Cut and Thirst: A Short Story

3.3 3.3 out of 5 stars | 17,240 ratings

Price: 1.99

Last update: 12-29-2024


About this item

Three women scheme to avenge an old friend in a darkly witty short story about loyalty, ambition, and delicious retribution by Margaret Atwood, the #1 bestselling author of The Handmaid’s Tale.

Myrna, Leonie, and Chrissy meet every Thursday to sample fine cheeses, to reminisce about their former lives as professors, and lately, to muse about murder. Decades ago, a vicious cabal of male poets contrived—quite publicly and successfully—to undermine the writing career, confidence, and health of their dear friend Fern. Now, after Fern has taken a turn for the worse, her three old friends decide that it’s finally time to strike back—in secret, of course, since Fern is far too gentle to approve of a vendetta. All they need is a plan with suitably Shakespearean drama. But as sweet and satisfying as revenge can be, it’s not always so cut and dried.


From the Publisher

CUT AND THIRST description

Top reviews from the United States

Regis
3.0 out of 5 stars Funny but not Fun
Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2024
Some small details in Cut and Thirst reveal--maybe inadvertly--that Margaret Atwood wrote this short story quite recently and therefore after the success (and controversy) of The Handmaid's Tale, the Hulu series: a lawyer getting rich on AI stock trading, a bullying that "precedes the advent of social media", and the fact that the "Internet leaks like a sieve". And indeed, as I read through it, I felt C&T trying to address similar gender issues as THT, but now with a lighter, humorous and witty touch.

Margaret Atwood does try to make C&T's story funny, a sort of Sex and the City meets the movie Red with some witty dialogs about academic life and quotes from Othello and Macbeth and references to Bernard Shaw and Marlene Dietrich. But at least to me funny does not necessarily translate into fun, because at the end there is no real good reason in C&T for the plot to move into crime, as originally plan. Even the ladies, as characters in the story, have doubts about their motivations, and not for absurdist reasons. Some people may accuse me of being as insensitive as one of the men in the story, but the story didn't click to me. I must admit, however, that I've just arrived from the arid lands of Comala in Pedro Paramo after a long stay in Wuthering Heights. It is really unfair to use the same bar of these powerful novels with a much less ambicious short story. And I'm far from minimizing Atwood's work, I really think The Handmaid's Tale, the book, is a very important novel, more now than never.
A. Miller
4.0 out of 5 stars Good writing
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2024
I'm still not sure what to think. It's funny, what they talk about and I can follow the conversations. However the ending was a little less than what I expected. ????????‍♀️ It was written well and there were some very funny thoughts in there so I did enjoy it.
Bethany T.
5.0 out of 5 stars Well crafted story, many Shakespearean references
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2024
This is a very well crafted short story. It explores themes of ageing, friendship, societal/ neighborhood changes, debilitating illness and revenge. The author is clearly well read, and has a superb command of the English language, so much so that I initially assumed it was British until clarified.

The downside of this story is that to the average person, the main characters might not be relatable. They include a bohemian, an expert on the French Revolution, and a feminist professor. The other characters, either met or merely mentioned, include several authors and a geologist. There are many references, mostly to Shakespeare, which would be unknown to virtually anyone who doesn't hold at minimum a B.A. in English Literature! In short, this story would be most relevant and appealing to a retired English professor, or someone who applied their English degrees to work in publishing. I don't think this has an extremely wide audience, but the audience it does have tends to read, so there is that.
H
2.0 out of 5 stars It’s okay?
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2024
This wasn’t horrible but it was definitely far from great. It starts off very confusing and you don’t get clarification of what’s wrong or what has happened until about halfway through. I can’t say that I would recommend.
Jennifer Jones
3.0 out of 5 stars It Was OK
Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2024
I absolutely love this author, however this story fell a bit short for me. The idea of revenge with the past professors for one of their own was comical as I am picturing them as older and not as capable. The revenge itself ended up being laughable after all the plotting. I got where it was going, but wish the journey would have been more satisfying. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley. This fell a bit flat for me.
Sarah T
4.0 out of 5 stars Clever and hilarious short story!
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2024
This was such a fun little short story! There is so much wit and dry humor woven through the story and dialogue that I found it to be hilarious. And also, the premise of the story was so creative. There was a ton of detail included to bring the story to life in a way that isn't always successful in such a small number of pages.

This group of older ladies were so easy to visualize and were a riot to read about. And their revenge tour was a disaster in a hilarious way while still interjecting some of the feminist social commentary that I'd expect from a Margaret Atwood story! I really enjoyed this story - especially not knowing what quite to expect when I picked it up. Clever, witty and a quick read!

I grabbed a copy of this book as part of the Amazon First Reads program.
Jeremy Boak
5.0 out of 5 stars Sarcstically witty short story by a master
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2024
A short story about a short revenge. Leonie, Myrna, and Christie plot revenge on a group of literary men of no great stature. They conspired, under the leadership of their overbearing patriarch, Humphrey to tear down the ladies friend Fern. Fern’s sin was to fail to include a story of Humphrey’s in her anthology of short stories. All of this took place decades ago, when they were young academic poets in universities in Toronto (?). The ladies start from a belated plan to murder each of the nine criminal poets, but end up settling on feeding laxative-laced brownies to one. This backfires slightly when the chosen victim turns out to be married and the wrong Steven, the one they knew had apologized belatedly. Full of sharply observed notes on the evolution of Toronto neighborhoods from the perspective of women who had watched decades of change, retired from their teaching posts just in time to avoid the decline of university departments. Atwood is a master of sarcastic and ironic, if poignant observation.
S & C Collins
4.0 out of 5 stars What a funny ride!
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2024
Such a cute short read. Funny and delightful. Ohh how the might has fallen! I love it! I could have been a little longer. I would've like them to focus on the other perpetrators first and then the big boss. But overall it was cool!

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