Scan barcode
dyno8426's review against another edition
4.0
Once again, I can't help but bask in the pleasure of having read such an amazing work of authorship. Margaret Atwood writes brilliantly and you have to give her that. Its intellectual involvement tastes very much like a fine spirit - neither thin, without any substance, nor dense enough to hinder the reception of the depth of observation and creativity that goes in the process.
The execution is an "Inception" of narration - story within a story within a story. The story is set in Canada, between the two World Wars. Iris, the protagonist, narrates the life of her sister and herself and creates that similar Victorian claustrophobic environment, which carries the dominant feminist tones in the story. The helplessness in some seemingly common situations is really haunting and anxious. It is consistently critical, not just of the sexist face of our societies, and not just the fascist front of the world owing to that period, but of the general absurdities which convention and ignorance impart in all phases of human lives. The critique is very clear and very strong. To look at, even the title is brilliant in conveying this contradiction which highlights the peculiarities of the way we live.
Blindness is a disability, a hindrance to the normalcy of life, something which evokes pity and renders anyone helpless, out in the open to be preyed. An assassin on the other hand is dreadful; a threat to society; hidden and working to achieve something malicious and unforeseen. Being an assassin is a position of latent power and displays the tenacity to survive against all odds. A blind assassin is unimaginable. And to imagine someone like that is both ridiculous and scary. On reading the story, one can map these characteristics of power and conflict to the characters of the story. But the beauty of this title itself was sufficient to make me pick this up. The narrative is as rich as it gets, with a transparency of vision which is a recognisable attribute of good authors. The story has mysterious parts to it; who would expect otherwise when it begins abruptly as - "Ten days after the war ended, my sister drove a car off the bridge." While reading it, I felt as if Iris (the protagonist) is as close a manifestation of the personality of the author as it can be. I might be wrong though, knowing how good a writer she actually is.
The execution is an "Inception" of narration - story within a story within a story. The story is set in Canada, between the two World Wars. Iris, the protagonist, narrates the life of her sister and herself and creates that similar Victorian claustrophobic environment, which carries the dominant feminist tones in the story. The helplessness in some seemingly common situations is really haunting and anxious. It is consistently critical, not just of the sexist face of our societies, and not just the fascist front of the world owing to that period, but of the general absurdities which convention and ignorance impart in all phases of human lives. The critique is very clear and very strong. To look at, even the title is brilliant in conveying this contradiction which highlights the peculiarities of the way we live.
Blindness is a disability, a hindrance to the normalcy of life, something which evokes pity and renders anyone helpless, out in the open to be preyed. An assassin on the other hand is dreadful; a threat to society; hidden and working to achieve something malicious and unforeseen. Being an assassin is a position of latent power and displays the tenacity to survive against all odds. A blind assassin is unimaginable. And to imagine someone like that is both ridiculous and scary. On reading the story, one can map these characteristics of power and conflict to the characters of the story. But the beauty of this title itself was sufficient to make me pick this up. The narrative is as rich as it gets, with a transparency of vision which is a recognisable attribute of good authors. The story has mysterious parts to it; who would expect otherwise when it begins abruptly as - "Ten days after the war ended, my sister drove a car off the bridge." While reading it, I felt as if Iris (the protagonist) is as close a manifestation of the personality of the author as it can be. I might be wrong though, knowing how good a writer she actually is.
lduubs's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
mitziatratum's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
suzzeb22's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant novel with a mystery, a great array of characters and even excerpts from science fiction. Again, Margaret Atwood has researched and respected the time period and brings it to life so well in this novel centered mainly in Toronto. She has a gift for storytelling and she does it up good in this one.
johnny_harker's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.75
occasional_owl's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
alyciajstewart's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
While the writing was spectacular, I made it to the end of the book with only one resounding thought. What was the point? I've read many slice of Life books before and have enjoyed them, this one however missed the mark. There seemed to be a strange jumble of perspectives even though there was really only one narrator. Which definitely impacted my enjoyment of the read. None of the characters were particularly likable, and I didn't really find myself caring about the outcome of any of them. Overall, I felt like the message could have been conveyed in a much more concise format. This definitely felt like to individual books instead of one cohesive narrative. Overall, I do not think this was the Atwood book for me, but I can definitely understand why it's been so popular. Margaret has a fantastic grasp on language and the technical ability to convey a story in technicolor detail.
nancyhill23's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
tammitammo's review against another edition
Weirdly led me down the path of quitting eggs for feminism. But that might not be what everyone gets out of this
sottola99's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0