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mellow_mikan's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I hadn't written an in-depth book review before this one, but I just couldn't get this one out of my head after I finished it. It followed me in a wave of melancholy and everything seemed a little more painful, a little more sharp.
First, you might say, well what is such a book about? This question truly has no right answer; there is a plot, but it ambles along for the first 300 pages or so, notwithstanding the suicide that happens on the first page. This is the kind of book I have a feeling Katie Mitchell would like, after I heard her interviewed, where she talked about how it irritates her that narrative structure doesn't work like real life works.
Well, in this book, Atwood manages to do both. The book does in fact end, with all the loose ends tied up, all curiosity satisfied. But at the same time it managed to convey the monotony of life and the sudden mortal wounds that happen on a cold Wednesday afternoon.
I certainly felt the gilded prison of the young Iris as much as I felt the prison of the memories of elderly Iris. It certainly felt real and at times tedious as I watched them stumble through life. I wanted to help them, call to them, and sometimes, yell at them. But more than anything I wanted to shake the men in their lives and say, "Can't you see? Can't you see?"
But there it is. The blind assassin.
Back to the plot: the closest I can get is to what I've already described - that it is about the cages women found themselves trapped in. But that's not even close to all of it. It's also about women's relationships among themselves. It's also about family and regret and unneeded sacrifices. It's about tragedy that slowly unfolds and you wonder, "Why don't the women say something?"
And there it is again: the sacrificial virgin with her tongue cut out.
In this book you'll find an incredibly crafted structure. Atwood cuts from old Iris to young Iris, newspaper clippings relating to their life, snippets of a "novel" about unfortunate lovers written by one of the characters in The Blind Assassin, and within that a sci-fi story. So there is a story within the story within the story. But Atwood is able to pull this off with ease: after the few pages when I didn't expect such a structure, I quickly adjusted and was able to keep everything straight. As a writer, I can't imagine being able to pull that off so seemingly effortlessly. And so much is left unsaid, but the reader knows, or can guess. Again, a genius at work.
And the language: just achingly beautiful. Maybe more so because lately my reading list has essentially been: Vonnegut - nonfiction - Vonnegut - nonfiction, and so on. It's been a while since I read prose so beautiful and dripping with metaphors and imagery so rich that...well, I'm no master of metaphor. You'll have to read and see. It's so gorgeous, though. I lack the words.
But that is one of the major criticisms of the book: the length and the needless description. And I think it's a valid criticism, and it's a reason why it took me so long to finish the book. I actually almost put it down after the first 100 pages. But I think it's purposeful on Atwood's part, or even if not, it goes well with the book. These women are trapped in a tedium so painful with an even more painful, sinister underbelly, that all they can do is focus on the details, the clothes, the colors. In fact, Laura often serves as a counter to Iris's steadfast obsession with these things, as well as Iris's complacency. "But why?" she'll ask.
And that's why I'll never read this book again. It is so beautiful but it's so sad. I haven't cried yet but I wish I had just to get this feeling out. It's like being smothered gently. I want to help these characters, I want to stop this slow trudge to horror. But I can't. And my heart just aches and aches and aches.
The thing is: it's too real. If you think your grandmothers and their mothers were immune...I often wanted to travel to the past when I was a little girl. I loved stories of knights and King Arthur and all the rest of it. But now I know what it is to be a woman in the past. I've known too much about what it is to be a woman in the present, but I can count myself lucky that I wasn't alive any time earlier than this.
There are times where fiction is more true than fact, and this book shows a truth that a history book with all its wars and philosophers and discoveries will never talk about.
And it's such a heavy history, perhaps heavy with the things left unsaid. It seeps into present day; we left here bear the scars just like Sabrina. Our mothers bear the scars like Aimee. Our grandmothers like Iris and Laura both. We may deal with those scars differently - with detachment, with endless strings of lovers, with rage, with fantasy worlds, with addiction, with gossip. But they're there, underneath. Yellowing as we go about our day, but still painful when you touch them. If you touch them.
So I can't stop this melancholy. I read another review that said she learned from this book that pain is necessary and to find the bright spots in life, and that pain helps highlight those nice times. That's not what I got from it, though maybe in time I will. Right now I just feel that weight, that crushing regret of all that could have been and all that sadness that was.
It was a beautiful, heart-shattering work. And I will never read it again.
First, you might say, well what is such a book about? This question truly has no right answer; there is a plot, but it ambles along for the first 300 pages or so, notwithstanding the suicide that happens on the first page. This is the kind of book I have a feeling Katie Mitchell would like, after I heard her interviewed, where she talked about how it irritates her that narrative structure doesn't work like real life works.
Well, in this book, Atwood manages to do both. The book does in fact end, with all the loose ends tied up, all curiosity satisfied. But at the same time it managed to convey the monotony of life and the sudden mortal wounds that happen on a cold Wednesday afternoon.
