Murder in the Dark: Short Fictions and Prose Poems

The prose poems are eloquent and thought provoking and, as with "real" poetry, one has to be careful not to read them too quickly: "I forgot what things were called and saw instead what they are".

A couple of the childhood ones are charming (especially collecting all sort of dangerous things to make one big bucket of "poison", without any idea of what to use it for).

As the book progresses, the topics tend to get darker and more of them focus on the balance of power between men and women. She's wearing her "feminist" label more obviously than in other books of hers that I have read. "Simmering", is an amusing extrapolation of the effect of role reversal as men take over domestic duties, pushing women out. I liked the phrase "the man show more through which all men can be forgiven" in another, but many of these were too angry for my taste.

Overall, a very mixed bag, but each element is short and the whole book is slim, so it can be a quick read, or one to dip in and out of. show less

For just a taste of Atwood's insight on women and their relationships with men, these short stories deliver a punch in concentrated prose. One memorable favorite of mine is "Boyfriends," where the only detail about each boy the narrator dated in her youth that can be recalled is what outfit she wore on their date. Another favorite is "Simmering," which tells of the gradual gender role reversal over a long period time until men become bound to the kitchen, and women are forced to work lest they threaten their man's masculinity by baking a pie. These stories are clever and light, almost teasing in tone in the case of "Simmering."

Others stories, like "Worship" and "Iconography" are dark, but frightfully honest about courtship and sexual show more rituals. Some evoke bleakness in only a page and a half of space. These stories feel like exercises in summoning emotion in readers, as if it were practice for Atwood's larger tomes. It's impressive that the author can weild this power just as well in story that's a page long as she can in novel of 600 pages. show less

The description from the back says it all:
"'Murder in the Dark' is one of those books one wishes one could quote from cover to cover. It has been written to read to a friend over the phone, or to chuckle over in the streetcar under the eyes of more sober citizens. It is clever and witty..."
Yes! More than a few times I wanted to pause my reading to phone a friend and read out loud to them what I had just read. So wonderful!

This is a slim collection of what are described as short stories and prose poems, some of the stories are very short, so I assume that they're the prose poems - I'm rather embarrassed that I can't tell the difference. I'm a fan of Margaret Atwood's short stories and this is an excellent collection.

One story, Simmering, is of a gender-reversed society - the story is told from the future, after men have become the home-keepers and women go out to work. The twist is that women have entirely feminised the workplace, whilst men have masculined the home (with machines, clubs and secret handshakes) and women, sick of the feminised workplace, are desperately trying to liberate themselves from it and re-enter that bastion of masculinity - the show more kitchen. The story uses the same device as A Handmaid's Tale, of telling the story of the future as a history, told by someone from a still further future - a wry and funny piece of writing.

I also liked Happy Endings, about relationships described from different angles, almost like the cast description for a play, but with alternative courses played out like a musical variations. show less

This is my favorite Margaret Atwood book. It is just a tiny book of short essays and prose poems. They are smart and funny and very vivid. Over the years I have re-read many of these pieces over and over again.

I love this collection--it is mostly just little short prose pieces which showcase Atwood's incredible talent for spare telling--i often tend to be a little verbose--in looking for just that right word i keep throwing in, just a few more to clarify my meaning (which probably makes it all the more muddy) Atwood never does--can i gush just a little more?

A collection of short stories

When I say short, I do mean short, at often only a page or two in length, (I read the entire collection within the first hour) but this does not mead that, there is no “content” Atwood manages to create subtle, thought-provoking and well rounded stories in only a few words.

The stories themselves range from the poignant, through amusing to the satirical and also occasionally dark and scary.

A really enjoyable read.

Read and comment on my full review at:
http://www.bartsbookshelf.co.uk/2008/10/28/murder-in-the-dark-short-fictions-and...