Were you a fan of The Vegetarian by Han Kang? Do you like books that are clever and witty and sharp and tear apart social structures and relationship expectations like there's no tomorrow? Then you must pick up The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood!
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I find it hard to believe that this book was written in 1965 before feminism in North America was even a *thing* and published in 1969, Atwood was (and is) so ahead of her time in her thinking! This book is wonderful. It's packed with symbolism and critique of the standards expected from women in the 60s, specifically young & unmarried women. The main character Marian finds herself in a perfectly fine relationship with her fiancé Peter, but there's just something she can't stomach about normal life as a couple...
*I can't take credit for that pun, it's on the back of the book!*
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The characters in The Edible Woman are all purposely insufferable, although I did quite like Marian, especially in the first part when the narrative was in the first-person. As her relationship progresses and her sense of identity loosens, the narrative shifts to an omniscient third-person narrator which I thought was a very clever technique! There's a third part too but I won't spoil that.
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It made me laugh, it made me stop and think, it definitely made me think about the reaction it would have caused upon publication. I will say that the writing isn't as polished as later Atwood's but who am I (not a professional author) to judge?? And it didn't take away from my reading experience so...
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