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Summary: Covert cautionary tale
Review: This time, Margaret Atwood takes us to the past for her cautionary tale, the two decades just prior to WWII, through the recollections of the 83-year-old Iris Chase Griffen, sister of Laura Chase, a cult author acclaimed for her only novel, a scandalous success, "The Blind Assassin," published in 1947 after her violent death in the mysterious car crash that opens the book. The ravaged social terrain of their childhood, shadowed by their thrice-wounded father, veteran of the trenches, and their mother's quick decline to death, is contrasted with the privileges & prominence their slowly-eroding wealth once purchased. Iris is married off to a prominent industrialist to save what's left; Laura, the literal-minded idealist, comes to identify with the powerless workers in her father's factory, and draws her sister into concealing Alex Thomas, a radical who survives by writing pulp science fiction, during the labor unrest which rocks their town. With his lover, he spins out a science fiction yarn during their trysts, a parable of of the destructive social conditions around them, and which becomes the seedbed for her book. The eyes and voice of the elderly Iris provide the vision of present-day Toronto, which, like her own body, show the ravages of the avarice which consumed the life of her husband, her daughter, and her sister, and leave her, like Ishmael, alone to tell the tale. Despite its 521 pages and its appearance of digressiveness on the narrator's part, the book is elegantly structured and concise.
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Summary: My Tale of Atwood's Book
Review: Kate, the main character of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, is caught and taken to the school's gymnasium in Gilead, the plot. The gymnasium at this time was called the Red Center. In the Red Center there were women who could bear children, such as Kate. These women are taught to be handmaids. Handmaids are to stay at a house, go through a religious ritual with the man of the house and his wife and bear a child for them, given that the wife may be sterile. Kate is assigned to the Commander's house. The day she arrives, the Commander's Wife, Serena Joy, establishes very understandable rules, such as no talking or any type of contact with her husband. Kate is given another name, Offred, and a room to herself. She must wear a red dress and a hat to cover her face. Offred may not talk to any man nor have any form of relationship with a man. This foreshadows what will happen later on. As days go by, the first ritual arrives. The Commander and his wife are in the living room with Offred. After reading from the Bible and saying a prayer, the three enter the Commander's bedroom and go through the procedures that need to be done. The ritual is brutal yet the three must do it. One night when Offred was sneaking around the house, Nick, the Commander's chauffeur caught her by surprise. Nick kissed Offred, for there is some feeling between the two, and reported to Offred that the Commander wanted to see her secretly in this office the next night. Subsequently, he left. This incident is another one of the many rising actions. The following night Offred went to the Commander's office. This is also another rising action. Unknown of what to expect Offred finally knew why he wanted her there. The Commander wanted to befriend her. In doing so, the Commander played Scrabble, allowed her to read magazines, and after many visits, he gave her some hand lotion. Then one night, the Commander took Offred out to a private club, Jezebel. Then, the succeeding occurrence leads to the climax. The Commander takes Offred to a room and reveals her how true sexual intercourse is. Some time later, Serena Joy discovers what Offred has done by realizing there was lipstick on the clothes that Offred wore at Jezebel, which actually belonged to Serena Joy. This, personally, is the climax. Offred, unknown of what will be done to her now awaits in her room. Finally, the Eyes's van pulls up in the driveway. The Eyes are the secret police of Gilead, but these Eyes differ. These Eyes are rebels in disguise. This is the falling action. Nick is also part of these rebels and informs Offred to go with them. Offred leaves in the van and escapes with Nick. The Commander and his wife are left open-mouthed for they did not call the Eyes. This is the resolution of this novel.
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Summary: Challenging, compelling, and carefully crafted
Review: Margaret Atwood's latest offering is a tour de force in more ways than one. Her prose sucks the reader into the story, into the hearts and lives of her characters, and doesn't spit one out again until long after the last page is turned. I finished the book more than a week ago, yet I still find myself mulling over episodes and wishing I was still in the thick of the story. My only complaint is that I guessed the "twist" too soon--and I'm a fanatic about not guessing the end; I never look for clues, prefering the story rather to unfold so that I can pick up on those clues at a later reading. In the Blind Assassin, clues are plentiful--even once the twist is guessed--and perhaps too much so. Regardless, this is a stunning piece of fiction and highly recommended.
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Summary: Magnificent writing with creative use of literary techniques
Review: Margaret Atwood has combined cunning, manipulative characters with sacrificial lambs, and the reader gets to choose who's who. "The Blind Assassin" is a nostalgic novel with crisp descriptions, so well written that the alternation between the sci-fi novel, news clips, and the main storyline moves smoothly.The complexity of the plot will stimulate your imagination and carry you along with it for, maybe not a cheerful read, but a satisfying one. This is my first Atwood novel, and now, I'm hooked!
