I've read almost all the Atwood novels now, at least everything but the obscure ones, and this is my favorite. Why? The characters and the skill with which Atwood draws them for the reader. There are three women, all with very unique and distinctive characters, who all have their men "stolen" by what has to be one of the most evil villains in literature, the robber bride. I say the men were stolen, but they were duplicitous in their own downfall, of course.
This is not some cerebral, fancy-parlor novel of manners, but down-to-earth and grounded in real sin. Atwood spends considerable time and pages drawing the characters of the three victim-women, and detailing their interaction with the robber bride. I have to confess, after this was over and the denouement about to begin, that I had no idea how the novel would end. Surely there would be no cliche-ridden shoot out!. And I was not disappointed, but very satisfied with the ending that Atwood imagined for the readers.
Highly recommended.
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