THE ROBBER BRIDGE [Paperback]

 

 

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The Robber Bride is one of those books that is thoroughly engrossing, one which creates characters and a world which we don't want to see end.

The book is about 3 different, good-hearted women and the way in which their lives intersect and twist and entwine around another, powerful, sexual, and almost witch-like woman, Zenia.

First there is Roz (a wealthy, robust woman who came from money, but works hard as an executive for a magazine, is married to "Mitch," and has three chidren, two young twin girls and an older boy), then Tony (a shy, bookish history professor with a lover named West, she prefers to live in the dusty struggles of the distant past, or at least she is most comfortable there), and finally Charis, or "Karen," (a very fragile, wispy woman who lives in a run-down house on an island near the city, and who has an American draft-dodger lover, Billy, and later, a daughter, August).

What brings these women together is one woman, Zenia. Zenia is a mysterious woman, who we learn quite a bit about, (for one thing, we learn that she is incredibly powerful, and kind of like a black hole with the power to suck in unassuming men into her sexual web, no matter who they are, or what relationships existed for the men previously), but who remains a sort of shadowy enigma. Atwood makes it clear that Zenia is no ordinary woman. Through Zenia's lips come all sorts of stories about her origins. She was a Russian emigre who was a child prostitute after her mother died. She is a busty, exotic waitress who men cannot keep their eyes (or hands) (or hearts) (or declarations of undying love) off of. She is a ghost, the ghost of a woman who was killed in a far-off land while working as a photographer covering the war. She is an Eastern European goddess, with eyes and lips and a body that could sink a thousand ships. Zenia is all of these things, and many, many more. She is a mysterious, mystical force, a dark velvet magnet for the imagination, the Id of woman personified, Eve in the garden. She is also, or she can be, very, very evil, and like a storm she leaves bodies, hearts, limbs, tears, strewn behind her in her wake. She pulls a man, a woman, a Person, into her life, and then spits them out and disappears, only to appear again, in a different guise, in a different story, carrying with her the seeds of a different past, to plant them into another victim. A sort of metaphorical vampire. And the women in the book, who encounter her time and again, with years in between sometimes, swear to themselves, (and later, to each other), that this time, *this time,* they will not let her in. They know that their loves, their families, their hopes and dreams, their very lives are at stake. But it's not so easy to turn their back on her as they would like. She's the kind of person, the kind of myth, that is impossible to ignore. She is so powerful, so strong a force, that three otherwise intelligent women can't help but answer the knocking door, can't help but let her in, "just for a minute," "just for a small favor." And like the hunter that she is, Zenia worms her way inside, and greedily feeds on the marrow of all that is sacred to them, all that is theirs. Atwood creates a character here who wears a human cloak to hide the wolf inside her. Fascinating.

It's true, the book is really about the three other women, their struggles, their loves, their attempts to make a full and satisfying life for themselves in the world. To be happy with themselves, to find lasting love, or try to, to bring children into the world and create families, homes.

But the character that stuck with me, I have to say, is Zenia. I found her a fascinating creation, and proof yet again of Atwood's measurable talent as a writer and of her boundless imagination in creating her characters. Atwood is known for mixing elements of fairy tales into her work (the title of this book is even based on the fairy tale, "The Robber Bridegroom.") I think she enjoys mixing things up, and making her villain a woman, instead of a man, like we are so used to in our culture. As a feminist, I think Atwood wants to present women that are multi-faceted and not just good and quiet and motherly and sweet, like we are so often expected to be. I think Atwood fans will be delighted with this novel, and I highly recommend it to fans of feminist fiction. To enjoy this book the most, I think you have to think of Atwood as a Storyteller first (as in around the campfire, shadows everywhere, strange crackling behind you in the forest), realist fiction writer second. Zenia is a *myth*, which is what I don't think some people who've read the novel completely understood.

Yesterday I finished rereading Margaret Atwood's novel, The Robber Bride. When I first read it, years ago, I didn't enjoy the story, and I'm pretty sure I didn't get the point. I probably became lost in the details, and was disappointed with the ending. This time, I believe I understood, having grown up a bit, and having seen more history come and go, along with the spin governments and organizations put onto events.

For example, with the New Brunswick government's hapless proposal to sell our provincial utility, NBPower, to Hydro Quebec, we hear stories and explanations from all sides. Not one of us can read the future, but every one has a perspective on the past and the present.

The Robber Bride is the story of three women whose lives are turned upside down by another woman, Zenia, who has stolen each of their men in turn. The book begins from the perspective of one of the women, a history professor. Zenia was dead, they thought, out of their lives at last. But no, in the early pages of the book, they are shocked to see her in a restaurant where they have met for lunch. Zenia has concocted her own death, a deliberate fabrication, one of many, as we discover, as we travel through the memory of each woman in turn.

