"the penelopiad" by margaret atwood

there's no doubt that margaret atwood is good at what she does, but i've never been crazy about her.  i've read a few of her novels and while enjoyable, there was nothing about them that really spoke to me.  that saying, i loved this book.

perhaps it was due to the fact that i just read 'the odyssey', but i found this novella a brilliant retelling of homer's epic poem from odysseus' wife's perspective.  as one critic put it, penelope is the perfect atwood heroine and i couldn't imagine a better author to tell this story.

atwood's penelope is very sly and sarcastic as she tells her story from the underworld.  atwood has brilliantly made penelope's (spoiler alert for the odyssey!) 12 hanged maids a sort of vaudevillian chorus that pop up to sing witty and dark and sardonic interludes.  

i'm not sure if i would have enjoyed this as much had i not been familiar with 'the odyssey', but in my mind, atwood has pulled herself out of the humdrum and into the sublime.

"the clothes they stood up in" by alan bennett

this rather charming short story or novella, tells the tale of the ransomes, who, after coming home from the opera one night, discover that they have been burgled. this is not an ordinary robbing as the thieves have taken absolutely everything from their furniture and electronics to their rugs, curtain rings, toilet paper and light fixtures.

mr. ransome, a solicitor with a penchant for correct grammar, dearly misses his almost state-of-the-art stereo, while mrs. ransome, after getting over the initial shock, starts to enjoy the paired down living the situation has forced. she even starts to wander into "ethnic" shops she would have never ventured in before to purchase cheap replacements for the apartment.

as the author, alan bennett, is known mostly for writing plays, the dialogue is crisp and the descriptions paired down. it is a pleasant afternoon read that is bound to be remembered fondly for its unique premise and bittersweet end.

"shopgirl" by steve martin

now i have to admit, i saw the movie before i read the book, so i couldn't help but see claire danes as the titular character and steve martin as her older beau. however, this didn't hamper my enjoyment of the book. i've always thought steve martin is a great writer. his play, "picasso at the lapin agile" is hilarious and intellectual and i'm sure if i ever get around to seeing "roxanne" and reading "cyrano de bergerac", i'd agree that the former is a fantastic retelling of the latter.

"shopgirl" is the story of mirabelle, a clerk who works behind the glove counter at neiman marcus in beverely hills. she lives a rather sad, solitary existence until, mr.ray porter, a customer, starts to woo her and they embark on a relationship.

this book wasn't as quirky as i was expecting. it has an understated humour, but for the most part is a simple telling of a simple story. it's quite elegantly written and there's some beautiful descriptions, but it's not something i'd gush about or read again.

i did learn a new word though. propinquity. it means nearness or proximity and was not to be found in my canadian oxford dictionary. mr. martin gets bonus points for that.