Editing Life Before Man

{{Short description|Novel by Canadian writer Margaret Atwood}}
{{Infobox book <!-- See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]] or [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Books]] -->
| name          = Life Before Man
| image         = File:LifeBeforeMan.JPG
| caption       = Cover of the first edition
| author        = Margaret Atwood 
| illustrator   = 
| cover_artist  = 
| country       = Canada
| language      = English
| series        = 
| genre         = 
| publisher     = [[McClelland and Stewart]]
| release_date  = 1979
| english_release_date =
| media_type    = Print
| pages         = 
| isbn          = 
| preceded_by   =
| followed_by   = 
}}

'''''Life Before Man''''' is a [[novel]] by [[Canadians|Canadian]] writer [[Margaret Atwood]]. It was first published by [[McClelland and Stewart]] in [[1979 in literature|1979]] and was a finalist for the [[1979 Governor General's Awards|Governor General's Award]].

The novel has three principal characters: Nate, Elizabeth and Lesje. Nate and Elizabeth are an unhappily married couple, with both husband and wife involved in extramarital affairs. Lesje, pronounced 'Lashia,' is Nate's lover of mixed ([[Ukrainians|Ukrainian]] and [[Jews|Jewish]]) ancestry and works along with his wife in the department of paleontology in [[Royal Ontario Museum]] in [[Toronto]] as a [[Paleontology|paleontologist]] fascinated by dinosaurs, giving the book its title. (Both the museum and the city are described in the book in great detail and are immediately recognizable. The author also pays a lot of attention to Lesje's search of identity; her mixed ethnic roots caused her in the past and continue to cause her considerable anguish.) Elizabeth, said to have been inspired by Shirley Gibson, ex-wife of Atwood's partner [[Graeme Gibson]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Busby |first=Brian |authorlink=Brian Busby |title=Character Parts: Who's Really Who in CanLit |year=2003 |isbn= 0-676-97579-8 |publisher=Vintage Canada |location=Toronto}}</ref> also takes a lover, Chris, who recently committed [[suicide]]. All three of the novel's main characters influence the narration, with each chapter presenting events from a particular character's perspective.

==Reception and reviews==
[[Feminist]] author [[Marilyn French]] gave the novel a positive review in the ''[[New York Times]]'', calling it a "splendid, fully integrated work."<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/09/03/specials/atwood-life.html |last=French |first=Marilyn |authorlink=Marilyn French |title=Spouses And Lovers |date=February 3, 1980 |journal=[[The New York Times]] }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Margaret Atwood}}

[[Category:1979 Canadian novels]]
[[Category:Novels by Margaret Atwood]]
[[Category:McClelland & Stewart books]]
[[Category:Novels about museums]]
[[Category:Novels set in art museums and galleries]]
[[Category:Novels set in natural history museums]]
[[Category:Novels set in the 1970s]]
[[Category:Novels set in Toronto]]