I LOVE Margaret Atwood. She never disappoints. She leaves you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what is going on all the way to the end. I couldn't put it down.

some gems from the book:

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"There's no place like home," -

"No place = home. Therefore, home = no place. Therefore home does not exist."

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"Yesterday I was too tired to do much more than lie on the sofa. As is becoming my no doubt slovenly habit, I watched a daytime talk show, the kind on which they spill the beans. It's the fashion now, bean-spilling: people spill their own beans and also those of oher people, they spill every bean they have and even some they don't have. They do this out of guilt and anguish, and for their own pleasure, but mostly because they want it. I don't exempt myself: I relish these grubby little sins, these sqaulid family tangles, these cherished traumas. I enjoy the expectation with which the top is wrenched off the can of worms as if from some amazing birthday present, and then the sense of anticlimax in the watching faces: the forced tears and skimpy, gloating pity, the cued and dutiful applause. Is that all there is? they must be thinking. Shouldn't it be less ordinary, more sordid, more epic, more truly harrowing, this flesh wound of yours? Tell us more! Couldn't we please crank up the pain?"

"I wonder which is perferable--to walk around all your life swollen up with your own secrets until you burst from the pressure of them, or to have them sucked out of you, every paragraph, every sentence, every word of them, so at the end you're depleted of all that was once as precious to you as hoarded gold, as close to you as your skin--everything that was of the deepest importance to you, everything that made you cringe and wish to conceal, everything that belonged to you alone--and must spend the rest of your days like an empty sack flapping in the wind, and empty sack branded with a bright fluorescent label so that everyone will know what sort of secrets used to be inside you?"

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This is an excellent book. I highly recommend it!

Bookray participants:

Thursday5 - Ohio, USA/Intl *
butlin - New Hampshire, USA *
Aisling78 - Massachusetts, USA/Canada *asked to be skipped
ealasaidmae - West Virginia/Intl *
spuddossis - New Jersey/Intl *
bartonz - Washington/Intl *book here
RustyReader2 - Canada
Shimmy-crazy - UK
bluecat07 - Germany
conto - Portugal
kizmiaz - Portugal

RELEASE NOTES:

sent to Thursday5 to start the ray.

ENJOY!!!

The book safely arrived today. It is always so fun to find a book in the mail! I just have a couple chapters to finish in the book I am currently reading, so I should be able to start this book tomorrow. Thanks Icekween.

Another good Margaret Atwood book.
I have PMed the next person and will mail the book on as soon as I get their address.

Received with thanks. Haven't read anything by Atwood so am looking forward to starting this.
6/11/07
I am almost finished with this. It took a little while for me to get into it which is why I have had it for so long. I am now thoroughly enjoying it. I apologize for holding this bookring up. I will email the next person so I have their address all lined up for when I finish. Thanks for everyones patience.

First time I have read anything by Atwood. I did enjoy the book although it took me a while to get into it. On its way to ealasaidmae, Aisling78 asked to be skipped.

Arrived today! This is #2 on Mt TBR.

I love the layering here. I think if it had simply been Iris's story, told chronologically, it would have been overwhelmingly sad. It's always nice to have a book with a good villain, too! Winifred fits that role so nicely. As despicable as Richard is, I count him as more of a puppet than anything else. He lacks the spine to be truly evil. He reminds me a bit of George W, actually. The most impressive Atwood I've read. Very good.

Mailed to spuddossis today, delivery conf# 0306 3030 0001 0087 0834

Received in today's mail from ealasaidmae, with a lovely postcard from her home state of West Virginia! Thanks so much. I'll be starting this as soon as I finish the book I'm currently reading. This will be my first Atwood! Can't wait!

Ah, so now I know what all the fuss was about! I've heard so much good about Margaret Atwood's writings and now I know (at least for me) that none of it was undeserved. I very much enjoyed this book and her writing style. I have two more of hers on my MT. TBR that I'm now, so looking forward to.
I've PM'd bartonz for her address so I can get it out to her right away.
Mailed out to bartonz 08/17/07.

It's here and I look forward to reading it

On its way to RustyReader2