She is both a consumer and observer of those who consume (and one who is consumed by a male-dominated culture).Įverything we might construe to be normal about society in the late 1960s, Atwood is questioning and ridiculing, and for good reason.

Marian works for a market research firm, creating and administering surveys on behalf of consumer brands.

“I’m turning into a vegetarian,” she was thinking sadly, “one of those cranks I’ll have to start eating lunch at Health Bars.”Īs one might guess from the title, consumption is the dominant theme of this novel, not just consumption of animals but the many products that define modern society. Beef soon gave way to pork and then to chicken. Unfortunately for Marian, she could not stop thinking of animals every time she looked down at her plate. But most of the time you never thought about it. Part of a real cow that once moved and was killed, knocked on the head as it stood in a queue like someone waiting for a streetcar. She looked down at her own half-eaten steak and suddenly saw it as a hunk of muscle. While at a fancy restaurant with her fiancé… disconcerting, faintly ominous, and moving with the greatest of ease from the expected to the unexpected.Published in 1969, The Edible Woman is Margaret Atwood’s first novel.Īs a vegan, I was curious to read this book because it features a protagonist, Marian, who discovers one day that she can no longer eat meat. In 1970, Kirkus described it as “a first novel of genuine style applied to the most ordinary circumstances. A brilliant and powerful work, rich in irony and metaphor, The Edible Woman is an unforgettable masterpiece by a true master of contemporary literature. Then eggs, vegetables, cake, pumpkin seeds-everything! Worse yet, while Marian ought to feel consumed with passion, she really just feels. In case you haven’t read Atwood’s debut, here’s how her publisher describes it:Įver since her engagement, the strangest thing has been happening to Marian McAlpin: she can’t eat. The adaptation will be executive produced by Francine Zuckerman of Z Films and Karen Shaw of Quarterlife Crisis Productions. Today, Variety reported that the rights to Margaret Atwood’s brilliant 1969 debut novel, The Edible Woman, have been picked up by Entertainment One.

You may think we’ve reached Atwood market-saturation, but turns out Atwood market-saturation just doesn’t exist.

The edible woman