Weave Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Title of Book: The Blind Assassin Name of Author: Margaret Atwood Paperback: 641 pages Publisher: Virago Press Ltd; New Ed edition (3 Sep 2001) ISBN-10: 1860498809 ISBN-13: 978-1860498800 The Blurb: "It's loss and regret and misery and yearning that drive the story forward," writes Margaret Atwood, towards the end of her impressive and complex new novel, The Blind Assassin. It's a melancholic account of why writers write--and readers read--and one that frames the different lives told through this book. The Blind Assassin is (at least) two novels. At the end of her life, Iris Griffen takes up her pen to record the secret history of her family, the romantic melodrama of its decline and fall between the two World Wars. Conjuring a world of prosperity and misery, marriage and loneliness, the central enigma of Iris's tale is the death of her sister, Laura Chase, who "drove a car off a bridge" at the end of the Second World War. Suicide or accident? The story gradually unfolds, interspersed with sketches of Iris's present-day life--confined by age and ill-health--and a second novel, The Blind Assassin by Laura Chase. Allowing a glimpse into a clandestine love affair between a privileged young woman and a radical "agitator" on the run, this version of The Blind Assassin is an overt act of seduction: the exchange of sex and story about an imaginary world of Sakiel-Norn (a play with the potential, and convention, of fantasy and sci-fi). 'The Blind Assassin' is the 7th book by Margaret Atwood I have read this year, so I think it is fair to say, I am a fan. 'The Blind Assassin' tells the story of Iris and Laura Chase, who at the beginning of the book drives herself off a bridge. The book follows Iris and Laura's lives from birth to death, in the case of Laura, her untimely death. The story explores the death of girls mother, something I feel seems to be echoed in most of Margaret Atwood's books, the loss of a mother in 'The Blind Assassin' and 'Oryx and Crake', a mother unable to show love in 'The Robber Bride' and 'Lady Oracle', a continuing theme if you will and something which is explored very deeply by Margaret Atwood. I enjoyed 'The Blind Assassin' but I did find parts of the story confusing, as one story jumped to another. 'The Blind Assassin' was a great read apart from the story jumping (as mentioned), the characters were brilliant, so brilliant in fact, I found myself getting very frustrated with Laura. A must read and a very deserving winner of the Booker Prize 2000 Rating: 8/10 (only because of the story jumping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Great review, Gyre - I'm definitly going to keep my eye out for this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esiotrot Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Sounds good to me - I have just ordered it! Thanks KxXx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted July 5, 2007 Author Share Posted July 5, 2007 Sounds good to me - I have just ordered it! Thanks KxXx Not a problem, hope you enjoy it x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Got it on my TBR mountain, will try and bump it up now i've read your review Gyre. I have read Alias Grace and Oryx and Crake and really enjoyed them both so hopefully i will enjoy this one too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NiceguyEddie Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 The jumping about is confusing to begin with, but once you get going all becomes clear. I'd forgotten it won the Booker. I enjoyed Alias Grace more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkseahorse Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Hi, I am reading The Blind Assassin right now (I've read it 3 times already) since I am writing an essay on it. I was wondering if anyone could give me ideas on how it is IRONIC that the readers, we, feel sympathy towards Iris, who, in essence is the villain, a murder??? I am focusing on the inner novel since the whole novel is too long to analyze... Should I write about my own feelings rather than quoting the book??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 I read this a couple of months ago, completely agree about the story skipping from one moment to another, it is confusing, but if you persevere it does become easier to understand. Although it was tough-going I really loved it in the end, particularly having something described from the perspective of an elderly person. I'm reading The House at Riverton by Kate Morton at the moment and it seems quite similar in that respect, so far anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landevale Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Oh, I love Margaret Atwood! Definitely one of my favorite contemporary authors. I loved Oryx and Crake (especially with its descriptions of video games!), and I was also very intrigued by The Handmaid's Tale. I've been meaning to read The Blind Assassin, so maybe I will now thanks to this positive review! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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