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Summary: Atwood does it again...
Review: Margaret Atwood continues to write stories that are...well, different, one from the other. The style in this book is so different from A Handmaid's Tale, or Alias Grace, but as usual, the writing and characters are excellent. The story starts after World War II ends, when Laura, the narrator's younger sister, commits suicide by driving off a bridge. We are drawn into the story through a series of article clippings about the social life of the surviving sister, Iris; her pompous husband and nouveau riche sister-in-law; and the posthumous publication of Laura's science fiction novel (The Blind Assassin). These articles are tucked between Iris' reflections on her life then and now, along with a running third party story between a woman and her lover, who tells her the original tale of The Blind Assassin. We move back and forth in time, retracing the history of the Canadian sisters from the 1920s to 1999, in a way that makes this novel difficult to put down, a pleasure to return to. A little mystery, a little steamy romance, some socialism, and sibling rivalry combine to make this book (as with all of Atwood's books) more than just something to read. Iris, especially, is so human in her old age, her sins are easy to forgive. The ending is a bit of a let down -- I'd figured out most of it before I was halfway through the book -- but the enjoyment of reading and being able to take all the threads and see them come to tie together was well worth the read. A very good read for Atwood fans.
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Summary: a beautiful book
Review: I just finished experiencing The Blind Assassin, and I was truly impressed. What a beautiful book. Even though I am a die-hard Margaret Atwood fiend, I have sometimes been frustrated by the coldness of her novels. I mean, waht's wrong with a love sotry once in awhile? This book was satisfying to read, and its complexity made it even more engrossing. I would recommend this one even to a non-Atwood fan. I think what Atwood manages to do with this book is cross genres (mystery, romance, "literature") and create something very true. I can't wait to re-read it.
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Summary: Atwood's Brilliance Shines
Review: I wish I could give this one more than five stars. The Blind Assassin is a fantastic, fabulous novel and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Margaret Atwoood has written a terrific story told in such a way that the reader will always be kept guessing as to what the true "truth" is. It is a mystery, with a death, but it is not a "mystery novel" as we come to expect. The Blind Assassin is the story of two sisters: Laura and Iris Chase. Laura died in what may or may not have been a suicidal car crash in 1945. Iris tells the story of her family and the events leading up to Laura's death, reflecting in the present on the events of the past. What is so fascinating about The Blind Assassin is that things are not always what they seem, but there are layers upon layers of story, of truth. Atwood reveals the story to us in many ways. We see newspaper accounts of what happened to the Chase family. These accounts are told with the confidence that they convey the whole, true story, but do they? Then we hear Iris' story, but something is not right with her story, something is missing. Iris admits that she has omitted crucial details and bit by bit, the reader is able to piece together what did happen. Interspersed in Iris' narrative are excerpts from Laura's posthumously publised novel, The Blind Assassin, which also give us insight into what happened. Atwood tells this story marvelously. Iris' observations about the present day are witty and sharp. Atwood kept me guessing right up until the end. The mystery of this novel makes it just that much more fun to read. The Blind Assassin is a wonderful addition to the body of work of one of the most talented living authors. I highly, highly recommend it.
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Summary: No Place Like Home: Laura, Iris, & Avilion
Review: Why are Thomas Mallon (the NYT reviewer) and John Updike (usually so astute) puzzled by Atwood's latest stunning novel? It's brilliant, comical, and prooacative, only partly a tour de force that plays with ficitonal female archetypes: the mad woman in the attic, helpless orphans, courageous do-gooders, selfish socialites, wife-mistresses, and mothers. The characters, especially Laura and Iris, industrialist's daughters educated by tutors at their home in Port Ticonderoga, Avilion, are vividly drawn, right down to their sibling rivalry. This is Atwood's best work to date, even more fascinating than Alias Grace--and Iris proves every bit as tricky as Grace. Isn't it time Atwood, surely the world's most versatile novelist, received the Nobel Prize?
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Summary: Wishing my airline flight had been even longer
Review: I picked this book up in an airport to start on a 4-hour flight, figuring I would read it the next few weeks. I was disappointed when the plane touched down -- I wanted another 4 hours to finish the book. I read the remainder on the return flight two days later. It is just SO beautifully woven together. Iris (the narrator)really knows how to spin this yarn out, and manages to create a wonderful dialogue with the reader of the entirety of the life she shared with her sister and its intrigue and deceipt. Fabulous fabulous book.
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Summary: Blindsided by Weak Ending
Review: This noir novel within a novel opens with a mysterious car wreck and centers around two lovers who meet in a dingy backstreet room. A complex and complicated read, despite all the effort needed to piece together all the clues sprinkled along the way, the reader is punished by a weak, unsatisfying ending.
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