The Blind Assassin [Paperback]

Having stuck it out through thick and thin with this sometimes complex and twisty novel, I can now truly say the experiene was rewarding. Margaret Atwood once again lives up to her reputation as one of Canada's finest fictional writers. This novel is one of those rare works that effectively blends form and content to provide an entertaining and instructive story about life in high society in southern Ontario during the 20th century. The structure - the multiple-layering of stories - takes a little sorting out, but when the big picture finally emerges halfway through the book, the reader will be rewarded with a very clear understanding of Atwood's working philosophy. The plot is mainly about the two Chase sisters growing up together in the town of Port Ticonderoga during the 1920s. They are members of a wealthy family who during the Great Depression fall on hard times and virtually lose everthing. The moments together during the good and bad times are told much later as the older sibling, Iris, reflects on the life they once lived together and how it eventually fell apart because of circumstances beyond their control. Her reflective account grapples with why she and Laura, once so inseparable, eventually drifted apart and went their own separate tragic ways. Included in this tale are moments of intrigue, love, fantasy, injustice and tragedy, all cleverly woven together around a theme that is found in many of Atwood's writings: the incredible dominating power of the male sex drive to limit and control women. These two women unfortunately fall into the clutches of Richard Griffen, an up-and-coming political star, who marries the older one to enhance his public image while sexually exploiting the younger one. This is where the inner stories cover those parts of the younger sister's life as told by Iris through the aid of letters, diaries, and a vivid imagination. There are a number of key threads running through the book that masterfully converge near the end as a common point of resolution. They include the gradual deterioration of both the Chase and Griffen family names; Iris and Laura's evolving relationship; their separate battles to gain their freedom; and the emergence of a mythical character called the Blind Assassin whose role is to seek out and indiscriminately destroy promising females in a fictional world that mirrors the real one the sisters live in. "The Blind Assassin" offers the discerning reader everything he or she could possibly want in a novel: a well-written storyline; some creative segues into modern Canadian history; and a treatment of some controversial subject material concerning feminism.

Highly recommend! This has moved to the top of my list as best book read this year. Wonderful story. At first it seemed simple and I thought it was good but why did it win an award, I wasn't sure it really deserved it but by about page 250 I realized just how much depth this book had.

This is a book within a book within a book within a book and the plot unfolds layer by layer. At first the story appears to be the memoirs of an elderly woman who is nearing the end of her life. The memoir is two-fold recalling events of the past within her daily life of the present. But woven between the pages of this memoir is the text of the book "The Blind Assassin" written by her sister in the early 1940's. "The Blind Assassin" itself is a book within a book which switches between a clandestine love affair and a science fiction novella. All four stories gradually merge together and the ending is fabulous. I really enjoyed this book!

This is a complex work of fiction composed of 3 sections woven together like the parts of an Oriental rug: 1)The first, and the main, section is a historic reminiscence narrated by Iris Chase Griffen, daughter of a Canadin button manufacturer.
Her upbringing in Port Ticonderoga, Ontario at the Avilion estate is portrayed in rich detail in a series of flashbacks, including her relationship with all members of her family and in particular, with her younger sister Laura. We are given a great deal of historic detail about this period, particularly about World War I and attempts at unionization of the button factory, and we are given details about several generations of Iris's family; in addition, both Iris and Laura's personalities are described in some detail and there are significant differences between them. 2)The second section is an elaborately detailed science fiction story which is woven between the chapters of the main narrative and is narrated by an unknown author to his unknown lover in a series of seedy apartment buildings, contrasting sharply with the opulence of Avilion. We do not understand the connection until the end. The science fiction story itself also contrasts for the most part significantly with the somewhat halcyon life at Avilion, since it includes a great deal of gratuitous violence and appears to be about some sci-fi tribe out of the Dark Ages. 3) The third section is a series of "newspaper articles" of familial or newsworthy interest which are interwoven between the other two stories. Through them, we learn more about World War I, about attempts at unionization of the button factory, about deaths in the family, and about social events significant to the family. Two of the most important deaths--Laura's and Iris's husband Richard's--are apparent suicides, and Iris's daughter Aimee also meets a violent end. All three strands are tied together in the last 50 pages with some surprising twists in the plot in the end; the whole narrative works quite well and there are no loose ends. Two of the other well- developed characters are Richard's rather assertive and colorfully-attired sister, who defends her brother at all costs, and the sculptress Callista Fitzimmons.
Still I am rather hesitant to call this great literature, since parts of it are quite "salty" and remind me a bit of Stephen King in their detail: for example, Iris describes and interprets, several times, the graffitti inscriptions on rest room walls at a local donut shop. In this and in other respects she is throwing "everything including the kitchen sink" into her narrative and one might not be totally off the mark to call the whole thing somewhat ridiculous despite its considerable historical detail.