Memoirs supposedly portray a ‘slice of life’. This slice of Atwood’s is, well, most of her 86 years. Her writerly life is also long. (Her list of published titles had to be formatted in tiny font to fit on two pages.) Fittingly then, Book of Lives is a long book, with 39 chapters plus addenda. All of them are interesting, including the introduction, where she examines the lives of a writer: the public person and the alter egos who write.

The living conditions of her early life, often in the remote Canadian wilderness with her family were basic, but full of curiosity. It gave her time and space to cultivate her imagination. Her nerdy, bookish intelligence stored images of her environment and those around her and transferred them onto the page.

As expected, there are chapters on the writing of her books. Atwood has an uncanny ability to elevate everyday situations (bullying, miscarriage) into a sense of universality. There are surprises for those who only know her as a novelist – add poet and illustrator. Humour also bubbles throughout this narrative, understated and original. Her parents were concerned about Atwood’s plans for a career in the arts, which, she writes, was ‘chancy in at least a hundred ways, 90 of them financial’. Atwood’s life is much more than writing, however. The book is dedicated to, and details the life of, her husband and fellow novelist, Graeme Gibson. Her poem, Mr Lionheart, deals with his descent into dementia with grace and pathos.

This memoir/autobiography is a delightful mix of humour, insight and laser-like focus.

Reviewed by Bob Moore

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Visit Margaret Atwood’s website