Old Babes in the Wood: Stories

A dazzling collection of short stories from the internationally acclaimed, award-winning author of The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments, stories that look deeply into the heart of family relationships, marriage, loss and memory, and what it means to spend a life together

 

Margaret Atwood has established herself as one of the most visionary and canonical authors in the world. This collection of fifteen extraordinary stories--some of which have appeared in The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine--explores the full warp and weft of experience, speaking to our unique times with Atwood's characteristic insight, wit, and intellect.

 

The two intrepid sisters of the title story grapple with loss and memory on a perfect summer evening; "Impatient Griselda" explores alienation and miscommunication with a fresh twist on a folkloric classic; and "My Evil Mother" touches on the unbelievable, examining a mother-daughter relationship in which the mother purports to be a witch. At the heart of the collection are seven extraordinary stories that follow a married couple across the decades, the moments big and small that make up a long life of uncommon love--and what comes after.

 

Returning to short fiction for the first time since her 2014 collection Stone Mattress, Atwood showcases both her creativity and her humanity in these remarkable tales which by turn delight, illuminate, and quietly devastating.

Author: Margaret Atwood
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Published: 03/07/2023
Pages: 272
Binding Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780385549073

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 10/01/2022 pg. 5
Booklist 02/15/2023 pg. 21