Margaret Atwood is an author who has always resided on a very high pedestal in my mind because when I was young my mother read several of her books, including The Robber Bride, whose distinct cover illustrated with an eye within a human hand made a permanent mark on my psyche, along with the flying dog from “The Neverending Story.” As freaked out as I was by the cover, Margaret Atwood felt like a literary cult leader for women because my mom read The Robber Bride with her book club, and I remember all the women gathered in our family room talking about it. As a result, Margaret Atwood particularly embodies any abstract ideas I’ve ever held about women and reading. That feeling was only further validated when I read The Handmaid’s Tale during puberty; I can’t really think of a more appropriate book for a girl on the brink of womanhood who is confronting her own new-found fertility, although it is decidedly darker than the more “traditional” pillars of the pubescent literary canon, Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret, and so forth. (A very strage aside, I read Lolita around the same time, and I think the argument could be made that these two novels simultaneously directed my life path towards feminism from a very early age. Moms with daughters take note.)
Margaret Atwood has always exemplified the relationship between women and literature for me.
It wasn’t until much later into adulthood that I started reading more Margaret Atwood; a part of me felt like I had to earn the right, and it very much aligned with my growing sense of my secure adult/womanhood. Naturally I chose Surfacing, a pseudo-psychological suspense novella in which a young woman visits her abandoned family cabin in rural Quebec in order to find her missing father; this was followed by even more contemplation of adult/womanhood, fertility, and plenty of feminism. As if you needed further enticement, it veers into a very animalistic wild-woman sort of place. It really haunted me and I started reading The Blind Assassin almost immediately after. In some ways it’s a much more traditional novel, but at the same time the narrative structure is unorthodox, challenging, and deeply rewarding. The historical context is really lovely, and yes, motherhood comes up again and again (the narrator even has her own Robber Bride-type childhood trauma moment with a miscarried fetus).
If this hasn’t compelled you to read Margaret Atwood yet. I have yet to read her most recent novel MaddAddam, the third installment in the trilogy that started with Oryx and Crake, about which I have only heard very good things. The Handmaid’s Tale is the most obvious place to start, as it is her most famous novel by far, but I have loved everything of hers I’ve read so far, and Alias Grace is next on my list. In the vein of Joyce Carol Oates, she has produced an impressive and daunting body of work that include poetry and non-fiction, but I suggest starting with the novels, as it’s what she’s most known for.
My recommendations for #ReadWomen2014 will probably never again be this deeply personal, but it feels appropriate that Margaret Atwood is my first recommendation, as she has always exemplified the relationship between women and literature for me.
Editor's Note: #ReadWomen2014 is a recurring post that recommends a female author to consider reading this year, inspired by the #ReadWomen2014 social media campaign.