The original title of Margaret Atwood’s short story collection, Old Babes in the Woodbetter reflects the spirit of this collection than its French title, let’s wander in the forest. By adding the qualifier “old” to the title of the classic children’s tale, the author of The Scarlet Maid tells us that it is no longer naive, that it will be a question of the experience that we acquire throughout a lifetime.
And it is indeed Margaret Atwood’s perspective and mastery of writing that we find in these short stories.
The first and last parts of the collection invite us to enter into the intimacy of a couple, Nell and Tig, who, we guess, are inspired by the one that Atwood formed for almost 50 years with Graeme Gibson, deceased in 2019.
We meet them while they are taking a first aid course in preparation for a cruise where they have been invited to give a conference. Accomplices, these two scholars with a fine sense of humor like to tease each other and discuss literature, politics and the environment. We would love to have them as friends!
We meet them again at the end of the book as Nell, in mourning, remembers their life as a couple. These are very beautiful pages which speak of the loss of a life companion with great finesse and tenderness.
At the center of the collection, several short stories that address themes dear to Margaret Atwood, such as feminism, science fiction, the environment…
I particularly liked “My Mother, This Witch”, a very clever text about the relationship between a mother and her teenage daughter. In the eyes of the teenager who dreams of emancipation, the mother becomes this witch with bizarre and embarrassing behavior. But the mothers will have understood that all this woman wants is to protect her child from the trials of life…
In another short story, the narrator uses the powers of a clairvoyant to meet the spirit of George Orwell. A dialogue between the two writers follows in which Atwood pays homage to the one who had a great influence in her artistic life.
Each short story in this collection is brilliant, amusing, profound and touching.
A real reading pleasure that this great writer offers us, once again.
let’s wander in the forest
Robert Laffont
359 pages