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Book Reviews Title The
Blind Assassin Fiction-Net
Rating Buy It
From Amazon.co.uk - BUY
NOW! Cover
Story Laura Chase's
older sister Iris, married at eighteen to a
politically prominent industrialist but now poor
and eighty-two, is living in Port Ticonderoga, a
town dominated by their once-prosperous family
before the First War. While coping with her
unreliable body, Iris reflects on her far from
exemplary life, in particular the events
surrounding her sister's tragic death. Chief among
these was the publication of 'The Blind Assassin',
a novel which earned the dead Laura Chase not only
notoriety bu also a devoted cult following; as Iris
says, she herself lives 'in the long shadow cast by
Laura'. Sexually explicit
for its time, 'The Blind Assassin' describes a
risky affair in the turbulent thirties between a
wealthy young woman and a man on the run. During
their secret meetings in rented rooms, the lovers
concoct a pulp fantasy set on Planet Zycron. As the
invented story twists through love and sacrifice
and betrayal, so does the real one; while events in
both move closer to war and catastrophe. By turns
lyrical, outrageous, formidable, compelling and
funny, this is a novel filled with deep humour and
dark drama. It is Margaret Atwood at her
breathtaking best. We
Say Quite simply -
Margaret Atwood never, ever fails. I approach every
new book with trepidation, wondering if it can
possibly be as good as the last one. I have yet to
be disappointed. Having said that, doubts had begun
to creep in during the early stages of 'The Blind
Assassin'. The first sentence is a tantalising
genius stroke, "Ten days after the war ended, my
sister Laura drove a car off a bridge". But after
this initial shocker, the pace slows down a lot.
Though it is certainly worth keeping the faith and
sticking with it. Atwood literally builds up layer
upon layer of depth and meaning, cautiously but
quite deliberately leading the reader deeper into
the story. The eighty
two-year-old narrator is Mrs Iris Chase Griffen.
Iris narrates the history of her family; an old
respected and wealthy family whose fortunes fail
them sometime before the two world wars. She also
tells the story of her own loveless marriage, a
match of convenience made when the family was most
down on its luck. Interwoven with this, is the
actual text of a book attributed to her sister
Laura called 'The Blind Assassin'. Also, in between
chapters, there are cuttings from various
newspapers reporting on the deaths in the
Chase-Griffen families and descriptions of social
events that they attended. So, as you can tell,
there's a lot of flesh on the bones of this book.
Reading a book within a book is hard work at times
but it does make for a very complete story that
will leave you feeling wholly satisfied. The style of the
writing is thrilling as ever, with images that hit
you right between the eyes with their unexpected
accuracy. The last third of the book really picks
up speed with all the little hints and threads
beginning to make more sense as you arrive at the
shocking revelations at the end. If you're already
an Atwood fan, you'll love it. If you're not, read
this and you soon will be. Review by: Rachel
Taylor |
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