I have a reliably good mental list of authors and books that I return to whenever I am in need of a comfort read. I think rereading is seriously underappreciated and I do not reread as often as I should or would like to, but I must say when it comes to rereading a really good novel, one that goes beyond pure comfort (and don't get me wrong as I absolutely am all for comfort reading and so much of it is really good and substantial, too) to a little bit meatier with ideas to roll around in your mind and that change with the years. Margaret Atwood is one of the few authors whose works I have read and returned to later in life.
Earlier this year I reread (for probably the fourth time now) The Handmaid's Tale. I did this in anticipation of reading The Testaments, which I have not yet gotten to, but at least THT will be relatively fresh in my mind when I do get to it. In celebration of her Birthday month and for the Margaret Atwood Reading Month (#MARM 2020) I decided to pick up The Edible Woman, her first novel published in 1969. Actually it is also a case of one book leading to another, which is something I love about reading in general. I read Carol Shield's The Stone Diaries (finally) recently. I really loved it and am sorry I have not written about it here, but on Daisy Goodwill Flett's shelves at the time of her death was a copy (among other books) of The Edible Woman.
I kind of like having in my mind as I read the story the idea that Daisy was also reading it at the time it was written. I have been so immersed in the story, just enjoying the unfolding, that I need to stop and think about some things that are going on under the surface. This is what I love about Atwood--she is a wonderful storyteller and you get caught up in the characters' lives first and foremost (at least I tend to do). I am a third of the way through and think it is time to start picking up some of the ideas that Atwood is playing with here, So I have done a tiny bit of looking at some criticism to keep in mind.
Marian works for a company that creates and gives surveys for various products. She works in an office with other women (so many housewives that come and go . . .) who come up with the questions to ask consumers for things like beer, or (yes) sanitary napkins (because this is the modern age and it is okay to start talking about these things). She lives with Ainsley, and while I would not exactly call Marion conventional, I think I would call Ainsley rather a free thinker and more living outside the box when it comes to women's roles. Well, maybe. At first glance. Marion is dating Peter, whose last best friend has just announced his plans to marry. Marion expects Peter to be disappointed and in bad spirits for being the last man standing, but then he does the unexpected and asks her to marry him. Juxtaposed to these three are a married couple, two children down and one more on the way.
That was part one, which Marion narrates in first person. Now in the second part, Marion is the subject of the story and Atwood has switched to third person and here I think that there is a shift. As a woman about to be married, the goal of women at the time, right?, rather than be "consumed by passion" (as described on the jacket) "she just feels consumed." So, going forward a few things to think about--consumerism, gender stereotypes, expectations of a woman's role in the world and a loss of identity. Apparently Atwood called this a protofeminist novel, anticipating the second wave of feminism.
I get very caught up in the new--new library books, forthcoming releases, but I like these reminders that it is also just as satisfying to revisit or read backlist books. An author I already know and enjoy-a reminder to plumb the depths of her work!