Book Review: Cut and Thirst by Margaret Atwood

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐

I thoroughly enjoyed this short story featuring three retired professors who meet weekly to reminisce about their lives and careers over cheese and their beverage of choice. Their discussions turn to the topic of one of their common friends, Fern, a writer who was targeted in a coordinated effort instigated by a fellow writer to ruin her literary career years ago. The friends believe that this incident created a situation that exacerbated exacerbated her declining health. We follow them as they go about devising a plan to avenge their friend (who is unaware of their intentions). As they weigh their options with meticulous precision, it soon becomes evident that framing and executing a foolproof plan might prove to be a tad more complicated than they had anticipated.

Touching upon themes of aging, friendship, loyalty, revenge and professional jealousy Cut and Thirst by Margaret Atwood, is a quick entertaining read. I loved the banter between the friends (strong Golden Girls vibes!). With sharp dialogue, more than a few laugh-out-loud moments and interesting characters, this short story is perfect if you’re looking for a palate cleanser or just a good laugh in between more serious reading. Don’t overthink this one and just enjoy the ride!

This short story was my Amazon First Reads choice for April 2024.