The Blind Assassin
2 journalers for this copy...
to be read.... comments later!
So I have so many books waiting to be read that it took me four years to get to this one! I just love Margaret Atwood books, and this one is superb. It is the way she puts things together and the quality of the writing which is so enticing, and it is very difficult to describe to another person. This story within a story is multi-layered, rich in detail, true to personalities and logic in the very mystery of the way individual lifes unfold. The reader does figure out some things as it goes along, but not until the end do all the pieces finally come together. The unpredictability of love, the need for a meaningful relationship, the unwitting ways we hurt those we care about, the mean spiritedness of people as well as their kindnesses, it's all in here. War hovers and matters, but the individual battles of persons is the real focus. I grew to love the old woman Iris as she unveils bit by bit the story of her life and that of her sister Laura, as well as her unflinching look at herself and her reality;. One could stop and wonder how much we can trust of the tales others tell us of themselves, how much we function with assumed and erroneous knowledge, how little it matters after all. It does take the reader a while to get into the novel since the early pages deal with newspaper announcements and the emerging tale of the Blind Assassin, and until Iris the older woman begins to put down her own memories, one is a bit lost. That too, I suspect, fits perfectly as a mirror of life's experiences. I will be sending this off to Neuilly in NYC next.
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
I hope to send this along Tuesday to Neuilly, if I can get to the Post Office before it closes on that day; if not, I'll do so as soon as possible.
I hope to send this along Tuesday to Neuilly, if I can get to the Post Office before it closes on that day; if not, I'll do so as soon as possible.
I received this beautiful hardcover as a RABCK and I really look forward to getting a chance to read this. I've wanted to read this for a while, and now I finally will. Atwood is one of my favorite authors, and I've heard from various people and sources that this is her best. So excited!