The Robber Bride [Paperback]

Margaret Atwood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 20, 1998

Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride is inspired by "The Robber Bridegroom," a wonderfully grisly tale from the Brothers Grimm in which an evil groom lures three maidens into his lair and devours them, one by one. But in her version, Atwood brilliantly recasts the monster as Zenia, a villainess of demonic proportions, and sets her loose in the lives of three friends, Tony,  

Charis, and Roz. All three "have lost men, spirit, money, and time to their old college acquaintance, Zenia. At various times, and in various emotional disguises, Zenia has insinuated her way into their lives and practically demolished them.

To Tony, who almost lost her husband and jeopardized her academic career, Zenia is 'a lurking enemy  commando.' To Roz, who did lose her husband and almost her magazine, Zenia is 'a cold and treacherous bitch.' To Charis, who lost a boyfriend, quarts of vegetable juice and some pet chickens, Zenia is a kind of zombie, maybe 'soulless'" (Lorrie Moore, New York Times Book  Review). In love and war, illusion and deceit, Zenia's subterranean malevolence takes us deep into her enemies' pasts.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The author of Cat's Eye depicts a femme fatale's malevolent role in the lives of three women; a seven-week PW bestseller.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Petite Tony teaches the agressively male subject of military history and has a talent for speaking backwards; actually, she's Ynot. Charis eats only vegetarian fare and consults crystals. Boisterous, stylish Roz runs her own company and drives a BMW. These three women would seem to have little in common, but they're held together by a single thread: Zenia, a lying, charismatic femme fatale who at one time or other stole the men in their lives. But Zenia is dead, blown to bits in Beirut, and can hurt them no more. Or so they think until the day a still-seductive Zenia walks into the restaurant where they are having lunch. As in Cat's Eye ( LJ 2/1/89), Atwood takes feminism one step further, showing women as victims not only of society but of themselves. Her book is daring, richly detailed, and compulsively readable. Indeed, some readers might find it too readable; at times it feels a bit trashier than something you would expect from Atwood. In addition, while Zenia is a fascinating absence at the novel's center, she seems too bad to be true. Nevertheless, Atwood is always good reading. For most collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/93.
- Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Anchor (January 20, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385491034
• ISBN-13: 978-0385491037
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (110 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,762 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

MARGARET ATWOOD, whose work has been published in over thirty-five countries, is the author of more than forty books of fiction, poetry, and critical essays. In addition to The Handmaid's Tale, her novels include Cat's Eye, shortlisted for the Booker Prize; Alias Grace, which won the Giller Prize in Canada and the Premio Mondello in Italy; The Blind Assassin, winner of the 2000 Booker Prize; and her most recent, Oryx and Crake, shortlisted for the 2003 Booker Prize. She lives in Toronto with writer Graeme Gibson.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great book by Margaret Atwood, December 14, 2003

By 

Ratmammy "The Ratmammy" (Ratmammy's Town, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Robber Bride (Paperback)

THE ROBBER BRIDE by Margaret Atwood

THE ROBBER BRIDE is yet another cleverly written novel by Margaret Atwood, who most recently was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2003 for her apocalyptic book ORYX AND CRAKE. THE ROBBER BRIDE follows a similar theme as her novel CAT'S EYE, in which four girls form a clique of friendship, while one of the girls becomes the ring leader, tormenting one of the other girls endlessly till near-tragedy strikes. However, in THE ROBBER BRIDE, we are now looking at four women, whose history begins in college.

Roz, Charis, and Tony were acquaintances during their college years. Their one link was a mutual "friend" named Zenia, a friend that eventually turned on each of them later on in their lives and practically destroyed them in order to get what she wanted from them.

The book is very complex, as the author takes us back and forth in time, telling the story of each of the women and their relationship with each other and with Zenia. What's interesting is that without Zenia, none of these women would have kept in contact. But as each one finds out what a snake Zenia can be, they bond and through the years they continue their friendship. Zenia then dies, and the women feel they are safe and can move on with their lives. But, then one day while they are out at a restaurant, one of them thinks she has spotted Zenia...

