way the middle section interrupts the Nell and Tig material makes it feel like the latter should have been its own book, a novel of sorts. The eight stories of the "My Evil Mother" central section, by contrast, are good examples of Atwood's funny, speculative work and cultural critiques. I recognized "Impatient Griselda," of course, it being my favourite story from The Decameron Project.
"My Evil Mother" itself was an Amazon Original story and is fantastic. A teenager resents her single mother's claims to be a witch, then finds it useful to adopt the same strategy when she becomes a mother herself. In "The Dead Interview," Atwood chats about totalitarianism and visions of the future with the ghost of George Orwell.
"Death by Clamshell" is voiced by Hypatia of Alexandria, and "Metempsychosis: Or, the Journey of the Soul" by a snail transplanted into the body of "a mid-level female customer service representative at one of the major banks." (This story made me laugh the most of them all.) "Airborne: A Symposium" was another favourite, about a group of older female academics trying to figure out how to be good feminists in a postmodern world.
There are two forgettable stories in this section, and one each in the Nell & Tig segments, but that's still a pretty good hit rate of 11/15.
Favourite lines:
"We resist the notion that we'll become mere handfuls of dust, so we wish to become words instead. Breath in the mouth of others."
(re: Smudgie the cat) "There is no 'only a,' she told herself. Nothing and no one is 'only a.'"
Orwell: "Satire in extreme times is risky. Choose any excess, think you're wildly exaggerating, and it's most likely to have been true."
"Am I checking all the boxes of the prescribed grieving process? ... No. Because it's not a tunnel. There's isn't any other end. Time has ceased to be linear, with life events and memories in a chronological row, like beads on a string. It's the strangest feeling, or experience, or rearrangement."
April 2, 2023
Sometimes you read a good book, but it’s just not the right time for you. This short story collection is largely centred on Atwood’s Tig & Nell, a stand-in for the author and her recently departed husband. These stories are grief drenched and speak to a time of life that’s still far on my horizon. It’s not that they’re bad, indeed, they’re exceptionally well written. It’s that I just can’t relate yet.
Nothing wrong with a book sitting on the shelves for a later visit!
Nothing wrong with a book sitting on the shelves for a later visit!
December 23, 2022
THIS IS SO GOOD. Review to come!
March 15, 2023
Gems. Not a clinker in the collection. Included are seven stories featuring a couple as they advance through life, which may or may not be patterned after Margaret Atwood's own life as she recently lost her partner, and these may be a tribute to him.
May 10, 2023
Found this novel interesting and delightful as Atwood creates a wonderful series of stories
February 12, 2023
I am not a big fan of short stories, but when I saw this offering by Margaret Atwood, I couldn’t pass it up, both because of the title and the author. Some of these fifteen stories have previously appeared in periodicals such as The New Yorker. Topics include friend and family relationships, particularly between husband and wife, sisters, and mothers and daughters, as well as the aging process and all that accompanies it.
The stories are entertaining….humorous and heartbreaking. I enjoyed some of the stories more than others, finding those that touched on sci fi and fantasy less appealing than those focusing on the aging Nell. That said, the one story involving a mother who is known to practice witchcraft was quite amusing along with its poignancy and the one in which Atwood uses a medium to interview George Orwell was delightful.
As a woman facing the waning years of life in family, friends, and self, many of Atwood’s stories really resonated with me. There are some in this collection that I definitely will go back and read again. This was a five star read and I think it would be a great selection for book clubs.
Thanks to #netgalley and #doubleday for the ARC.
The stories are entertaining….humorous and heartbreaking. I enjoyed some of the stories more than others, finding those that touched on sci fi and fantasy less appealing than those focusing on the aging Nell. That said, the one story involving a mother who is known to practice witchcraft was quite amusing along with its poignancy and the one in which Atwood uses a medium to interview George Orwell was delightful.
As a woman facing the waning years of life in family, friends, and self, many of Atwood’s stories really resonated with me. There are some in this collection that I definitely will go back and read again. This was a five star read and I think it would be a great selection for book clubs.
Thanks to #netgalley and #doubleday for the ARC.
March 31, 2024
there were a few stories in here that stood out to me, but otherwise i was left wanting so much more. 2 stars.
May 6, 2023
Parents ought not to die; it's inconsiderate.
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