The Tent

A delightfully pointed m?lange of fictional pieces from one of the world’s most acclaimed and incisive authors, The Tent is a sparkling addition to Margaret Atwood’s always masterful work.Here Atwood pushes form once again, with meditations on warlords, pet heaven, and aging homemakers. She gives a sly pep talk to the ambitious young; writes about the disconcerting experience of looking at old photos of ourselves; and examines the boons and banes of orphanhood. Accompanied by her own playful illustrations, Atwood’s droll humor and keen insight make each piece full of clarity and grace. Prescient and personal, delectable and tart, The Tent reflects one of our wittiest authors at her best.

Customer Reviews:

Great Snippets

By Steven R. McEvoy "MCWPP" - March 13, 2006

Incredible! This fascinating collection of stories, poems, and shorts is as intriguing as the many different voices Atwood uses to portray the pieces. The Works in this collection span many years of writing and many of the pieces have previously been published elsewhere in such works as: The Walrus, Harper's Magazine, New Beginnings, and a few small independent printings of smaller collections.

What draws the reader in, in this compilation, is that every tale is a story about a life, or lives. They are told in first, second or third person accounts, and some are stories of a person telling their own story to save it from the ravages of the press, or from being lost in time.

There is a powerful collection of pieces on orphans that highlights the collection. Atwood uses wit, witticism, irony and dark humour to open our eyes to the lives of others.

A reader will be drawn in by the power of lives, some calm and serine, and some outrageous, and others... read more

Discussion Group book? I think so.

By busybooklover "Mary" - July 7, 2006

The stories are mostly very short and filled with edgy on the mark ideas. Quick to read and compelling. It's hard to group/encapsulate the variety of stories... so many ideas written darkly, crisply, playfully, clearly...with such a controlled intent-- tempered with the wisdom of life experience. Margaret Atwood just playes with words and ideas so brilliantly. I don't know if everyone will LIKE each and every story but they will come away thinking about them-- so a good discussion is likely.