Moral Disorder by Margaret Atwood

This is supposedly a series of short stories and they probably each could stand on their own but as they all revolve around the life of one woman, I think I read it more as a novel.

Its about a life and the other lives that intertwine with it and nothing exceptional happens but the ordinary and sometimes messy elements of that life. Atwood is brilliant at getting inside her characters heads and in particular – something I’ve always admired – the minds of children and teenagers through the difficult process of growing up and trying to understand the adult world. She’s also pretty good at the feelings and frustrations engendered by ageing.

She touches on all sorts of themes, including attitudes to mental health and to marriage and adultery, to survival at various levels – but most of all I think this is about memory and story telling and how they intertwine, an appropriate theme for an author with a long career and rich life behind her.

As usual with Margaret Atwood's books it has left me feeling quietly satisfied and rather thoughtful.

I always enjoy reading her books and find that they linger in my mind.