Cut and Thirst

A Short Story

By: Margaret Atwood

Narrated by: Joyce Bean

Three women scheme to avenge an old friend in a darkly witty short story about loyalty, ambition, and delicious retribution by Margaret Atwood, the #1 bestselling author of The Handmaid’s Tale.

Myrna, Leonie, and Chrissy meet every Thursday to sample fine cheeses, to reminisce about their former lives as professors, and lately, to muse about murder. Decades ago, a vicious cabal of male poets contrived—quite publicly and successfully—to undermine the writing career, confidence, and health of their dear friend Fern. Now, after Fern has taken a turn for the worse, her three old friends decide that it’s finally time to strike back—in secret, of course, since Fern is far too gentle to approve of a vendetta. All they need is a plan with suitably Shakespearean drama. But as sweet and satisfying as revenge can be, it’s not always so cut and dried.

©2024 O.W. Toad Ltd. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“The story primarily revolves around the themes of loyalty and retribution and is humorous and engaging. [Joyce] Bean's nuanced delivery captures the distinct personalities and subtle humor of each character, skillfully conveying the sharp and witty dialogue crafted by Atwood. Bean brings to life the deep emotional undertones and sarcastic wit of the characters, making this audiobook a captivating journey.” —AudioFile Magazine

An adequate short story

I've been a huge fan of Margaret Atwood since I read The Handmaid's Tale in college back in the late 80s. Oryx and Crake was a more recent standout for me -- just fantastic.

This short story, while comparable to competent efforts by lesser authors, left me unmoved. You may feel differently -- I've been spoiled by her previous works, so I'm trying to be careful not to imply anything specifically lacking; just that there are better choices from this author.

feminist

the narrators voice and modulation is flat. the characters were adequately developed for such a short story. the story conveys the futility of vengeance, by illustrating if 1 waits long enough, old age and infirmity is the ultimate revenge for misbehaving in 1's youth!

Made me want a G&T

Not her best writing, but it entertained me while I sat with my horse after his dental procedure. I wonder if she was writing about something she’d like to do to a certain author. 🤣 I did need to go make myself a gin and tonic after listening to it though.

MEH

I loved all her other works, but this was a bit boring and didn't compare to her other works.

Boring

The story was not as interesting as it could have been. No character building. Poor plot

😩

A story this short shouldn't be this lackluster. Got what I paid for here.

narrator and plot

I love Margaret Atwood's The handmaid's Tale and the Testaments! this short story is supposed to take somewhere in the time after the handmaid's tale when Gilead is overthrown? you don't have the time reference it's very speculative. Margaret doesn't tell what these women did in the past so trying to get a sense of time is very hard. this is very bad! Margaret Atwood has written several books besides the handmaid's Tale in the Testaments. I feel that this short story Falls flat on its face. I believe this short story could have been written better and put in a book of anthologies because I know this book was only a dollar 39 to buy it or one credit. if you bought it for one credit this is a very bad disappointment so I was cautious and I bought it only for $1. 39 because a credit can be worth up to any book price. I know Margaret Atwood can write better than this or was this some writer that was ghosting for Margaret Atwood and really didn't know her style. listen to it if you want but don't use your credit buy it for 1.39 and then forget about the book because this is not a Gilead story it doesn't relate to it if I could return this book I'm going to because this book really sucks.

Weird ending

This story was entertaining but it went nowhere and ended abruptly. I had to listen to ending twice to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

Pretty dumb

A pretty stupid story. A waste of an hour, but at least it was only an hour.

Witty and worth a listen

Another of her Amazon original short stories, I honestly love seeing these pop up randomly.

Years ago, one of the friends made an enemy of an up and coming writer by not including him in their anthology. The scorned writer then launched a campaign of hate that spanned an entire friend group and multiple years.

Now, much older, and some of them even grandmothers, they tend to reminisce over drinks and cheeses…oh and discuss murder. The short story that follows is one of revenge, nostalgia, and grudges held. Atwood continues her craft with lightning quick prose and witty writing.

They might never get all the way up to murder, but laxative filled hash brownies is awfully funny.