Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts by Margaret Atwood
‘Every writer is at least two the one who lives, and the one who writes. Though everything written must have passed through their minds, or mind, they are not the same.’
Raised by ruggedly independent, scientifically minded parents – entomologist father, dietician mother – Atwood spent most of each year in the wild forest of northern Quebec. This childhood was unfettered and nomadic, sometimes isolated (on her eighth 'It sounds forlorn. It was forlorn. It gets more forlorn.’), but also thrilling and beautiful.
From this unconventional start, Atwood unfolds the story of her life, linking seminal moments to the books that have shaped our literary landscape, from the cruel year that spawned Cat’s Eye to the Orwellian 1980s Berlin where she wrote The Handmaid’s Tale. In pages bursting with bohemian gatherings, her magical life with the wildly charismatic writer Graeme Gibson and major political turning points, we meet poets, bears, Hollywood actors and larger-than-life characters straight from the pages of an Atwood novel.
As we travel with her along the course of her life, more and more is revealed about her writing, the connections between real life and art – and the workings of one of our greatest imaginations.
Review: As a longtime reader and fan of Margaret Atwood, I was delighted to see she had written a memoir, and it did not disappoint.
Margaret Atwood was raised in the Canadian wilderness by independent and scientifically minded parents. Their life was rugged, nomadic, and largely spent outdoors. I did not anticipate how much I would enjoy hearing about the rich descriptions of the Canada backwoods in which she was raised and the laissez-faire approach to childrearing her parents employed. They spent a lot of time in tents, cooking over wood stoves, catching fish, and playing unsupervised outdoors. While much of her later life is bohemian and nature and spent on college campuses, with roommates, and writing, her early years felt so special to read about and you can certainly see this influence in her works, such as Surfacing.
I also did not expect so many direct references to her novels. She directly references people in her life and the characters they become in certain books. She talks about her time on Harvard's campus (horribly crime-ridden experience, by the way), and the way the buildings in Cambridge inspired the houses in The Handmaid's Tale. It was thrilling for me to hear all of the behind-the-scenes details she shared and what was happening in her personal life while she was writing different works.
I was deeply moved by how much of this book is devoted to her late, long-term partner and the father of her only child, writer Graeme Green. Their early years were complicated by his controlling and demanding first wife, and Margaret (Peggy to her friends), had to also navigate being a stepmother. And their final years together were marred by his dementia and increasingly poor health. But the deep love between the two was evident and the sorrow she feels at her absence is palpably felt.
I listened to the audiobook version of this, which was read by the author. While she is certainly no professional narrator, I loved hearing her voice and her story in her own particular and distinctive voice. It felt incredibly special hearing her life story directly from her.
This is a long book that won't be for everyone. It's over 600 pages/25 hours on audio. I think anyone who has read any Margaret Atwood's books will appreciate it. I also think it is ideal for Canadians, who will appreciate both her lush descriptions of the Canadian landscape but also all of her experiences with Canadian publishing and being an author in that country. I also think it's interesting just from a writing perspective to hear from a woman who made it her career. I'm so glad she wrote it and so pleased I was able to read it.
Stars: 5
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