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Title: The Blind Assassin : A Novel by Margaret Atwood ISBN: 0-385-72095-5 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 28 August, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.98 (290 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Covert cautionary tale
Comment: This time, Margaret Atwood takes us to the past for her cautionary tale, the two decades just prior to WWII, through the recollections of the 83-year-old Iris Chase Griffen, sister of Laura Chase, a cult author acclaimed for her only novel, a scandalous success, "The Blind Assassin," published in 1947 after her violent death in the mysterious car crash that opens the book. The ravaged social terrain of their childhood, shadowed by their thrice-wounded father, veteran of the trenches, and their mother's quick decline to death, is contrasted with the privileges & prominence their slowly-eroding wealth once purchased. Iris is married off to a prominent industrialist to save what's left; Laura, the literal-minded idealist, comes to identify with the powerless workers in her father's factory, and draws her sister into concealing Alex Thomas, a radical who survives by writing pulp science fiction, during the labor unrest which rocks their town. With his lover, he spins out a science fiction yarn during their trysts, a parable of of the destructive social conditions around them, and which becomes the seedbed for her book. The eyes and voice of the elderly Iris provide the vision of present-day Toronto, which, like her own body, show the ravages of the avarice which consumed the life of her husband, her daughter, and her sister, and leave her, like Ishmael, alone to tell the tale. Despite its 521 pages and its appearance of digressiveness on the narrator's part, the book is elegantly structured and concise.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Wonderful Novel!
Comment: Margaret Atwood has written a brilliant multi-layered story.
Two days after the end of WWII, young Laura Chase drives her car off a bridge. Her death is ruled accidental, though suspicions of suicide are bandied about. The narrator of this story is Laura's sister, Iris, now in her 80s.
After Laura's death a manuscript was found among her things. This novel was published, and made Laura Chase a cult heroine. This novel-within-a-novel tells the story of two anonymous lovers, she of high social standing, he of working class origin. He is on the run from the Red Squads, Communist hunters of the time. In their assignations, he tells her a continuing story, a pulp magazine tale of the planet Zycron, with its virgin sacrifices, undead women who prey upon travellers, and slave children who are put to work weaving beautiful carpets until their eyes give out. When the children become blind they are trained as assassins who contract their services to the highest bidders.
Iris, the narrator, was given into marriage at age 17, to a man she despised, in order to cement an alliance which would save her father's button factory. The factory was failing, a victim of the Depression of the 1930s.
The novel shifts back and forth in time, and covers the years between the first World War and the present. It is rich in characterization, and Atwood's writing and use of the idioms of the period are impeccable. When Reenie, the housekeeper, talked, I could hear my mother speaking. Atwood's love and mastery of the language is apparent on every page.
Iris is not a perfect person, but to give her credit, she realizes that she is a bit of a snob, and that most times she opted for an easy life over a true one. When she was young her father tried to teach her his business, but she chose not to make the effort, and allowed herself to be pushed into a loveless marriage.
Her sister, Laura, on the other hand had a social conscience, and fell in love as a teenager with a social activist who was on the run--obviously the basis for the character in her book.
I loved this book, and many times stopped short after reading a sentence and said to myself, "Yes! That's exactly right! I wish I had written those words!". The only criticism I have is that the story lags a bit in the last 100 pages. The final twist of the novel is not terribly hard to predict, but satisfying all the same.
Rating: 5
Summary: Captivating novel, Imaginative in words
Comment: The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood is one of her best books. It has two parts to it, the real and the imaginary. Both of them are enchanting. The imaginary is haunting and transports you to a different world where children working on carpets with fine thread become blind due to straining their eyes too much and use their senses to commit crimes. It describes in detail the planet of Zycron and the city of Sakiel-Norn. Reading it, one can picture oneself out there. It has elements of the past such as Persian empire and the future thrown into it.
The real world is also equally scary. Laura publishes a novel and then commit suicide, but her brother-in-law was for the Nazis before the war. She manages to destroy him, though he tries his best to hold her down. The plot is involved, and intricate but put together beautifully and is enchanting. As in Cat's Eye, this is a book that has elements of fantasy, villany, wit, sci-fi thriller all packed in delicious proportion. Atwood is an outstanding author and captivates the audience with her style of writing and her way of depicting situations is unique. One must not miss this book, it is too magical. It deserves all the praise that it got.
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Title: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood ISBN: 0385503857 Publisher: Nan A. Talese Pub. Date: 06 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: Alias Grace : A Novel by Margaret Atwood ISBN: 0385490445 Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 13 October, 1997 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: True History of the Kelly Gang : A Novel by Peter Carey ISBN: 0375724672 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 02 November, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood ISBN: 0385491026 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 20 January, 1998 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: The Robber Bride by MARGARET ATWOOD ISBN: 0385491034 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 20 January, 1998 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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