Irene D'Souza

Is This The Path We Want To Be On? Interview with Margaret Atwood by Irene D'Souza

Is This The Path We Want To Be On? Interview with Margaret Atwood

erizons contributor Irene D'Souza spoke to Margaret Atwood about her childhood, her prescient gifts and her research into the trajectory that marks women's progress. Herizons: What arouses your interest in reading? Margaret Atwood: I am interested in laws as they pertain to women, and in tracing the advent of laws that disenfranchised women and took away the things they already had.

The Flying Troutmans

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Author:

Miriam Toews

Review by:

Irene D'Souza

Miriam Toews’ new novel begins in Paris, where Hattie, a moody artist, is dumped by her boyfriend. She is unable to wallow in self-pity because her sister Min has been committed to a psychiatric ward. With 11-year-old Thebes and 15-year-old Logan now in her care, Hattie returns to Winnipeg.

Hattie is unable to cope with parental responsibilities and so she takes the children on a road trip to the States, ostensibly to reunite them with their estranged father. Their odyssey results in a fully realized exploration of the adage, am I my sister’s keeper?

The Writing Circle

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Author:

Rozena Maart

Review by:

Irene D'Souza

Rozena Maart’s newest novel opens with a rape that occurs in front of a home in Cape Town, one where five women gather every Friday night in the safety of a gated neighbourhood to discuss writing. As in her previous novel, Rosa’s District 6, Maart perfectly evokes the daily lives of South Africans. However, this time her novel centers on the horrendous and at times banal violence that besieges Cape Town women.

(Achives 2002) Interview with Carol Sheilds by Irene D'Souza

(Achives 2002) Interview with Carol Sheilds

Despite the strides made by women during the last century, many female authors continue to face inordinate odds getting their work written and published. They may still be searching for 'a room of one's own.'