I found THE ROBBER BRIDE to be riveting and very intense. I feel that out of all the books I have read by Margaret Atwood, this was the most powerful of them all in terms of emotion and passion. This is not to say that her other books were any less than this one, but I remember feeling a lot of angry feelings as I read it. Margaret Atwood is truly a talented writer, and what makes me want to read her other books is that each book she writes is different from the next. She doesn't use a formula; she re-invents herself with each new book. I rated THE ROBBER BRIDE five stars and I highly recommend it. Margaret Atwood fans will love it.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very entertaining, but not your typical Atwood novel, June 6, 2005

By 

Melissa Niksic (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Robber Bride (Paperback)

Margaret Atwood never disappoints! "The Robber Bride" tells the story of three 50-something Canadian women who come from very different backgrounds. There's Tony, a history professor with an eccentric husband; Charis, a New-Age flower child; and Roz, a successful businesswoman. These women have one thing in common: they've all been duped by Zenia, a former classmate of theirs who befriended each woman in turn and eventually stole all of their men. Although Zenia supposedly died in an explosion years ago, the women are stunned when she turns up in a restaurant one afternoon, still very much alive.

"The Robber Bride" constantly jumps back in time, telling each woman's individual story and explaining how the mysterious Zenia managed to dupe all of them. The characters are all very interesting, especially Zenia (for some reason I can picture Catherine Zeta Jones playing her in a movie adaptation of this book), but the novel lacks the depth and focus that is prevalent in Atwood's other books.

This is a very entertaining story, but it's not Atwood's best effort (although I did enjoy it).

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dazzling, a haunting story, January 13, 2000

By 

Catherine Page "scarlette" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Robber Bride (Hardcover)

_The Robber Bride_ is one of my favorite books of all time, perhaps because I have one had a Zenia in my own past.

The plot of the book revolves around the view points of 3 different women who have had their lives and weaknesses betrayed and violated by the charismatic, beautiful, unforgettable and greedy creature known as Zenia. Throughout the book, though you'll meet Zenia many times, she will ultimately remain a mystery with only subtle hints to help you grasp at a truly deep understanding of her motivations. However, Zenia is not the point of the story - Zenia ia merely a catalyst, an /event/ which changes the lives of people around her.

We are drawn into three varient viewpoints during this story - those of Roz, Toni, and Charis. Roz is whipsmart, wealthy, and strident while on a more hidden level quite insecure and naive. Toni is highly intelligent, watchful, anti-social, unique in her personality quirks. Charis is an aging hippie, true, but her spirituality is true rather than false. Something within Charis is very pure, innocent, and will never be anything different. Each woman has different talents of insight, and each woman has blind spots about herself which the phenonmenon of Zenia will leave exposed and in some ways, damaged.

The point of this book is the tale of the three woman rather than Zenia herself, though I completely admit that Zenia is a fascinating character you won't soon forget. It is within the fabric of the characters that M. Atwood truly shines, I have rarely met three characters who were so *real* or complex, nor have I read a book which is so richly layered with subtle meanings. I think that the Robber Bride should be taught in school, as the more you probe into the book the more fascinating it becomes - in the end you might have more questions than answers, but that's what makes the book so haunting. You'll think about it for years afterwards, considering events, characters, subplots, meanings, language, quotes, and more.

Lastly, this book is quite quotable. Atwood has an amazing talent for metaphors which are so accurate and unique that you're startled and delighted when you trip over them by the mental images they provoke. This book also features my favorite opening paragraph of all time, which features a metaphor about fabric. The consideration of fabric is central to this book - the weaving of a story, and it's unravelling. Creating a story, and dismantling it to find the meaning. You'll enjoy the depth of this book, you'll enjoy the characters in this book, and you'll enjoy the phenomenal writing in this book. I'd force all of my friends and my mother to read it, and I wouldn't leave you out either.