{"id":5709,"date":"2006-12-14T17:12:26","date_gmt":"2006-12-14T22:12:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=5709"},"modified":"2022-03-20T20:55:18","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T00:55:18","slug":"atwood-hints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=5709","title":{"rendered":"Margaret Atwood Is Omnipresent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Margaret Atwood has been coming up quite a bit for me, lately. There was this<\/a> peripheral mention of Bodily Harm<\/a>\"\"<\/i> – which brought up a flood of memories from when I first read that unbelievable book – a book that freakin’ scared me, man – unlike any other Atwood book I’ve read. I read it in my early 20s, and to be honest, I think I blocked most of it out. Except for the opening scene. It was that upsetting to me.<\/p>\n

And then this beautiful post<\/a> from the totally cool “Super Fast Reader” – I so related to this post (first of all, about the whole “reading on the subway” thing, and how you work it out – and those horrible days when you have to try to turn the pages of your book with the same hand that is holding the book – ah, I know that pain) – but then she goes on to talk, briefly, about all of Atwood’s books, her favorites, etc. (Go, Cat’s Eye<\/i>!)<\/p>\n

And finally this lovely weird little anecdote<\/a> – written by a HUGE Atwood fan – and it describes a brief encounter with Atwood at a book signing – and the discombobulation one can experience when one meets a true idol – and also the funny little answer Atwood gives to the question asked. I love it. She’s so mischievous (Atwood).<\/p>\n

I read all of Atwood’s books – even over the last 10 years – when I have been less than thrilled with what she’s been doing – but in my opinion very few writers write books as good as Cat’s Eye<\/a>\"\"<\/i>. That’s a great book. Period. And I also would put Bodily Harm<\/i> on the list – that was a truly disorienting experience – scary, confusing, and – DEEP. But it haunted me. From the opening scene (she comes home to find a coil of rope on her bed. Who left it there? Why?) to the devastating close …<\/p>\n

There’s something about Atwood that – rocks my boat a bit. It jolts me out of complacency. At times she seems to speak directly to me<\/i> – especially with Cat’s Eye<\/i> – and so I have never re-read any of her books. Once has been enough. I still have them all … and sometimes I pick them up, flip through them, and think: “Hm. I should re-read this – it’s been 20 years since I’ve read this book …” but then I resist for some reason.<\/p>\n

I’ve been thinking about re-reading Bodily Harm<\/i> … so maybe now is the time … What is it that scares me? It does. It’s not the plot. It’s something else. It’s unbalancing to read her. And maybe I’m not into that now. But I think I should give it a shot. Maybe it’s a hint, a sign from the universe – these Atwood posts all over the place.<\/p>\n

But I’m still not sure if I’m ready to read Cat’s Eye<\/i> again. That book just cut to the heart of my entire LIFE.<\/p>\n

\n