Rating: Summary: Atwood at her best Review: I became a fan of Atwood after reading "Handmaid's Tale." Not only her subject but her style of writing impressed me."Blind Assassin" is one of the best books I have ever read. Atwood skillfully creates a story in which you feel for all of the characters involve. A wonderful book.
Rating: Summary: Not worth the effort Review: I'm sorry but although I think Margaret Atwood is an excellent, imaginative writer, it was an absolute struggle to get through this book. It almost seemed as if she was trying to show how clever and imaginative she could be by writing essentially three stories, all with different tones, but I just found it boring. By page 500 I really had no interest in the characters and finished the book merely because I "come this far" didn't want to give up. Her descriptions of Winifred and Avilion were tedious, the story in the Blind Assassin novel was confused, she spent hundreds of pages covering a very short time frame in her life but then devoted what seems like a page and a half to the Aimee/Sabrina portion of her life. I would skip this one and read Alias Grace instead. It's just as imaginative, it also keeps you guessing, but it is a much, much better book.
Rating: Summary: Forced to Read Review: ok, so im 17 and just about to graduate highschool, when i was told that i had to read a book for a final project in a major british writer's class. i have never been a fan of reading books, whether for school or pleasure. nothing has ever seen to catch my attention, however once i picked up this book, i couldn't put it down. i know its corny, but that is truely what happened. i had 2 months to read a book; this one was 521 pages long and it only took my 3 weeks to read it. and with it being may, my seniortits has already set in. at first it's very confusing to follow, but once the plots thicken, the stories became very clear. this is a great book, and probably the only book i have ever enjoyed reading for school in the past 12 years. love, mystery and suspense all play a key role in a wonderfully written book. if it can keep a senior's attention one month before graduation, it must be good!!!
Rating: Summary: Can't be a fan if you haven't read this Review: I've said it before and i'll say it again, Margaret Atwood is one of the world's greatest living novelists. The Blind Assassin is an amazing story, mixing crime and science fiction and pseudo biography. You will be caught up in the web and desperate to find out the twist. Go! Read! Now!
Rating: Summary: a masterpiece Review: This novel is a complex, intriguing, humorous and deeply sad masterpiece--one of the greatest novels I've read (and I was an English major). The storytelling itself is rich, and the way in which Atwood eventually weaves the plot together so that all aspects can be realized by the readers is sheer brillance. (To readers who gave up before the end, you must finish it to appreciate it. Please don't comment on a work you haven't fully explored).
Rating: Summary: just wonderful Review: I couldn't stop reading. This book is amazing -- deep, insightful, funny, sarcastic -- it tickled all my funny bones, and gave me a lot of food for thought.
Rating: Summary: Is there a point? Review: I have not read Atwood before but I am sure this can't be her best work. I kept hoping that Iris would cease being the persecuted victim. I realized by page 400 that this would not happen. I skipped the ending of "The Blind Assasin" (which was probably more interesting than Iris' life) because I just couldn't take reading this book anymore. With the exception of Iris, who is not likeable, the rest of the characters felt like strangers. What do we really know about Laura, Richard, Winifred, or Alex??? Perhaps it is Atwood's style being lost on me, but I found it frustrating that she spent so little time on the events that shaped Iris' life (her arranged marriage, giving up her daughter, Laura's suicide) and yet page after page on gray detail.
Rating: Summary: My favorite book Review: This is the first Margaret Atwood book I ever read. I'll admit- I bought it for the cover. I neede something to read and it looked cool. I took it with me on vacation. I brought another book because it looked hard and I wasn't sure I could get through it. Well, I did, and I loved it. I have since read many of Ms. Atwood's other books and have loved them too. Other reviewers here have said that the book was hard to get through, or that it was boring. This wasn't the case for me at all. The first twenty pages or so were confusing because the whole book within a book concept was a little hard to grasp, but once I got it, the book was impossible to put down and I finished it in less than a week. Read this book!
Rating: Summary: A fascinating and intricate reading experience! Review: What a fascinating reading experience! This intricately plotted "book-within-a-book" was truly unique. When I first started reading this book, I wasn't quite sure about whom the book was written. Was it Laura Chase, who committed suicide at the beginning of the book and went on to gain acclaim as author when her sister published her writings post-mortem? Was it Iris Chase (Laura's sister and the narrator)? And what about the "Blind Assassin" himself and his lover - who were they anyway? The plot alternates between the narrative of the elderly and ailing Iris Chase and the "Blind Assassin", as well as intermittent newspaper and magazines articles chronicling the Chase-Griffen saga. While nothing appears interrelated at the beginning, it all comes together as the story unravels and reveals the entanglement between the sisters and how it molded their lives. Don't get discouraged by the intricacies - your patience will be rewarded and you won't be disappointed with the outcome! This is the first time I've read Ms. Atwood's writing, but certainly not the last. I truly admire how she so skillfully creates such an intricate plot with such poetic prose and is able to draw all the story lines together in an interesting way. As I read this masterpiece, I felt like the protagonist was speaking directly to me and that I got to know her personally - a mark of a truly gifted author! Thank you, Margaret Atwood!
Rating: Summary: More than I expected! Review: After I finished A Handmaid's Tale, I was truely impressed with Margaret Atwood's writing style and innovative storyline. When I finished the Blind Assassin, I found myself compelled to reread it immediately. Atwood's unique Pulp Fiction style novel about a woman, her sister and their combined experience in a world of priveledge and deceit deserves the Booker Prize. It has to be one of the best books I have ever read.
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