I certainly felt the gilded prison of the young Iris as much as I felt the prison of the memories of elderly Iris. It certainly felt real and at times tedious as I watched them stumble through life. I wanted to help them, call to them, and sometimes, yell at them. But more than anything I wanted to shake the men in their lives and say, "Can't you see? Can't you see?"
But there it is. The blind assassin.
Back to the plot: the closest I can get is to what I've already described - that it is about the cages women found themselves trapped in. But that's not even close to all of it. It's also about women's relationships among themselves. It's also about family and regret and unneeded sacrifices. It's about tragedy that slowly unfolds and you wonder, "Why don't the women say something?"
And there it is again: the sacrificial virgin with her tongue cut out.
In this book you'll find an incredibly crafted structure. Atwood cuts from old Iris to young Iris, newspaper clippings relating to their life, snippets of a "novel" about unfortunate lovers written by one of the characters in The Blind Assassin, and within that a sci-fi story. So there is a story within the story within the story. But Atwood is able to pull this off with ease: after the few pages when I didn't expect such a structure, I quickly adjusted and was able to keep everything straight. As a writer, I can't imagine being able to pull that off so seemingly effortlessly. And so much is left unsaid, but the reader knows, or can guess. Again, a genius at work.
And the language: just achingly beautiful. Maybe more so because lately my reading list has essentially been: Vonnegut - nonfiction - Vonnegut - nonfiction, and so on. It's been a while since I read prose so beautiful and dripping with metaphors and imagery so rich that...well, I'm no master of metaphor. You'll have to read and see. It's so gorgeous, though. I lack the words.
But that is one of the major criticisms of the book: the length and the needless description. And I think it's a valid criticism, and it's a reason why it took me so long to finish the book. I actually almost put it down after the first 100 pages. But I think it's purposeful on Atwood's part, or even if not, it goes well with the book. These women are trapped in a tedium so painful with an even more painful, sinister underbelly, that all they can do is focus on the details, the clothes, the colors. In fact, Laura often serves as a counter to Iris's steadfast obsession with these things, as well as Iris's complacency. "But why?" she'll ask.
And that's why I'll never read this book again. It is so beautiful but it's so sad. I haven't cried yet but I wish I had just to get this feeling out. It's like being smothered gently. I want to help these characters, I want to stop this slow trudge to horror. But I can't. And my heart just aches and aches and aches.
The thing is: it's too real. If you think your grandmothers and their mothers were immune...I often wanted to travel to the past when I was a little girl. I loved stories of knights and King Arthur and all the rest of it. But now I know what it is to be a woman in the past. I've known too much about what it is to be a woman in the present, but I can count myself lucky that I wasn't alive any time earlier than this.
There are times where fiction is more true than fact, and this book shows a truth that a history book with all its wars and philosophers and discoveries will never talk about.
And it's such a heavy history, perhaps heavy with the things left unsaid. It seeps into present day; we left here bear the scars just like Sabrina. Our mothers bear the scars like Aimee. Our grandmothers like Iris and Laura both. We may deal with those scars differently - with detachment, with endless strings of lovers, with rage, with fantasy worlds, with addiction, with gossip. But they're there, underneath. Yellowing as we go about our day, but still painful when you touch them. If you touch them.
So I can't stop this melancholy. I read another review that said she learned from this book that pain is necessary and to find the bright spots in life, and that pain helps highlight those nice times. That's not what I got from it, though maybe in time I will. Right now I just feel that weight, that crushing regret of all that could have been and all that sadness that was.
It was a beautiful, heart-shattering work. And I will never read it again.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, and Violence
afternoondreamer's review
challenging
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
4.75
Wow. What a fantastic book. I loved traveling through the life of the characters and how you get to know what happened in the past. I felt a lot of things while reading. Despite the book being slow paced, I really enjoyed the read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Suicide, and War
Moderate: Sexism, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault
Minor: Addiction and Miscarriage
dlrosebyh's review against another edition
emotional
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
1.0
Listen, before you all come at me, I love Atwood, but this was such a miss for me. It was just so dull. I like a lot of her books, so I expected to like this one, but I really didn’t.
Margaret Atwood blends romance, science fiction, and gothic tension into one story in The Blind Assassin. The novel opens with the unexplained death of Laura Chase, a young lady who may have committed herself in 1945. Many years thereafter, Iris, Laura's sister, narrates her recollections of their early years and the noteworthy demises that had interspersed their affluent and colorful family's past. Chapters from the scandalous novel that made Laura famous, in which two illegal lovers entertain themselves with a story about a blind killer on a far-off planet, are woven into Iris's story. The mysteries that have plagued the Chase family for a long time are progressively revealed by these intricately detailed stories inside stories, culminating in an incredible and thought-provoking conclusion.
