A young woman 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 realise 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 sees that what she is really looking for is her own past.
Surfacing
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Utterly absorbing and satisfying (Sunday TIMES )
One of the most important novels of the twentieth century...utterly remarkable (New York TIMES )
A deep understanding of human behaviour (Marilyn French )
A novelist and poet of great gifts (GUARDIAN )
One of the most important novels of the twentieth century...utterly remarkable (New York TIMES )
A deep understanding of human behaviour (Marilyn French )
A novelist and poet of great gifts (GUARDIAN )
Book Description
Atwood's second novel, hailed by the New York Times as 'one of the most important novels of the twentieth century'.
An exceptional novel from the winner of the 2000 Booker Prize
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A first-person narrative of a woman diseffected by the casual destructive savagery of humanity, Surfacing is essential and thought-provoking reading, though probably too subtle and bleak to find itself listed among Atwood's more famous and popular novels.
In flight from the dreary confines of human conventions and institutions, the protagonist is slowly 'becoming-animal' as she becomes enchanted with the natural order of the wild. It is a narrative that would appeal to any fans of Angela Carter's lycanthrope (werewolf) stories, as Atwood attempts to express the appeal of being beast (of feeling properly alive) rather than merely subsisting, dulled & compromised, in the hollow roles society offers us.
The narrative is vivid, politics and personalities are easily familiar to us - though they are never one-dimensional or stereotypical - which is important because we are meant to empathise with how the protagonist becomes estranged from her companions as well as civilisation.* They are to read her 'sortie' as her going mad, we are to understand the reasons for her outlook and for her breakdown and withdrawl into the wilderness.
In flight from the dreary confines of human conventions and institutions, the protagonist is slowly 'becoming-animal' as she becomes enchanted with the natural order of the wild. It is a narrative that would appeal to any fans of Angela Carter's lycanthrope (werewolf) stories, as Atwood attempts to express the appeal of being beast (of feeling properly alive) rather than merely subsisting, dulled & compromised, in the hollow roles society offers us.
The narrative is vivid, politics and personalities are easily familiar to us - though they are never one-dimensional or stereotypical - which is important because we are meant to empathise with how the protagonist becomes estranged from her companions as well as civilisation.* They are to read her 'sortie' as her going mad, we are to understand the reasons for her outlook and for her breakdown and withdrawl into the wilderness.
This is an accessible but serious novel you'd probably want to purchase for someone who has already read one or two of the more celebrated Atwood titles - but in time it will stand out as one of the most evocative and satisfying...
(* Note: this isn't in any way to imply that 'Surfacing' is somehow a cross between 'The Good Life' and 'Grizzly Adams'!!)
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
By Cori Samuel
Format:Paperback
The story of a Canadian woman, newly divorced and returning to her family home to explore her past and future isn't the first thing I'd run to read. However, I'm very glad I acquired this book and read it cover to cover. I found the beginning of the story slow and confusing - it felt to me as though the first three chapters that another author might include, had been chopped away to land the reader straight away at the point of important story flow.
As I read on I found myself slightly exasperated at the pace, and the bewilderment I felt, trying to work everything out at once. This may well say more about me as a reader than the book, though! But by the end I was completely hooked and reread the last few pages because it was SUCH a satisfying ending. It's not especially neat - you won't be told what the characters will be doing for the next two hundred years. But that's not the style of this anyway - and I don't care to know! The plot for the 'heroine' was sufficiently resolved and I came away from this book calm, impressed and ready to read some of Atwood's other books which previously I've sidled round as "a bit hard". Well-worth the time spent on reading.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By T. Boardman
Format:Paperback
This was my first experience of Atwood, bought on a whim after a vague recommendation, and I was not entirely sure what to expect.
The taut prose of the first few chapters, dappled with the occasional linguistic flourish, was enough to keep my interest; and although at times meandering, the inexorable pacing that marks the majority of the novel is the perfect set up to what follows.
As the skew of distance starts to bite, every meander and nuance takes the form of a loop pulled tight: every casual musing finds disgust or paradox as we watch the novel descend into poetry.
Waiting just below the surface is a Holden Caulfield story for the alienated thirtysomething women of the post war era: a perfect catharsis against the wild paroxysms of our hidden nature.
Startling and quite unlike anything I have read. Highly recommended.
The taut prose of the first few chapters, dappled with the occasional linguistic flourish, was enough to keep my interest; and although at times meandering, the inexorable pacing that marks the majority of the novel is the perfect set up to what follows.
As the skew of distance starts to bite, every meander and nuance takes the form of a loop pulled tight: every casual musing finds disgust or paradox as we watch the novel descend into poetry.
Waiting just below the surface is a Holden Caulfield story for the alienated thirtysomething women of the post war era: a perfect catharsis against the wild paroxysms of our hidden nature.
Startling and quite unlike anything I have read. Highly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
great book
I love this book. It is quite unsettling but draws you in, takes you down and keeps you there. It is uncomfortable in places and makes demands on you but the journey is worth it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. David Mason
5.0 out of 5 stars
amazing
Just started reading - could have been written the other day. Very fresh thoughtfully written ...... who needs to read more
Published 1 month ago by simmy
2.0 out of 5 stars
Dated, unsubtle, and occasionally boring
I have read many but by no means all of Margaret Atwood's novels over the years starting with The Handmaid's Tale (1985) which I studied at A Level in 1999 and followed by Alias... Read more
Published 15 months ago by R. A. Davison
2.0 out of 5 stars
STODGY AND CRUSHINGLY DULL
Didn't enjoy this book at all - it was a monumental chore to read. I think I understood the premise of the book but did not get any insights into life from reading it. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Rocke Harder
5.0 out of 5 stars
life-changing
I first read Surfacing at University in 1992 and it was highly influential. It put into words much of how I felt as a woman at the time. Read more
Published 22 months ago by atypicalpen
2.0 out of 5 stars
Tries too hard
I am a big Atwood fan, but this is the first of her books I've disliked.
Surfacing is centred around a young woman who has returned to her family home in order to find... Read more
Surfacing is centred around a young woman who has returned to her family home in order to find... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Rebecca
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thought-provoking poetry
How to review this wonderfully poetic book? It is not so much the story of a period of days in a young woman's life as the story of life itself. Read more
Published on 21 Aug 2010 by Anthony Peter Swallow
4.0 out of 5 stars
So Much Lies Beneath The Surface
`Surfacing' was Margaret Atwood's second novel released way back in 1972 and has become something of a cult classic particularly in her homeland of Canada. Read more
Published on 25 Jun 2010 by Simon Savidge Reads
5.0 out of 5 stars
fantastic exploration of canadian identity
I love this novel as it explores Canadian identity through a poetic use of prose. Nothing really happens but its just a pleasurable read. Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2009 by R. Harries
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointed
After reading 'A Handmaid's Tale' I chose to read another book of Atwood's. I was thoroughly disappointed, I could not get into it at all, there was very little dialect which made... Read more
Published on 24 Aug 2008 by jessica maxwell-muller
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