Rating: 
Summary: Very well done
Review: The Blind Assassin takes the "novel within a novel" idea to new heights; the elderly Iris Chase Griffen writing her record of the past, side by side with her late sister's book "The Blind Assassin", which is an account of two surreptitious lovers meeting in seedy rooms and eateries, plotting a strange science-fiction/ancient world story. As well, Iris looks at her slowed-down world of the present, in the fictional Ontario town of Port Ticonderoga. The three stories are all separate, yet slowly come together in such a skilful and subtle way. As others have pointed out here, it is also a snapshot of the first half of the 20th century, with two world wars, the Depression and the social realities of the time.After reading a few chapters, one can already savour the good writing and the way in which the story unfolds. One reviewer in the inset referred to Atwood's "dry, avid prose". That sums it up nicely. I had never been a fan of the one or two books of hers I had read previously but this novel was very impressive. Atwood comments on the way things were and the way they are now, the social norms, the inequalities, the bitter pills swallowed. Her depiction of the Griffens (Iris' politician/industrialist husband and his social-climbing sister) comes across as a caricature in some ways but still very believable. The elusive character Alex Thomas is portrayed vividly, although I found that it was hard to get a good focus on Laura Chase, whose controversial Blind Assassin book casts a shadow over the whole novel. It's also a minor point that Atwood rightly decries the appeasement policy in the 30's, whereas she herself is part of the same "peace at any cost" crowd in real life today. In fairness she does cut beneath the surface and show the hypocrisy of both the left and right, and goes to the heart of the matter always. In that sense she succeeds where another writer could get dogmatic. A very good read, one of the better novels I have read in some time.
Rating:
Summary: The Story is in the Holes
Review: On the face of it, Margaret Atwood's _The Blind Assassin_ is three stories in one. First, it is the story of Iris Chase and her sister, Laura, two girls born to a prominent family in the early 1900s and growing to adulthood during the Great Depression. Second, it is the eponymous "novel-within-a-novel," which details the clandestine relationship between an upper-class woman and her blue-collar lover. And third, it is the chronicle of the early half of the twentieth century vis the Chase-Griffen family, as detailed by numerous press clippings and anecdotes scattered throughout. As the book progresses, Atwood skillfully weaves together the three threads into a whole that is more than the sum of its parts. Throughout, the characters are deftly portrayed and the era they live in is vividly realised. The voices, particularly that of the 83-year-old Iris, telling her story to set the record straight, are true and poignant. But what really struck me as amazing about this book was the way the real story is in what is not said, what is not directly addressed until the very last pages. Atwood pulls off an astonishing sleight of hand, deliberately blinding the reader to what is really going on so that, like the assassin of the title, one is forced to rely on other, less developed senses to get the full picture. This is so deftly accomplished that when the revelation comes it is less an unveiling of something totally unexpected than a confirmation of suspicions held for a long time. In the end it becomes clear that this novel is not three separate stories, but one vast one, where the absence of any of the parts would lessen the overall affect. And that, rather than the ostensibly simple plot, is what makes this book so absorbing and so hard to put down. _The Blind Assassin_ is one of the best books I've read all year and is my new favourite by this author.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This is a shining example of a perfectly-constructed novel. The Blind Assassin has just enough characters and drama to make things really interesting, but not too many to make it confusing. The description of life during this time period was incredible and must have been thoroughly reserached. Excellent, stinging dialogue and fascinating history used as the perfect backdrop. Everything a novel should be!
Rating: 
Summary: Slow as molasses in a Canadian blizzard
Review: ... Tons of languid, artful description, but not much movement, epitomizes the self-indulgent plague of modern literature: too many pages for not enough plot. The novel inside the novel is even more of a snoozer, and the sci-fi story inside the inner novel is a total waste of time...Stan Jones
Anchorage, Alaska
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent writing, melancholy book
Review: This book was masterfully written with a unique story-telling style. The mystery drove me to the end of the book. I was compelled by the story, but it was a bit melancholy and left me feeling a little empty.
Rating:
Summary: Good book...stick with it.
Review: I became very discouraged after reading the first 100 pages of this novel. On the advice of two girlfriends, I kept reading. Once you manage to "get over the hump," the novel seems to take on new life. The ending is a surprise, yet satisfying. Take the time to read this novel...it is worth it in the end.