I just found the characters too dull to even care about. Not even the forbidden love aspect was entertaining (and I love forbidden romance).
I don’t know. Her writing style here just felt so childish compared to her previous novels, and that put me off so bad. It had a brilliant premise, but a horrible execution. Still love her though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Miscarriage, and Misogyny
Moderate: Abortion, Rape, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Sexual assault, Death, and War
emmonsannae's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Even down to the last twenty pages, this book wasn’t what I expected. It did move slowly, and I wasn’t especially invested in it until page 350 or so, which is a long wait. But the construction of the book (a novel within a novel) is interesting enough to make up for its slow pace. M.A.’s writing is arresting as well—even when I wasn’t invested in the story I enjoyed her telling of it. And the ending was a gut punch that made the early reading feel like a very worthwhile use of time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity
Moderate: Mental illness, Cultural appropriation, Death, Alcohol, Car accident, Classism, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-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? Yes
4.25
The Blind Assassin won the Booker Prize in 2000. The protagonist is Iris Chase Griffin who, in her eighties, is writing her life story so that her surviving granddaughter will know the truth about her life and that of the wider family. Iris’s was an interesting life which included a prosperous, if motherless, childhood, an unhappy marriage to a controlling businessman, a complicated relationship with her younger sister Laura who became a famous novelist, and many, many secrets - some involving Iris and others discovered by her. Various historical events were folded into the plot and I particularly enjoyed the look at Canadian businesses, labour relations, and Communist activity in the inter-war years.
That Atwood’s writing was a standout goes without saying and, as always, I was impressed by her storytelling abilities. I enjoyed the snippets from the social pages featuring Chase and Griffen family members, as well as newspaper articles about various political events. However, the standout was the unique book within a book within a book structure. Iris’s story included chapters from Laura’s novel which itself included a science fiction told by one character to another. The way these stories reinforced each other was very clever and I enjoyed discovering links, connections and parallels between the three different stories. The structure added depth and richness to the story. I do think it contributed to my taking a while to settle into the book though. A complicated slow burn but for me it was worth it.
That Atwood’s writing was a standout goes without saying and, as always, I was impressed by her storytelling abilities. I enjoyed the snippets from the social pages featuring Chase and Griffen family members, as well as newspaper articles about various political events. However, the standout was the unique book within a book within a book structure. Iris’s story included chapters from Laura’s novel which itself included a science fiction told by one character to another. The way these stories reinforced each other was very clever and I enjoyed discovering links, connections and parallels between the three different stories. The structure added depth and richness to the story. I do think it contributed to my taking a while to settle into the book though. A complicated slow burn but for me it was worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Suicide
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, War, Miscarriage, and Rape
courtneyreadsometimes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, Death, and Suicide
Moderate: Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Body shaming, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and War
libristella's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Abortion, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Death, and Emotional abuse
telcontar2901'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
4.75
This book is a multi-layered story of a family: the bonds between spouses, parents + their children, and especially sisters—and how these bonds can twist, bend, and break. It took me about 100 pages to get the hang of this one, due to the structure and pace: the narrator takes her time describing things, and the story-within-a-story-within-a-story format will leave you with many questions. However, as I read on, I found my initial assumptions challenged as I was drawn into this moving story of regret and the passage of time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
Moderate: War, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Suicide
Minor: Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Pedophilia
habitualrereader's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, and Abortion
Minor: War
benjaminj1996's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
In a word - masterpiece. In some longer sentences:
This is a LONG book with lots to it, and it took me a long time to read. It wasn't always easy to read, even enjoyable, or easy to understand, but it was somehow always really engrossing and exceptional.
I don't want to spoil anything about the plot, because you just have to experience it, but there are stories within stories, layers upon layers, and Atwood masterfully controls a tangle of threads, plotting secrets and reveals in such an ingenious way. The book itself relies on the ambiguity of objective truth both in its plot and construction, meaning it's cohesive in its complexities. I did guess something that I was perhaps not supposed to know quite early on, but there was plenty more to it, and on reflection I wonder if this was actually by design of the author anyway.
This is clearly a literary (but very readable) book - it relies on the fact that you know you're reading a book to work properly (the opposite approach to, say, Patrick Gale, who aims for his readers to forget they're reading a book and just get lost in the characters and story), and while Atwood's writing is very 'writerly' with lots of very dark and lavish metaphors, somehow she's absolutely mastered the craft to the point where this isn't annoying and does actually add to the book and the authentic narrative voice.
There's just so much here that's presented so excellently. A steady unwind of information with purposeful ambiguity before you know what you need to know, a pace that grows exponentially towards the ending, and an ending so deftly realised that it almost slaps you across the face with a dark brilliance.
A true work of genius from one of the best living novelists.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, War, Misogyny, Miscarriage, and Suicide
Moderate: Rape, Violence, and Toxic relationship