Review: Short story: "Cut and Thirst" by Margaret Atwood

Cut and Thirst by Margaret Atwood
Published May 2024 via Amazon Original Stories

You just can't really go wrong with Margaret Atwood. When "Cut and Thirst" opens, three women are sitting in a backyard, plotting the best way to commit a series of murders. Poison? Defenestration? And just how far can they convince themselves to go...?

After half a moment to orient myself in this story, it was a lot of fun. The women's once-maligned friend Fern becomes almost beyond the point, but we eventually see what real revenge—if you're of a certain bent—might look like. It makes for a playful story, but better than that, it's one of platonic friendship that has stood the test of time. Lovely to see these women banding together, not just meeting for gossip and nefarious planning but also making sure that Fern, who is no longer so agile as once she was, has a steady visitor list. (I'm thinking of a family member and that family member's friend—they had a weekly walking routine, and then when cancer came knocking they just adjusted things so that one drove the other to chemo and then they had lunch. It was a powerful thing to witness, and I'm getting similar energy from this short story.)

Perhaps if this were a novel, things would turn out differently at the end of the story...but it's an engaging read, especially if this is a sort of friendship you value.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.