Margaret Atwood’s autobiography, Book of Lives, is far more colorful and vivid than its dull title suggests. Atwood’s youth with her family in Canada is filled with adventures and experiences in nature, which continued into adulthood with her life partner and children. The details of country life in old farmhouse with farm animals make for some amusing reading at times. The stages and background of her book publications are also interesting, though I wasn’t necessarily interested in every single detail. At the same time, however, the book offered a glimpse into the entire Canadian literary and publishing landscape.
The book, which runs to over 600 pages, covers a lot—and then some. And, naturally, toward the end, there’s also plenty to read about the TV series *The Handmaid’s Tale*, *The Testaments*, and *Alias Grace*, in which Atwood had cameo roles in all of them.
In the book, Atwood’s partner Graham Gibson receives ample attention, and he shared many of the same interests as Atwood. The end of a long relationship following the death of one partner is always difficult to recount and to read about. As a memoir, Book of Lives is more interesting and better than the average memoir I’ve read lately.