Plot: "Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge."More than fifty years on, Iris Chase is remembering Laura's mysterious death. And so begins and extraordinary and compelling story of two sisters and their secrets. Set against a panoramic backdrop of twentieth-century history, The Blind Assassin is an epic tale of memory, intrigue and betrayal.
The Blind Assassin was the winner of the 2000 Booker Prize and represented the first win for Margaret Atwood having been previously nominated three times before for The Handmaid's Tale in 1986, Cat's Eye in 1989 and Alias Grace in 1996. I had never read any of her novels before and have to say that it was the cover that initially attracted me to the book and then the intriguing plot summary.
The Blind Assassin is made up of three different parts which consistently intertwine. At the beginning of the novel we are introduced to Iris Chase in the modern day who is writing her memoires for the benefit of her estranged grand daughter and who is our main guide on the journey through the life of the Chase sisters.
The 2nd part, made up of newspaper articles scattered throughout the book, provide us with background information on the life of this family and the important historical events in Canada at the time. The third part is a novel within the novel. 'The Blind Assassin' is not just the title of the book, but also the title of the novel Laura Chase wrote before her death and which has been published posthumously. In this book we are introduced to two characters carrying out a clandestine love affair and during their meetings, the male character narrates science fiction stories about children forced to make carpets until they lose their sight, who are then recruited as assassins. Hence the title 'The Blind Assassin.'
If this all sounds a bit complicated then to be honest at first it is. However, once you get used to the way the novel jumps around and begin to learn more about the background to Laura's novel, then everything starts to fit into place and I found this book really difficult to put down.
Iris' story of how she is married off to a cold, heartless business tycoon in order to save her family from ruin demonstrates how women were too often treated as material goods passed from father to husband in the early 20th century. The way she is treated by her in-laws and her declining relationship with her sister are heartbreaking, but there is also a considerable element of humour within the book, particularly in Iris' descriptions of daily life as an old woman.
There are a number of twists and turns in the book and some were easier to see coming than others, but overall the final twist took me by surprise and I plan on reading the book again in the future to see if my opinions of the characters are changed by this revelation. Some of the other reviews of this book that I have read have complained that the characters were too distant and difficult to feel any sympathy for. I disagree with this. Although Laura Chase comes across as a complex character who we never really understand completely, our narrator Iris Chase is incredibly sympathetic and she ends the novel by acknowledging the mistakes she has made, without seeking forgiveness.
Just as each character in the book interprets Laura's novel in different ways in order to fit with their idea of the truth behind her death, each reader of Margaret Atwood's book is likely to have their own view as to whether or not Laura is a victim of circumstance or the instigator of her own sad fate.
Overall I think this book is definitely worth a read, especially for book groups because there are so many opportunities for different interpretations of the story.
I would love to know how many of you have read this book and whether you liked it. Also have you read any of Margaret Atwood's other novels? Could you recommend which one I should tackle next?
