I have had such a wonderful run of books lately. The Blind Assassin is yet another great book that I’m listing up there as “one of the best I’ve ever read.”
Three main plot line weave throughout the book supported by newspaper clippings and descriptions of photographs. Very intelligently organized, this could have resulted in a confusing montage of events and descriptions, but instead, Atwood manages to compose a wonderful, very tightly structured, novel that keeps you thinking about it long after you’ve put it down.
Iris Chase Griffen is the novels main narrator. She is the daughter of a wealthy factory owner and marries another wealthy factory owner when her own family’s financial situation becomes dire. She and her sister, Laura, grow up in unusual circumstances and their story told in first person makes up one of the plot lines.
The second plot line is the “current” story of Iris as an old woman dealing with a failing heart and realizing that she will soon die. She must tell the story of her life, Laura’s life, her questionable state of mental health (is she crazy or just much more aware of details than the rest of us) and the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death (covered up suicide).
The third plot line is the novel-within-a-novel, The Blind Assassin, written by two lovers during their rendezvous. A science fiction that occurs on a different planet, The Blind Assassin is created by the lovers together as the talk before having to separate again to their daily lives.
This book is beautifully written. The wry wit of the elder Iris is wonderful, and I found myself underlining passages just to be able to read them again. Atwood is truly a master craftswoman and I look forward to reading her other books.
Three main plot line weave throughout the book supported by newspaper clippings and descriptions of photographs. Very intelligently organized, this could have resulted in a confusing montage of events and descriptions, but instead, Atwood manages to compose a wonderful, very tightly structured, novel that keeps you thinking about it long after you’ve put it down.
Iris Chase Griffen is the novels main narrator. She is the daughter of a wealthy factory owner and marries another wealthy factory owner when her own family’s financial situation becomes dire. She and her sister, Laura, grow up in unusual circumstances and their story told in first person makes up one of the plot lines.
The second plot line is the “current” story of Iris as an old woman dealing with a failing heart and realizing that she will soon die. She must tell the story of her life, Laura’s life, her questionable state of mental health (is she crazy or just much more aware of details than the rest of us) and the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death (covered up suicide).
The third plot line is the novel-within-a-novel, The Blind Assassin, written by two lovers during their rendezvous. A science fiction that occurs on a different planet, The Blind Assassin is created by the lovers together as the talk before having to separate again to their daily lives.
This book is beautifully written. The wry wit of the elder Iris is wonderful, and I found myself underlining passages just to be able to read them again. Atwood is truly a master craftswoman and I look forward to reading her other books.
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