Margaret Atwood's Prize Winner
by Lucy S
“Then I’ll tell you a story. I’ll tell you this story; the story of how you came to be here, sitting in my kitchen, listening to the story I’ve been telling you...What is it I want from you? Not love: that would be too much to ask. Not forgiveness, which isn’t yours to bestow. Only a listener, perhaps; only someone who will see me.”
Margaret Atwood is a remarkably prolific author whose works include 16 novels, 8 collections of short fiction, children’s books, collections of poetry, non-fiction works, television scripts, a graphic novel and a play. In 2000 she won The Man Booker Prize for The Blind Assassin. This multi-layered novel contain books within books, plots stacking up and overlapping. Atwood masterfully uses her characters as storytellers to create an expansive and complex narrative.
The Blind Assassin defies an orderly summary. Using multiple literary devices, Atwood deftly braids together three main threads to create this textured tale. Though the plot is complicated, at times confounding, it is also highly compelling. Iris Chase Griffen is at the end of her life as she chronicles, in writing, how she fills her days. While she is detailing this, she is also writing about her childhood spent with her sister, Laura. The third main thread of the story is “The Blind Assassin,” a novel published posthumously by Laura. These independent episodes create a whole which reads like a gothic mystery blended with speculative fiction. We learn of Laura Chase’s death in the opening line of the novel, and we know how she died, but Atwood leads us on a long, twisted path to deliver the why. “From here on in, things take a darker turn. But then, you knew they would. You knew it, because you already know what happened to Laura.”
For those of you on the long hold list for her extremely popular, and timely The Handmaid’s Tale, or those looking for more Atwood, Margaret post-The Handmaid’s Tale, The Blind Assassin is definitely worth delving into.
Blog Post
Comments
This book has been on my
This book has been on my radar for a while, but I haven't gotten around to reading it. Maybe now that you've jogged my memory I'll finally have a chance to read it! It sounds like an interesting type of metafiction is at play here, and I'm always curious to see how authors reconcile different story threads like this.
If you are interested in
If you are interested in Margaret Atwood and megafiction I would also recommend Hag-Seed, her retelling of The Tempest.
http://www.aadl.org/catalog/record/1493102
I'm looking forward to
I'm looking forward to checking this one out!
Please add me -- my friend code is: SWEET646
Remarkable writer and
Remarkable writer and enthralling book.
I was fortunate to hear
I was fortunate to hear Margaret Atwood speak live last October at an event sponsored by Literati Books. It was beyond wonderful!
While I'm always a fan of
While I'm always a fan of using the local library, Margaret Atwood's books are worthy of purchase to have at home. Very re-readable. I'm looking forward to this one
Interesting. I'll have to
Interesting. I'll have to take a look at this one.
I'm actually not a huge fan
I'm actually not a huge fan of Hulu's Handmaid's Tale, but I am a fan of Atwood. I can read her books repeatedly and find something different every time. The Blind Assassin is my favorite.
I've read some of her
I've read some of her previous books I might check it out