Moral Disorder and Other Stories

By: Margaret Atwood

Narrated by: Susan Denaker

Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Atwood triumphs with these dazzling, personal stories in her first collection since Wilderness Tips.

In these ten interrelated stories Atwood traces the course of a life and also the lives intertwined with it, while evoking the drama and the humour that colour common experiences—the birth of a baby, divorce and remarriage, old age and death. With settings ranging from Toronto, northern Quebec, and rural Ontario, the stories begin in the present, as a couple no longer young situate themselves in a larger world no longer safe. Then the narrative goes back in time to the forties and moves chronologically forward toward the present.

In The Art of Cooking and Serving, the twelve-year-old narrator does her best to accommodate the arrival of a baby sister. After she boldly declares her independence, we follow the narrator into young adulthood and then through a complex relationship. In “The Entities,” the story of two women haunted by the past unfolds. The magnificent last two stories reveal the heartbreaking old age of parents but circle back again to childhood, to complete the cycle.

By turns funny, lyrical, incisive, tragic, earthy, shocking, and deeply personal, Moral Disorder displays Atwood’s celebrated storytelling gifts and unmistakable style to their best advantage. This is vintage Atwood, writing at the height of her powers.

©2006 Margaret Atwood (P)2006 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Her stories are sophisticated, reticent, ornate, stark, supple, stiff, savage or forgiving; they are exactly what she wants them to be. They are stories from the prime of life.” — Times Literary Supplement

another wonderful collection by Margaret Atwood!

Thoroughly enjoyed another wonderful collection of stories by Margaret Atwood. She has the most incredible gift for getting right to the truth of ham nature and describes everyday life in the most fascinating and insightful way!

Outstanding stories about life

Would you consider the audio edition of Moral Disorder and Other Stories to be better than the print version?

Moral Disorder and other Stories was my first audiobook. Before listening I had read the book and found it excellent. It's hard to say which version was better -.by reading I could choose my pace, by listening I enjoyed an artistic interpretation ....

Who was your favorite character and why?

The stories are about Nell's life but I wouldn't say she was the main character. Nell made two decissions relatively by herself - to become editor and to choose an considerably older married man as her partner. All the other life conditions and companions happened to her . I would say LIFE is the main character with it's ups and downs. By superficially reading or hearing all semas al right but an

Have you listened to any of Susan Denaker’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Susan Denaker did a great work narrating M. Atwood's stories. I liked her voice and the way she had modulated it in presenting different characters. My favorite

If you could take any character from Moral Disorder and Other Stories out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Whom would I take out to dinner? Margaret Atwood for her artful style and Susan Denaker for her wonderful interpretation.

Any additional comments?

For me English is a forign language - you have noticed it reading my review. I often don't undestand what I hear and have to look into the print version. Or, I read first in the print book and listen then the part in the audio version. The way this audiobok was broken makes it extremely difficult to find the right location. It would be much easier, had the audiobook been broken accordingly to the titles in the print version.

Moral Disorders and other Stories

Every Atwood book I have ever read has left me with a lasting impression. While reading the books I had a sense that I had to plunge through the pages before I lost interest and then near the ending I am forces to look at my life and myself in order to accept the inevitability of what Ms. Atwood is saying.

It is a letdown but I am sure that this is what she wants to do.

The author is real life and I will continue to read her books
Now that I am finished this book I can say that she continues to leave me with lasting impressions of the reality of life and death.

good book, badly read

tiresome reader

Fantastic Story and Reading

Would you consider the audio edition of Moral Disorder and Other Stories to be better than the print version?

I think they're both good, but Susan Denaker does a fantastic job of bringing the narrator of these stories to life.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Moral Disorder and Other Stories?

The poignancy of the narrator's interaction with her parents, particularly in The Labrador Fiasco, is particularly memorable, perhaps because it seems to be an issue that many people may be facing when caring for aging parents. The final words of this chapter seem to be both heartbreaking and reassuring. She is there for her father, but there's still a certain amount of fear in his demeanor that is difficult to overcome.

If you could take any character from Moral Disorder and Other Stories out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Of course, it would be the author, who seems to have some very autobiographical elements in her writing. I would love to open a bottle of wine with Margaret Atwood and ask her how she manages to write such realistic characters.

Any additional comments?

This is a fantastic book and a wonderful rendition as an audiobook. I greatly enjoyed it!

You’ll wish you were a writer.

Would you listen to Moral Disorder and Other Stories again? Why?

Yes. There is a truth nestled at the core of each one. This was my introduction to Atwood and I think I chose a good one. You’ll notice the persistence of emotions you’ll recognize from your own life. It will ring true, much in the way we say ‘that’s so true, but I never heard it said that way’. Unpretentious.

Have you listened to any of Susan Denaker’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No I have not.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, it I resisted, wanting to come at each story in different moods, clothes, days.