The Blind Assassin

Rating:
Summary: What a joy to find a book so well written
Review: The narrative collision in Margaret Atwood's 2000 novel is between the biographical recollections of Iris Chase Griffen and the novel "The Blind Assassin" written by her sister Laura Chase, who committed suicide in 1945. Thrown in for good measure at strategic intervals are newspaper articles covering the deaths and other choice moments in the lives of the characters, most of whom move in the upper echelon of Canadian society. We know that at some point the importance of the novel-within-a-novel (in which a man tells science-fiction stories to the woman with whom he is having an affair in backstreet rooms) for the real life story (the girl's father owns a button factory who marries off Iris to stave off financial ruin) will become painfully clear. "The Blind Assassin" is not allegorical, mainly because it is to personal a tale to have that broad a meaning for its readers. As Iris approaches death at the turn of the century, she looks back on her life in the 1930's and 40's, explaining it so that we understand the true import of her sister's novel.

I usually devour novels at a frantic pace but that proved impossible with "The Blind Assassin." This was one of those novels where you would finish a part, which alternate between the narrative and the novel, and mull over what had just happened and how the pieces were coming together. But even getting through individual chapters took time, because there were so many wonderfully written lines, so many finely crafted paragraphs, that you just had to sit back and enjoy them (or run around sharing them with people who were unfortunate enough not to have read this book yet). Young Laura Chase tends to take things literally, and this old literary chestnut blooms anew in Atwood's novel; pithy sayings and wise old adages are routinely scrutinized for fallacious qualities throughout. The result of this infatuation with Atwood's exquisite use of language is that I did not see the forest for the trees and was therefore completely stunned by the way things came together at the end. But that is just fine, because it has been such a long time since I have read a book this well written. I do not think it is destined to be a classic per se, because ultimately its greatness rests on style more than substance, but in terms of contemporary fiction this would have to rank on the next rung down the ladder. I have several friends who are now eager to read this book, so after you are done with "The Blind Assassin" you should also pass the word along to those who crave literate literature.

Rating:
Summary: Gorgeous Journey
Review: The size of this book did intimidate me at first, along with a few of the synopses I had read: a story within a story within a story, etc. Little did I know at the time that I would finish the novel in less than a week, it was so captivating from start to finish.

I had never read Margaret Atwood before, and I picked this up when I decided to read recent recipients of the Booker Prize. Within the first 100 pages, I was recommending it to friends. Don't be off-put by the size or what you've read about the "complex" arrangment - the narrative flows easily and you will not have trouble following the various plots. The storylines all ultimately entertwine in such a way that will leave you breathless, thinking about the incredible ways that memory, fiction, non-fiction, and memoirs blend together to create a masterpiece of experience.

Rating:
Summary: Long, Long, and needs an editor
Review: I listened to this on cassette tape. After the first three tapes I realized that the author was telling a story from the first person way too much. There is a rule in writing good fiction, show not tell. She had to tell a lot since it was first person, but she could have did more showing to make it more interesting.

After the third tape, I resolved to listen to the last tape, number eleven, and then pick back up with number four. This was to see if she was going anywhere. She wasn't. I found out that the other tapes were essentially useless. I missed a little plot development, but not much. I'm not going to listen to the other tapes.

A good editor would have told her to cut this novel in half, then it might have kept the readers attention.

On the plus side, she's a good writer with a good style. I might pick up another of her novels and try again.

Rating:
Summary: Her Best!
Review: The Blind Assassin was the first M. Atwood book I read. I liked the book so much I ran out and bought two of her earlier books (Alias Grace and The Robber Bride), neither of which I liked at all. Read this book if you want to read a great story with terrific writing. Not to be missed.

Rating:
Summary: The Blind Assassin
Review: The Blind Assassin opens with death, the young Laura Chase plunging off a bridge to her doom, which is ruled as an accident, but possibly a suicide. Her sister Iris discovers a collection of notebooks in her possession, notebooks that Laura had left specifically for her to find. Inside these notebooks is, among other things, a novel. Posthumously published, it creates a strong reputation for the deceased woman, critics considering it a tragedy of letters that Chase died so young.

