Adorable little story about some sweet old ladies who plan to avenge their friend.
I love quick stories like this because it was fun to read but didn’t have to go too much into depth about who they were.

The story starts, in Atwood style, in media res with a group of "older" women quoting Shakespeare and plotting murder. We have to keep reading to learn who the intended victims are and what they've done to deserve their fate.

Except... I didn't think there was an adequate explanation. With such high stakes at the beginning (the possibility of murder, though humorous) the weak conclusion was rather anticlimactic.

The writing was good overall, as to be expected from Atwood, although the comments and corrections from the women were veering into Lionel Shriver territory and had this been any longer I would have got quite irritated with it.

Thanks, NetGalley for the chance to read this.

This was such a cute, cosy read. Giving murder Club vibes, except from the side of the potential murderers, but not really. You can’t go wrong with Margaret Atwood and she did more to distinguish each character in this short story and have them read as individuals than I’ve seen some authors manage in full length texts.

Nice to see something new from the author!
Similar vibe to The Thursday Murder Club ... perhaps future installments?
Liked the camaraderie between the friends, would have liked to have seen & enjoyed more heft to this novella.

With thanks to NetGalley for this e-ARC.

A short story written in this author's usual beautiful style and well worth reading even though it ends rather weakly.

The story tells of three retired women professors planning revenge on behalf of a friend who is far too nice to do such a thing herself. Many years earlier a group of men worked together to attack Fern's published work and now her friends believe it is payback time. Strangely enough it appears that Fern has had the last laugh anyway.

Clever and entertaining. Four stars.

I think the premise was very interesting, but I think it has not been fully developed, perhaps because it is a short story, but I was left wanting to know some more things. It was not a read for me. Thanks Amazon Original Stories & Netgalley for the ARC

I felt like this short story was so short that I didn’t get a chance to process the storyline or relate to the characters. I’m interested in knowing what happens next.

In "Cut and Thirst," Margaret Atwood crafts a delightful concoction of aging wit, loyalty, and the complexities of friendship, served over a platter of cheese and topped with a dash of revenge. Set against the backdrop of weekly gatherings among three retired professors; the heart of the story revolves around the trio's decision to right a wrong inflicted upon their friend, a writer whose career was tarnished by the malicious actions of a fellow writer years prior. As they plot their revenge with meticulous precision, Atwood leads readers through a labyrinth of dialogue that sparkles with wit and charm, reminiscent of the beloved camaraderie found in "The Golden Girls."

At just the right length, "Cut and Thirst" offers a refreshing palate cleanser for readers in search of a quick, entertaining read. Its sharp dialogue and intriguing characters make it the perfect choice for those seeking a break from more serious literature. I just wish it was longer so I could enjoy more time with the characters.

this short story had a good plot idea but it wasn’t well done, the writing is confusing to the readers that go blind into it.

i liked that myrna, leonie and chrissy wanted to get revenge in fern’s name but the writing… somehow it was difficult to read 35 pages in one sitting. i didn’t think i would feel this way about this book since the author is a bestselling but unfortunately this one wasn’t for me.

thank you netgalley and amazon original stories’ team for this arc !

I finished Cut & Thirst the other day - A Margaret Atwood book is probably always an instant pick-up for me! This time, I also wasn't disappointed. The short story focuses on three retired professors, coming together over drinks to discuss how they want to avenge their friend, who was a writer unfairly treated by several men. The way in which the story unfolds felt very fast-paced but I really liked it!

Getting right into it, the characters are roughly introduced before the women start planning and bickering, establishing a strong bond between them. This is a quick, fun read, with humorous dialogue and quick-witted exchange. I've seen people say that they would've liked this story to be longer, and I definitely would've picked it up had Atwood chosen to make this into a novel, but for me the short story format doesn't take away from the enjoyment.

thank you netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

Thanks to #netgalley for sharing this title with me.


I found this tale of anticipated revenge full of unexpected humor and life.

