Book Review: Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts —By: Margaret Atwood
- Celia BIldfell
- Feb 26
- 3 min read
Brief Synopsis
Canadian literary icon Margaret Atwood finally relents and gives her readers what they have been asking for—a comprehensive memoir of her life experiences, personal relationships, trials, and tribulations. Not only does the book follow her mental state and social circumstances while writing books such as The Handmaid’s Tale, Alias Grace, and The Edible Woman, but she also delivers an honest account of her life, sparing no intimate or gritty detail. Atwood writes as if the reader is privy to a diary of her life, following her early days in rural Quebec watching her father build a log cabin to her international book tour in 2019 following the release of The Handmaid’s Tale sequel, The Testaments.
Personal review
When I was little, I used to make my mom read me Princess Prunella and the Purple Peanut multiple nights a week. Only years later, as I read Margaret Atwood's memoir, would I return to those memories, as I had forgotten she had even written that book. Her impressive literary career, filled with poetry and chapter books, has made me forget where I first encountered Atwood’s engaging writing style. Sometimes, when an author gets one book that reaches great fame, such as The Handmaid’s Tale, it's easy to write them off as “overrated” or "overhyped." However, usually when a literary work is as well-known as The Handmaid's Tale, it's validated. When COVID hit, I was looking for a new book to read, and I decided to try The Handmaid's Tale and see what this Margaret Atwood girl was all about, having known her name, as she is quite famous in Canada, especially in her hometown, Toronto.
After breezing through The Handmaid’s Tale, I read Alias Grace, The Robber Bride, The Edible Woman, The Testaments, and the Maddam series within weeks. Something about the way Atwood writes is incredibly engaging, honest, and real. And her memoir does not disappoint. I have read quite a few memoirs of famous actors and musicians (Madonna, Elton John, Pamela Anderson, Britney Spears, RuPaul, etc.), so I was curious about how a memoir from a famous author would compare to those from Hollywood. Obviously, it’s amazing; this is what she does, write books for a living. But unlike her other works, the plot is less direct, as it is essentially "This is my life; here's what I was doing when I wrote those books, here's some more background on my personal and professional life, and here's how I got where I am today.”
Truthfully, I read the first 50 pages in one sitting. Margaret Atwood is exceptional at painting a picture but not giving us so many details that the picture is crystal clear. She lays the groundwork, then moves on, as there are so many more pictures for her to paint for us as she goes over the high and low points from the past 86 years. Atwood has lived an exceptional life; she helped build the literary scene in Canada, and without her, the literary landscape in Canada would look much different than it does today. She is an impressive individual with a hilarious wit, which comes through in her writing, but especially in her memoir. It was incredibly kind of her to write this memoir and give us an insight into her life and how she built the impressive career and reputation she has today. If you like her books or are interested in the foundations of Canada's literary landscape, read this memoir. (Or even just read it if you're a fan of great writing).
Favourite quote
"Every writer is at least two beings: the one who lives and the one who writes."
Introduction, pg. 3.
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