From here, we wander through several chapters of Laura's novel, interspersed with excerpts from newspapers cataloguing other family member's deaths. Laura's novel concerns two young lovers, doing what young lovers do, but between that, the man - nameless for a very long time, an author of pulpy science fiction, and a clear, obvious story-link 'enigma' hook - tells the woman - also nameless - a story about the people of Zycron, a fictional planet. He outlines the customs, beliefs, habits, inserting the details she wants - zombified women, for one - and embellishing upon his own ideas. The story is much, much more interesting than the relationship between the two people, which is hardly understandable. It deals with a blind assassin and a mute young girl, the assassin sent to kill the girl, the girl sentenced to death in a grisly annual ritual to appease the many Gods of Zycron. This fantasy/science fiction blend is quite interesting, and is told through the voice of the male lover, which works to great effect. Rather than slogging through pointless side-story exposition, he and the woman banter, joke, discuss the particulars of the story, enjoying the creating as much as the creation.

Most of the novel is Iris' autobiography, and at the time of narration, she is an old woman. 'The temptation is to stay inside; to subside into the kind of recluse whom neighbourhood children regard with derision and a little awe; to let the hedges and the weeds grow up, to allow the doors to rust shut, to lie on my bed in some gown-shaped garment and let my hair lengthen and spread out over the pillow and my fingernails to sprout into claws, while candle wax drips onto the carpet.' She feels helpless, tired and useless, or thoughtful and curious and, in many ways, jealous of her dead sister whose memory taints everything in her life. Far from being Iris, she is Laura's sister, a title which chaffs, even at eighty years old. She is a bitter old woman, bitter and alone, which can sometimes be annoying to read - twenty pages of anger directed at the world is quite tiresome to read - but for the most part is enjoyable, the language 'historical' in a sense, and sad.

Unfortunately, the next 80 pages or so are wasted on a history of Iris's family, from her grandfather
down. This is an interesting section, it is true, but after the intriguing opening, it feels like a robbery. Why would I care about such things when my appetite for the fictional story of Laura has been growing? Perhaps if this section was placed later, or earlier, it would have been more warmly received, but as it is, the insertion seems a mistake.

We are then taken through the particulars of Iris' life, and the reason for the preceding history becomes clear. Clear, but still not appreciated. It is a shame that, with such an interesting opening, we are then forced to ignore and forget about it while a hundred, two hundred pages of family history go by. Happily, this sensation leaves us two hundred or so pages in, as the 'Blind Assassin' chapters come back with great regularity. If this had been kept up for the entirety of the novel, perhaps the problem of the Chase family history would not have existed.

The novel is filled with trite little one-liners to keep us reading, keep us guessing. A shame, because Atwood's writing and plotting is perfectly functional without this. Why do I need to read lines like, 'Aimee's death was not my fault', or 'Compared to where he might be, it's a palace'. The answer is: I don't. And yet there they are, right in the text. It's unfortunate that she felt it was necessary to insert these meaningless foreshadows. As a literary technique, foreshadowing is fantastic, and she uses it often in subtle and clever ways. But keep-me-guessing lines such as these are simply not good enough, and were probably the biggest disappointment of the novel.

But the writing is, for the most part, simply enjoyable to read. Who could not appreciate this: 'We pass a few more franchises - smiling chickens offering platters of their own fried body parts, a grinning Mexican wielding tacos.', or . But then there are less pleasant lines such as: Did I snore? ...I couldn't bring myself to ask. In case you're wondering, vanity never ends.' I hadn't asked; I don't care. But then a passage like this comes along: 'Why is a honeymoon called that? Lune de miel, moon of honey - as if the moon itself is not a cold and airless and barren sphere of pockmarked rock, but soft, golden, luscious - a luminous candied plum, the yellow kind, melting in the mouth and sticky as desire, so achingly sweet it makes your teeth hurt.', and Atwood is well and truly forgiven.

The novels moves along, chronicling Iris' life. It is unfortunate that the young Iris is presented as so vapid, so unaware so - stupid. Thankfully, the older Iris realises this, it is something for which she is quite apologetic and sad. She never fully understood the implications other people had on her life, or the lives of her sister and father. By the time she did, it was far too late. The older Iris is bitter and sad, but she never really descends into angst or insincere emotion - there are times when she chides herself for being melodramatic. This is an interesting way of presenting the story, because frankly, I had no sympathy for the young Iris - whatever happened to her was her own fault, and as the pampered, never-worked-a-day-in-her-life lazy wife of a rich man, the reasons for being 'on her side' are few - but the older Iris is very sympathetic, a sad, sorry woman who demands - and deserves - respect and caring.

