In her latest work, Atwood turns her protean talents to an examination of the frailties of the human heart. These exuberantly told tales are a tour de force of wit, style and discernment, blending elements of fantasy and horror: A 60-something woman on an Arctic cruise encounters the man who raped her as a teenager; an ailing narcissistic poet is harassed by the lovers he's mistreated. As one character notes, "Things have a habit of coming full circle: a bad habit."
— Hamilton Cain
