Rating: 
Summary: Margaret Atwood's cure for insomnia
Review: This book was ordinary and a bit boring. It wasn't thrilling or unusual in any way--which is why I read Margaret Atwood. It really didn't make me think--it read very much like a documentary. The pychiatrist didn't really add to the story, in fact, he subtracted from it. The prose is beautiful, which is the only reason why I finished the novel But, if you are expecting Margaret Atwood's typical style of weaving an intricate, chilling yet realistic plot, and shocking you with her vision of reality--this is not the novel to read. It was a disappointment.
Rating: 
Summary: Atwood has written a true "novel of the XIX century."
Review: Using an unconventional and original style, Atwood takes us to the nineteenth century and introduces us to a misterious real-life character. In her novel, Atwood explores an interesting version of the then highly controversial Freudian psychoanalytic theory in a story contemporary to Freud's work, Marx and Engels' writings, Darwin's observations and the American Civil War. She shows the drastic bias of moral and ethical principles when applied to individuals of different social class and the power that social status has upon dictating judgements of human acts.
Rating:
Summary: A suspense thriller this is not!
Review: I read The Handmaid's Tale and hated it. I bought this book because the newspaper reviews were terrific. I struggled to get through it. The prose of course is excellent. Otherwise I would rate this book a 2. This was not a mystery. It was not a suspense thriller. I guess it is a non-fiction documentary disguised as a novel in order to attract a larger audience! For Victorian age descriptions and characters and plot , I prefer Anne Perry.
Rating: 
Summary: Is madness a social disease?
Review: Margaret Atwood's ALIAS GRACE purports to tell the story of Grace Marks, imprisoned for her (uncertain) role in the murders of her employer and his housekeeper/lover. Yet it is as much the story of supposedly distant psychologist Simon Jordan, a man of the world who is as easily enmeshed in an illicit relationship and blindly manipulated by those around him as the young Grace may have been. The differences? Grace is female, and a servant. Simon is male, and a physician. Both escape, but as Grace herself says, the woman always pays the higher price. Despite its sunny ending, the shadowy overtones make for a compelling and memorable tale.
Rating:
Summary: Vintage Atwood
Review: It mystifies me why everyone is so upset about the ending of the book. The central question of Grace's life is left deliberately open to the reader's own interpretation, and we are free to accept or reject Atwood's clever Sybil-like version of the events. So what if Atwood decided to add a somewhat facile happy ending? The book is still a most satisfying read. The set piece where Dr. Jerome Du Pont leads Grace and the onlookers in a seance-like session is perhaps the funniest thing Atwood has yet written. This may not be top drawer Atwood (it is less engrossing than Cat's Eye or The Robber Bride) but it is very good quality second drawer. The evocations of 19th century Kingston and Toronto are rich in detail and character
Rating:
Summary: Captivating, pulls the reader in.
Review: Having read "The Handmaid's Tale", I was not prepared for the "readability" of "Alias Grace." Grace was a very sympathetic character, and the course of events seemed quite probable and even believable. Did she do it? The ending was somewhat of a disappointment, but overall I'd highly recommend the book.
Rating:
Summary: Entrancing, but abruptly ended
Review: I found myself unable to put this book down and
even risked carsickness as I read it on the
road while,luckily, my husband drove. Each
character was explored enough for us to care,
but I always maintained the sense that we
didn't have the full story...which the
characters themselves may not have known either!
Ms. Atwood is extremely talented.
The resolution of the story, however, felt quick
and neat...much out of the style of the rest
of the book. Why the sudden tidy resolution of
each thread when so much of the book
focused on the disorganized, random nature of
the truth, or even more to the point,
reality? I worry that Ms. Atwood feared that
her readers wouldn't 'get it' if she let the
ending progress as the rest of the novel
had. Too bad.
Still, a great novel overall and one that I will
recommend.
Rating:
Summary: A great book written in different styles, from different vie
Review: This is the best book that I've read for awhile. The book is set in nineteenth century Canada and unfolds the story of Grace, a woman imprisoned for the murder of her boss and his housemaid. I particularly enjoyed the different voices that Margaret Atwood uses to tell the story. The variety made the story suspenseful without being exploitive. I believe that this technique also added to the richness of the prose, and gave dimension to the plot without interfering with what seems a natural unfurling of a story. This tale, if directly told, would seem quite simple.
I recommend this book to all fans of Atwood, and others who are interested in compelling stories which are told well, not sloppily.
Rating:
Summary: Atwood Turns Out Another Winner
Review: I've never been a huge fan of fiction. Biographies, history, reference and non-fiction fill my bookshelves. However, of the few fiction writers I read, admire and respect, Margaret Atwood is my favorite. I've read every one of her works with Alias Grace being the latest. It's a definite winner. How many authors can make you care about and root for an alleged cold-blooded murderess? Atwood has that wonderful talent for making her characters a part of the reader's life, like a best friend, and that includes Grace Marks. I found myself wishing I could invite her and Dr. Jordan to dinner because they were so intriguing. The book takes you on an honest and fascinating journey into the mind of a compelling woman. Loved the book! Love Atwood
Rating:
Summary: An amazingly fabricated view on true story
Review: No need to explain what this book is about. You have the synopsis above. This is one of the best books I have read recently. The intensity of the emotion is reminiscent of "The Alienist" and to some extent you are thrown into roughly that era. Put yourself into a time where the unconscious mind is poorly understood and feared. Add the details of a true story embellished to fit a fantasy, and you have a wonderful journey into a believable "what if?" situation. It is sad when the book is finished. Beth
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