Four ladies in their mature years with various ailments and with years of lived experience discuss how to get back at a man that harmed their friend. I found there to be a surprising amount of backstory, humanness, sorrow, and joy packed artfully into something that could also just be read as a “silly story.” It’s stuck with me for a few days. I find myself thinking about it randomly and glad that it now lives in my mind. Give it a read. It’s quick, it’s fun, and it makes you pause just a bit.

Cut and Thirst is a clever story of four close friends, three of whom plot revenge against a jealous and misogynistic man and his cronies who publicly embarrassed one of them in their past.

While I appreciated the humor and ultimately the story, the flowery writing made this a more difficult read than I’m used to.

It’s always good to read outside of your comfort zone on occasion so for that I thank NetGalley, Amazon Original stories and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Sorry it was a DNF
Didn't get into this at all
All the characters at the start was incredibly confusing, apparently they are all old ladies but I thought they were in college

Cut and Thirst was fun! Very Golden Girls meets Pretty Little Liars. I forget how much I enjoy short stories until I can read one in a sitting!

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 group 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 . A plan for murder. Will they get revenge and will it be as sweet as they hope?

For only 35 pages the story takes too long to get into. I felt the beginning was confusing. Things turn interesting when the friends take some action. There is some mild amusement to be had, but overall I was left feeling empty. Maybe too much time is spent on the friends and their revenge talk because everything falls kind of flat when you don't have any reason to care about any of the characters.

Such a cute short story. The characters were realistic even though this was fiction. Loved the plot. Would read more books by this author.

Review of Cut and Thirst:

I personally wasn't a very big fan of the writing style. There were so many “big and fancy” filler words. As someone who english isn’t their native language this in my opinion would have been a lot better and smoother read without the amount of them she uses. I felt like there were more in-depth description of objects and people than there were plot.

For me even tho I rate it 2 stars I would still like to include my three favorite quotes.

"Leonie has been on the ebb for several years now. Myrna sometimes wonders, uncharitably, why Leonie doesn’t just get on with it: you can’t endlessly be dying, there’s a sell-by date; sooner or later you have to actually die."

“No wonder people were afraid of old women, back in the witch-barbecue days,”

“Karma’s a bitch,” says Leonie, “except sometimes it gets the wrong address.”

Short and exciting, I liked it! Older ladies plotting and getting their revenge.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc!

“Cut and Thirst” is a clever short story about three old(er) women plotting revenge. Atwood's detailed writing makes its usual appearance, painting a picture like no other. I was expecting a deeper story and this was not that. At times I found the dialogue confusing, but I enjoyed the Banter of the main three. This story touches on topics of ageing, growth, and friendship, which delivered amusing in its own way.

This story of friendship, loyalty, and a tinge of professional jealousy among a group of retired professional women starts out well when, both individually and as a group, they feel slighted by an outside actor. The price for this slight will be his murder, they decide. There’s a lot of fun to be had as the group of retired women chat amiably and casually (but with implied intent) about how they will affect their plan.

I thought the first half of the story was very nicely set up, with Ms. Atwood effortlessly showing us character traits and inter-dynamics, and I was very ready to see how the tale would unfurl and how their plan might be realized.

For me, the second half of the story did not quite deliver on the promise that it set up. And so, ultimately, I was somewhat disappointed by the story’s end. That does not mean, however, that there aren’t some delicious ingredients to enjoy here. Unsurprisingly, Ms. Atwood’s prose sparkles, especially in the narrative interweaving between the friends’ dialogue that oozes interesting and detailed character traits. Dare I say, given the author that Ms. Atwood is compared to myself, that if I were writing this, I would have added another 8 or so to the 24 pages here to end the story differently and, for me, create a better arc of both characters and plot.

(I feel embarrassed even suggesting this! But I’ll embarrass myself instead of risking any spoilers and being more specific.)

It’s probably true that it’s very easy to criticize short stories for what they are not, and so I should state that I did enjoy a lot of what this story is. Which is why I would score this between 3 and 3.5; after a day or two’s consideration, I just can’t quite get to more than three stars (someone really ought to allow half stars in the grading system!)

Thank you to the author and the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC.