The Robber Bride
The Robber Bride
Author: Margaret Atwood
Desc: Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride is inspired by "The Robber Bridegroom " a wonderfully grisly tale from the Brothers Grimm in which an evil groom lures three maidens into his lair and devours them one by one. But in her version Atwood brilliantly recasts the monster as Zenia a villainess of demonic proportions and sets her loose in the lives of three friends Tony Charis and Roz. All three "have lost men spirit money and time to their old college acquaintance Zenia. At various times and in various emotional disguises Zenia has insinuated her way into their lives and practically demolished them. To Tony who almost lost her husband and jeopardized her academic career Zenia is 'a lurking enemy commando.' To Roz who did lose her husband and almost her magazine Zenia is 'a cold and treacherous bitch.' To Charis who lost a boyfriend quarts of vegetable juice and some pet chickens Zenia is a kind of zombie maybe 'soulless'" (Lorrie Moore New York Times Book Review). In love and war illusion and deceit Zenia's subterranean malevolence takes us deep into her enemies' pasts.