The Blind Assassin

Rating:
Summary: Atwood at her usual best
Review: This is as usual for Atwood's writing quite a complex book. I found it a little dificult to get into, but being an Atwood fan, I persevered. I am so glad I did, as once into it I could not put it down.

This is so well written (and we have so few good writers) it is well worth the time to read it.

Atwood is very clever in building intrigue and in telling two stories in one. She puts all together in a most outstanding and unique way.

I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent read...
Review: Ok, so The Handmaid's Tale, Alias Grace, Cat's Eye, etc. it's not, but The Blind Assassin is still an astounding piece of work. I thought that the plot and the switching from present day to flashback flowed quite well. And yes, it could have been shorter, but I enjoyed each experience that Iris told - in fact, I thought that her flashbacks were the best parts of the novel. I was fully absorbed until the end, and came away with a feeling of literary satisfaction that's hard to find in a lot of books published today. Since finishing, I've been reccomending giving it a read to any one who likes fiction. Although not Atwood's best work, The Blind Assassin showcases one of the best contemporary novelists at top form. Atwood's Booker Prize was long overdue.

Rating:
Summary: Overlong, Boring, Pretentious and Smug: Atwood Does it Again
Review: Some twenty years after swearing off Canada's most bloodless writer (and that's saying something!), a friend convinced me to give Atwood's newest a shot. Well, she hasn't improved at all, unless you count her typing speed (although even that's probably owed merely to more advanced technology). Atwood as always presents a completely miserably, downtrodden life, where the characters have no hope for redemption, let only a chuckle. Whereas other writers with bleak views at least give the reader bones like wit (Martin Amis), raunch (Charles Bukowski), or poetry (Alice Munro), Atwood just serves it up bland and humorless. Call me again in another 20 years.

Rating:
Summary: A Rare and Powerful Voice
Review: Maragret Atwood is by far my favorite author. One of the few I buy in hardcover(I live in New York and prefer paperbacks for their mobility) This is the 7th or 8th book of hers I have read. And I think my favorite next to the Handmaid's Tale. Such a wonderfully woven, original story. I loved both the 'old' and 'young' veiw of Iris's character. The details of her daily life entwined with her past, her biting humor and the 'novel' witnin the 'novel' combined with the stories underlying mystery are masterful. I read this book slowly, savoring it like a wonderful seven course meal.

Rating:
Summary: Many virtues; a few major vices
Review: She's an excellent writer and the Booker Prize was well-deserved and long overdue. But this is far from her best work. If you don't know Margaret Atwood, don't start here -- The Robber Bride and Handmaid's Tale are much better and I strongly recommend them. Virtues of this book: Interesting story, well written. Vices: (1) Too long! 520 pages is about 1/3 longer than this book should be. Hello, any editors in the house? (2) Cheap technique of anonymous story (Can you guess who this couple are, gentle reader?) is too obvious and corny, adds nothing to book. (3) Flashback and flashforward structure constantly wears thin after a while. Summary: Good story, interesting characters, flawless prose, but severe structrural defects.

Rating:
Summary: Atwood Abandons Her Readers...
Review: In The Blind Assassin, Atwood revels in stylistic gymnastics and utterly abandons her readers. This novel is not so much complex as it is unecessarily complicated. Since the publication of Alias Grace, Atwood has shown a marked tendency to write with the Booker in mind. I am sincerely happy that she has been recognized by the Booker jury, but not for this particular effort.This book is so interminably unapproachable and, at points, staggeringly dull, that I fear I will never read Atwood again.

Rating:
Summary: Could've been a hundred pages shorter.
Review: This could've been a really great book if it had been 100 pages shorter. The plotting structure is unique, the character are each widely different and vividly drawn. When they were on stage the story was moving I was glad to be there. But the unending narration is just boring. If I hadn't had so much time invested in it by the time I decided it wasn't going to get any better, I don't think I would have finished it.

Rating:
Summary: Add my 5-star's worth
Review: I just read that The Blind Assassin won the Booker prize. While I admit I'm not quite finished with it... I can say that I am enjoying the ride. Literally. I am listening to a book on tape while I drive and find myself sitting in the garage unable to leave my car and go into the house. There are plenty of reviews below. I just want add that this is a well deserved award for Margaret Atwood.

Rating:
Summary: Atwood's Booker is no 'blind attempt'!
Review: Not having read the other nominees, I can't compare, but the announcement that "The Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood has won this year's Booker Prize, I am not surprised. Atwood, having already written over a dozen novels, poetry, children's books, and some non-ficition, comes through with her latest in grand manner. A prolific writer she is indeed. That said, "The Blind Assassin" is an adventure--not to mention quite an ambitious undertaking--to read. Included in her convoluted plot line is a "novel within a novel" (see Reginald Hill's "Arms and the Women"!)--so be prepared to pay attention. Atwood's style of writing, however, is anything but convoluted; it is straight forward, but complicated, with expertly created characters.

The book is told by Iris who recounts her sister's death in Toronto in 1945, when she drives her car off a bridge. The inquest indicates that the death is accidental. Then Atwood introduces us to her "novel within a novel" entitled "The Blind Assassin." Told by a pair of anonymous lovers, the book stretches into science fiction--absorbing on its own as an intriguing story! What seems amazing about this work is the expert craftsmanship that Atwood possesses (and presemts), although, given her reputation, that is not surprising. She also captures the 1930s-40s atmosphere quite well, too! The novel is tiered, and the author explores each level, one by one, until the final pages.

With her themes of greed, love, and (inevitably) revenge, the story is right out of the Greek tragedies (well, actually, not, as "tragic" is not really exploited!). Be prepared to spend some time with this work--but it will be time well spent. What an intriguing novel! ([e-mail])

Rating:
Summary: strong start, weak finish
Review: this book was very interesting for the first 350 pp or so, but then started to collapse. i was disoriented for the first part of the novel but then things started to come together for me and i began to enjoy planet zycron, and the interweaving of this story with iris' past. however, by p 350 iris' story began to lag and somewhere around here atwood left zycron to itself. as a reader i wanted to know more about iris' relationship to laura as an adult, and i could not believe that these characters were as isolated as they were portrayed to be. i almost got the sense that atwood herself began to lose interest in her characters. my recommendation: read alias grace instead, a far superior novel.