Title: Surfacing      

Author: Margaret Atwood  

Genre: Fiction      

Publisher: New Canadian Library   

Format: Paperback

Pages: 200

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Part detective novel, part psychological thriller, Surfacing is the story of a young woman who returns to northern Quebec, to the remote island of her childhood, with her lover and two friends, to investigate the mysterious disappearance of her father. Flooded with memories, she begins to realize that going home means entering not only another place, but another time. As the wild island exerts its elemental hold and she is submerged in the language of the wilderness, she discovers that what she is really searching for is her own past. Permeated with an aura of suspense, complex with layered meanings, and written in brilliant, diamond-sharp prose, Surfacing has grown in reputation as a novel unique in modern literature for its mythic exploration of one woman’s spiritual pilgrimage.

Review:

I really enjoyed this book, and I struggled to rate and review this book because there were so many aspects to this book that I loved, but it wasn’t a 5 star for me! So this review is probably going to be me just rambling on with my thoughts.

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Ok so what I loved about this book was the writing! Like holy can Atwood write and this was only her second book?! The themes in this book are also great, such as the title! I took it as the main character, who we don’t learn her name, trying to find herself again by returning to the place she grew up; going back to her roots. I also thought there were some important early feminism attributes to the book, such as you don’t need to be married to a man to be living with him, and the main protagonist seemed to be trying to live as a strong and independent woman after society failed her as a woman!

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The thing that let me down was the plot itself. For such a short book, not much happened and I think I was expecting more in terms of the plot itself. But maybe I went into this one with unrealistic expectations, which is something I discussed with a friend today. This might be a book that I go back to and reread after taking a break, as I honestly don’t feel like I fully embraced and appreciated this work of literature.

Happy reading!