Rating:
Summary: Atwood Astounds Me Once More
Review: I have never been a big book reader. I might have read the odd short story, but since I studied Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" at college last year, I have become addicted to her work. Once I had finished that classic dystopian novel, I picked up "Alias Grace" and adored it, before moving onto "The Blind Assassin" which I finished reading a few weeks ago. I think out of the three books I have read by her, The Handmaid's Tale is the best, then The Blind Assassin, whereas Alias Grace is a magnificent, astounding piece of work but takes quite a while to really get going.

The Blind Assassin was published in 2000, and was the sensational winner of The Booker Prize, one of the most prestigious accolades in the field of literature. What you get when you read this novel is a sense of extreme confusion. The book is actually four in one, nestled in Russian doll style, each one dovetailing into the next, providing a launchpad for the next. It's complicated and twisted at first, then it grows on you like an infestation until the full perspective of Atwood's tapestry begins to weave itself together. This novel further adds to her genius as a true and leading female author - one of the best in the business, in fact.

The main narrator in The Blind Assassin is Iris Chase Griffin, who is 83 when we first meet her, but is obviously younger in flashbacks of her life. As the 20th Century draws to a close, she decides to document her unusual life in notes from childhood into old age in the hope that they will be read one day - inparticular by her granddaughter Sabrina - who is now a young woman - who she hasn't seen since she was a young girl. We know that a rift caused this separation and that it wasn't Iris' fault, or not completely. The threads of each complex storyline swirl around in a mass cloud of Atwood's creation, with her at the forefront, in complete control of the reader's position in the novel. She's a master at these kind of literary devices, and she knows exactly what she's doing. Before long you won't be able to put the book down. The novel is also intersected with newspaper cuttings that give away sly details of her life not filled in by herself.

The novel opens with, "Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge. The bridge was being repaired: she went right through the Danger sign. The car fell a hundred feet into the ravine, smashing through the treetops feathery with new leaves, then burst into flames and rolled down into the shallow creek at the bottom. Chunks of the bridge fell on top of it. Nothing much was left of her but charred smithereens."

It is to the late Laura that authorship of the novel The Blind Assassin is attributed, with a posthumous publication date of 1947. The novel within a novel gives its title to the whole of the book, a device Atwood also employed in Lady Oracle (1976). The story, which is also told in the first person, details a lengthy and clandestine affair between a socialist on the lam and his socialite lover. Within this story of Laura's, the man tells his lover a story of his own: this one is a pulp fantasy set on the planet Zycron, "located in another dimension of space."

The fictional lover tells his story in installments, during trysts. "Have you cooked up any more?" She asks him in one of his rented rooms. "Any more of what?" he replies. "Any more of my story." And so he tells her of slit throats and murder and betrayal and a blind assassin in the doomed city of Sakiel-Norn. It's a tale more fiction than science and after a time it emerges as a surreal metaphor for the lives of the lovers and - oddly - for the lives of those outside of Laura's fiction.

The characters within Iris' documentation are superb - recalling her life over the past 70 years is a long, tedious process, but characters such as Reenie, Laura, Richard, Winifred make this a classic, unforgettable piece of literature. Since the Chase sisters are born around the time of World War I and the novel climaxes after the end of World War II, most of what occurs obviously takes place in the time between the two wars. Atwood perfectly captures the feelings and emotions of the times - the optimism of the 1920's, of sickness, the fear and hunger of the depression and the ignorance towards Hitler and the Nazi Party's rising power.

At more than 600 pages, this is surely one of Atwood's finest novels in her entire back catalogue. Atwood created one of the most memorable of all female characters from her novels - up there with Grace Marks (Alias Grace) and Offred (The Handmaid's Tale). She is to be congratulated on her intellectual capacity and her ease at crafting such masterpieces. I've just started reading Atwood's "The Robber Bride," and I hope it brings me as much joy as this novel did. Buy it.

Rating:
Summary: An engaging, lyrical book
Review: I found this book to be an absorbing read - very interesting and well written. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I didn't feel bored or strung along until the end. To me, the identities of the mystery lovers were evident early on. However, what kept me reading was the intriguing story of Iris' journey through life and how it related to her sister's untimely end - There's more than one mystery here!

