12:30 p.m.

My mother was largely responsible for the majority of the books I read for the first few years of my life (shocking, I know). I can attribute my great liking of Margaret Atwood to her especially. She gave me a copy of The Handmaid's Tale when I was 12, but I didn't read it until it was 13. Years later, I still think it is the best dystopian novel I have ever read. I took a class on dystopian fiction my freshman year of college, and was rather surprised to see it was not on the reading list. She is the only female I know who has written a dystopian work, after all.

After The Handmaid's Tale, I went on to read Cat's-Eye and then The Edible Woman. I liked both of them, but they didn't really strike me as much as The Handmaid's Tale had. Then I got my hands on a copy of The Blind Assassin, and was absolutely blown away. The Handmaid's Tale and The Blind Assassin are always on any suggested reading list that I give to my friends. Cat's Eye and the Edible Woman were entertaining, sure, but they didn't stick with you like these two. The Handmaid's Tale changed my perception of dystopian literature, and The Blind Assassin had a strong impact on my writing style (which has leveled out since then, but for a while there...)


If you're not familiar with Margaret Atwood, she is a feminist Canadian author. The Edible Woman has strong feminist undertones, but it is usually more subtle and the rest of her works. Her writing style may take a little getting used to, but to me that as part of her charm -- she says things differently than anyone else would, and it makes her novels that much more interesting to read.