Good Bones

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Good Bones
GoodBones.jpg
First edition (publ. Coach House Books)
Author Margaret Atwood
Audio read byBarbara Karmazyn
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
GenreShort stories
Publisher Coach House Press
Publication date
1992
Pages153
ISBN 9780889104310
OCLC 28111549
Second edition, published by Virago, 2010, ISBN   9781844086924

Good Bones is a collection of short fiction (most stories only a few pages long) by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. The collection was originally published in 1992.

The collection explores the sinister side of classical myths, traditional Anglo-European folklore and literary archetypes. Through the stories, Atwood gives voice to the "bad girls": the stupid, ugly or wicked stepmothers and stepsisters who feature as antagonists in the archetypes Atwood explores. For example, the Little Red Hen, the stepsisters from 'Cinderella', and Gertrude from William Shakespeare's Hamlet get their say. Ultimately, these stories explore the danger of life (which inevitably ends in death) and the power of telling one's own story.

The book was republished in 1994, in combination with another Atwood work called Murder in the Dark , as part of the expanded collection Good Bones and Simple Murders .

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References

Garvie, Maureen (September 19, 1992), "The Little Red Hen's Tale", The Whig-Standard, pg. 1.