The historical details in the book were also fascinating and not overly done - it gave a great taste of what times gone by were like for these people, socially and otherwise.

The novel-within-a-novel idea is also fascinating and lends to the book's mystique. Through this vehicle, you get a different point of view on the lovers' relationship. It also gives strong hints as to what's going on beneath the surface in the sisters' real lives, reflecting their experiences in mythological, almost archetypal terms.

Overall, this is an excellent book, especially if you are looking for something bittersweet that has depth and is very well written. I highly recommend it.



Rating:
Summary: A Book That Almost Drowned Me
Review: The opening was simple: "Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge." But this is a book that almost drowned me, if not for its addictive narrative.

Many people will either love or hate this book. As one Amazon reviewer pointed out "From start to finish, the Blind Assassin keeps you guessing." But, as another reviewer complained, you're not quite sure sometimes where the story is heading.

Atwood's THE BLIND ASSASSIN is a novel worthy of the Booker Prize. An intriguing novel about rivalry, secrets, betrayals, regrets, and, ultimately, yearning for something that is not there.

Atwood is a master of creating highly memorable characters- the mysterious but charismatic Alex Thomas, the machiavellian but indecisive Richard, the social-climbing Winifred... and many, many more.

To read this masterpiece, you have to have time, and be very patient. My advise is to first read the accounts of Iris Chase, before proceeding to Laura Chase's novel (a novel within the novel) THE BLIND ASSASSIN.



Rating:
Summary: For Avid Readers
Review: Once a teacher of literature said that writing a true [and original] tragedy was impossible after the Greek dramatists and Shakespeare. After reading Margaret Atwood's "The Blind Assassin" I am not so sure. My teacher of literature defined true tragedy as one after which you cannot live the way you lived before. Using Sylvia Plath's symbolism: good tragedy shatters the bell jar that isolates you from your environment and you have to survive that experience (experiencing the world and yourself directly, as is, and without any excuses and euphemisms) by finding something it is worth living for. The Blind Assassin shattered my isolation from the world for a moment. People always rebuild their shelter, so my shell is hardening up again, but while the novel clearly lives in me, I see the world in a different light. Or less as a blur of self-evidence.

More objectively, in this novel the author continues her exploration of the retrospective life-story telling. A character examines her past and together with her we can also understand the past, and present, better. (Past events re-emerge and we have a different view of them.) What's the difference between the previous similar work, Cat's Eye, and this one? For one, The Blind Assassin is much more complex, on the other hand, the pain is more intense and the burden of the past is more immense. Margaret Atwood has by now mastered this type of fiction in such a degree that I cannot see how she could possibly carry on on this path. (But then I thought the same after Cat's Eye.) It's no wonder that this book was followed by a negative-utopistic science fiction story, Oryx and Crake.

Some practical advice: For impatient readers, it's not advisable to start the book from the beginning. (Of course you can read the newspaper article imitations to establish your expectations.) For them it's best to start from Chapter 3, with The Presentation, which could stand as a short story in itself. After this chapter you have to go back to the beginning anyway to understand the story better, but the chapter is fully comprehensible and enjoyable without the first two. Of course, avid Atwood readers do not need to apply such tricks. What is thirty-something pages of setting the scene for them? For us.

As I mentioned, The Blind Assassin is very much like, even if much more complex than, a classical tragedy. However, this does not mean that it is somber and lacks humour. Continuing the Shakespearean tradition, Margaret Atwood uses humour (situational, ironical, absurd, black, self-deprecatory) as a natural ingredient of the novel. The story turns gloomier as it unfolds, but it remains witty until the end.

Rating:
Summary: couldn't put it down - loved it
Review: I've read Margaret Atwood's stuff in the past, and enjoyed it, but it took me a couple of tries to read more than 30 pages into this one. Once I did (third try) the various storylines got me hooked and I couldn't wait for my train commute so I had uninterrupted reading time. The older Iris Chase character parts are wonderful - probably my favourite storyline of the three - and the sci-fi story is quite interesting. I know some of the other reviews for this title say it's not Atwood's best work - and perhaps not - but it's a wonderful read all the same. Try the first 50 pages, say, and I bet you'll like it.