Rating:
Summary: A Story Within A Story Within A Story
Review: Atwood has done it again in this story within a story that contains yet another story and yet, they are all about one woman. The book opens with the suicide of Laura Chase, who as we find out, has driven off a bridge just after WWII ends. The story unfolds, bit by bit, told through newspaper clippings, chapters from a novel and narration from Iris, Laura's sister. Iris begins to tell her life story by cutting back and forth through the years, and at the same time, we meet and hear snippets from the lives of her late husband, sister in law, parents and sister, Laura. I won't go too much into detail because the book is held together by a thread that ties together the lives of everyone Iris Chase-Griffen knows. The beauty of this book is the way the novel within the novel, Blind Assasin, draws you into the larger story arch. Yes there is a science fiction story as the jacket describes, but it's the relationship between the man who is narrating the story and the rich woman seeing him on the sly that is the true focus of the story. As the book goes on, Iris begins to tell her life story and you begin to understand just what the Blind Assasin is and who the characters are. All of this unfolds as Iris is also writing the story down as she tells it to you. It's folded, quite interestingly, into itself. It's a very clever way to tell a story and Atwood is quite the storyteller. Her characters are three dimensional because they all have flaws, as Iris tells you about her maniacial sister in law and husband she makes clever asides about herself and her own complicity. In many moments I felt that Iris was sitting next to me in Betty's Diner and telling me her story first hand.
Rating:
Summary: Read it for its beautiful language
Review: Margaret Atwood is an accomplished writer, and The Blind Assassin won her the Booker Prize. Kazuo Ishiguro, author of The Remains of the Day, said this recognition was overdue as she had been short-listed four times, and, indeed, one reviewer, who likes Atwood but not so much this book in particular, commented that Atwood might have gotten the Booker for Assassin in a kind of acknowledgement of her writing cumulatively. Certainly, this book has considerable grace and elegance, as well as humor and insightful observations. If Assassin is picked up solely for these aspects of the reading experience, it will have been worth it. Here's a quick example of the humor: To set it up, this guy is living in a cheap apartment with thin walls. Next door are a couple who go at it noisily every night. "He doubts the nightly doings are her idea. Too fast, for one thing. The guy's in and out like a bank robber." And here's a beautifully captured image of a well-heeled woman on her way to meet her lover one winter afternoon, walking through an impoverished neighborhood: "From inside the houses comes howling, barking, a rattle or slam. Female voices raised in thwarted rage, the defiant yells of children....Women hurry along, heads down, shoulders hunched, carrying brown paper bundles. Married, they must be. The word "braised" comes to mind." It's hard to get into a meaningful discussion of the book without giving away important plot features to those who should discover them as the story unfolds. But basically, it's a memoir of an elderly Canadian woman named Iris, who relates her story partly in the present and partly in flashbacks. Along the way, we learn that Iris was born shortly before World War I to a family who'd made a fortune making utilitarian buttons. After that war, Iris gets a little sister, Laura, who grows up idealistic, guileful, and tone deaf to society. We meet their mother, who died when the girls were young, and the family's cook, Reenie, who was a fountain of love, comfort, discipline and advice as the girls grew up. We also come to know the father, Iris's husband and his sister, a guy too old for Laura whom she idolizes, and, later in Iris's life, her daughter and granddaughter, as well as Reenie's daughter and her husband. Lots of characters, all well developed through the filter of Iris's viewpoint. The family fortune went to pieces during the Depression, and the repercussions of that profoundly affected the way the lives here are later shaped. Interwoven in this tale of family relations is a manuscript, The Blind Assassin, that Laura left for Iris to find immediately before Laura drove a car off a bridge to her death. (No spoiler here. You learn that in the opening lines.) The manuscript is a tale of two lovers (the man the writer of sci-fi pulp fiction), and the longing, frustration, and subtle expression of their love that only achieves the full clarity of its depth and tragedy at the story's end. Although I first thought this book was too much in the feminist spirit of male-bashing, I came to see that Atwood is an equal-opportunity cynic. As humans are flawed, so are most people in this book. It's a credit to Atwood's skill that she has enabled readers to see the warts in Iris's personality, even when her story is told in the first person, and also that Atwood has presented her characters so fully from Iris's perspective. Assassin has a slow period, but stick with it. It has mystery and a surprise at the end, but the surprise is not unfair to readers. There are clues that let me guess it, and made me think back over other clues that Atwood had left. All in all, Assassin is a beautifully written, although sad, commentary on the tragedy humans can't help putting in their lives. I'm giving Assassin five stars because the writing is so good, and that is a rare commodity these days.
Rating:
Summary: A Booker award book worth reading.
Review: I picked this for vacation reading because of the Booker award and because I had not reading anything by Atwood. I was a little leary because I've been burned by Booker award choice before (but also have been introduced to some wonderful books that way, i.e. Possession and The Remain of the Day). I was immediately engaged by the book and remained that way to the very end. This is not a page-turner but rather a book that keeps you thinking about it when you've set it aside for a few hours or days. I am not a fan of the story within a story technique but it works very well here. I also like the style of her writing -- it is elegant but also very transparent. It never feels clever or labored, just flows naturally in laying out a very engaging story. This is one I'm actively encouraging friends to read.
Rating:
Summary: Margaret Atwood Never Disappoints
Review: Margaret Atwood has a rare encylopedic knowledge of what people find interesting and her books are a testament to that. This particular book allows you to read it without giving away any clues to the ultimate plot-twist. There's no hokey feminism in the strength of her female characters. The sci-fi "novel within a novel" is appealing to even those who despise sci-fi.
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