Each of the three women received a different version of Zenia's life. Is there any truth in her at all? Is there any truth even in the recollection of the women? Near the end of the book, each of the three spends time alone with Zenia in her hotel room. Discussing their experiences afterward, they are surprised by their diverse descriptions of the room. Did the room actually change so much? or was it the faulty nature of eye-witness accounts?

People don't see what they really should see, if they want to protect themselves from wily people like Zenia. Some, like Zenia (and our governments), are very good at fabricating a version of history to suit the need. Is there ever a truth? Is there ever a true history of anything?

In my blog, and in my journal, I record my own history. Sometimes I look back at what I've written to remind myself of what happened on a specific date, but it is only a recording of what I think happened. Sometimes I tell clients that we'd need a video to know what actually occurred in the events they are ruminating over. Yet even a video only shows the chosen perspective of the camera's operator.

I'm glad I reread Atwood's book. It is a fitting reminder for us all, in these times of historic change, to do our best to experience the world with clear eyes.

I just finished this book... in fact, Zenia's ashes are probably still hovering over the water... Roz and Tony are right now slipping some of Charis's well-intentioned hors d'oeuvres into their pockets under the table to throw out on their way home...

I am a guy, and I actually enjoyed reading about these gals. I'm sure the book probably has a 99% female readership... which is O.K. and understandable, but it's too bad more guys don't read Atwood stuff... it's very educational and entertaining. There's more grit, hilarity, and bouncing off the ropes here than in any afternoon of the WWF !!

For a while I was disappointed in the co-incidence that all of the female characters seem to come from overly similar dysfunctional (even suicidal) parental lineage... they have similar inner struggles and propensities toward dual personalities. Redundant? But then I considered that it is often this very type of thing that can cause people to gravitate towards one another... even without the awareness of each other's history. So it is not unduly "contrived" that the three main characters should come together over the decades that are represented here. At any rate, it is Zenia, (who leaves nothing of "co-incidence" in her wake) that is the common denominator... the robber "mistress" as it were, that causes the three to increasingly interact and support one another.

Word to the men here though... if you need to feel like a hero, stick with Tom Clancy or whatever. The only real criticism I have of The Robber Bride is that (with all due respect to the capricious properties of testosterone), I'm not sure that all men are as ready to abandon established relationships and chase after silicone as are the men that are portrayed here. But, all that aside, I really enjoyed the book and was interested throughout.

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2.0 out of 5 stars I guess I just wasn't ready for it.
I really enjoyed Margaret Atwood's writing in Cat's Eye, Survival, a few others...her characters are SO surly and I suppose that intrigued me for a time. Read more

Published 4 months ago by David Sabine

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and frustrating
Atwood is an enormously frustrating author. She is obviously very intelligent and imaginative; she picks fascinating subjects and explores different writing techniques for each... Read more

Published on Mar 30 2004

1.0 out of 5 stars The blindness comes from the jungle
The author, Margaret Atwood, cannot fascinate. Her style is too extensive; she does not come to the point. Read more

Published on Jun 9 2002 by Gerburg Frick

3.0 out of 5 stars Longer than I thought it should be
I read Handmaid's Tale, and enjoyed it, so I figured this would be along the same lines. Not EVEN the same kind of book!...there were only a few parts I found funny. Read more

Published on May 10 2002 by Kimberly A. Paternoster

3.0 out of 5 stars A Male Feminist's perspective
The Robber Bride, the second book I have read by Margaret Atwood, explores the lives of three richly believable characters. Read more

Published on April 3 2002 by kuprof

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read
This is ostensibly the story of three women who lose both their men and piece of themselves to a shifting illusion called Zenia. Read more

Published on Jan 12 2002 by MommaLeeO

4.0 out of 5 stars A delicious, quick read
The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood is a page-turner. It's the story of three very different 50-something women, Roz, Tony, and Charis, who have two things in common: they went... Read more

Published on Nov 9 2001 by Shantell Powell

4.0 out of 5 stars At times uneven but often fascinating.
I love Ms Atwood's writing period. I mean,in my opinion she could write about the phone book and keep me engrossed. Read more

Published on Oct 27 2001 by Robyn Lee Markow

2.0 out of 5 stars blah
Well, it was better than Cat's Eye.

I wish I could like Atwood. This could have been an enjoyable dramatic adventure for the women in the novel... Read more

Published on Sep 18 2001 by V

3.0 out of 5 stars a female bonding soap opera saved by brilliant writing..
Margaret Atwood is clearly amongst the most talented writers of modern fiction today. When her gift is matched with a wonderful story, as with her recent "The Blind... Read more

Published on May 4 2001 by lazza

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