MixedThe St. Louis Post-DispatchFour chapters end with minor characters dying mid-thought, leading the reader to wonder fundamentally what they are supposed to be ... It may be unfair to compare Millions to the singular Ruins, but the book at times left me wanting the same richness in detail about the place as it devoted to the people. I wanted more of a tour of Spokane as it was in 1909. The burlesque club, courthouse, Chinese Quarter, Little Italy — they all seem a little cardboard compared to the Italian cliff-side towns of Ruins. Then again, anything would ... But the mosaic of stories add a richness to an American moment that shows how everyone, even we cold millions, are a part of history. And that’s a most welcome lesson as we face the unknown future of next week and beyond.
Margaret Atwood
RaveThe St. Louis Post-Dispatch... satisfyingly full of answers; a gift ... The developments will delight fans of the original novel and the television adaptation on Hulu ... quickly distinguishes itself from the oppressive tone of the original novel, folding in events from the TV series and marching briskly forward with June’s battle-ready spirit. Elements of humor abound, with wry reminders of Gilead’s origins ... Violence is no longer meant to shock or sink in. That wouldn’t work after all this time, all this pain. Now it’s a plot device that interlaces with hope and heroism and intrigue to carry a great story. In other words, like a feature film ... may not endure as a monumental work of literature like The Handmaid’s Tale, but that surely was not Atwood’s goal. She has a story to tell. It’s her story. She owns it. People want more of it, and she’s going to keep telling it as long as she can and in any format she chooses.
Emily Fridlund
RaveThe St. Louis Post-Dispatch...an unsettling and powerful debut ... It took me a day to realize how much I loved the book, in part because I wasn’t sure what it meant. It sent me back to re-read chapters to sniff out clues. In that way, I can understand Linda ... History of Wolves resembles Lorrie Moorie’s A Gate at the Stairs, which concerns a Midwestern college student who works as a nanny for a couple about to adopt a foster child and about the clues she misses along the way ... History of Wolves is a lyrically written but sad and inscrutable work that keeps surprising to the end.
Margaret Atwood
RaveThe St. Louis Post-DispatchAtwood brilliantly pulls off the caper in a short novel that should be assigned to high school students as a hilarious riff on one of Shakespeare’s more mystifying plays. It’s much more than a retelling; it’s an ingenious analysis and critique rolled into one.
