I've been thinking about what I want to say about this book since I finished it a few days ago. I loved the theory of this book. Two stories, interleaved -- one of an old woman looking back on her life and the suicide of her sister, and the other of the book her sister left behind. The themes of sacrifice and loneliness and sadness that echo throughout the writing. In retrospect, as I look at it logically, I want to like this book.

But it just didn't work for me as a story. It was just too slow-moving, the themes too obvious, the villains too villainous. The "surprise" ending felt hasty and patched. The pulpy space opera novel-within-a-novel-within a novel was tedious and dumb, and I didn't believe for a second that the book was as terrific and life-changing as it was described.

It took me two tries across ten years to finish this book, and I wish it had been better, more engaging. I expect more from Atwood.