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The Blind Assassin

Margaret Atwood

Start date: June 15, 2015

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ATWOOD-BLIND ASSASSIN

Blind Assassin thread 4: Part XI - End & Large SPOILERS
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Mar 06, 2016 Erich C rated it liked it

I loved The Handmaid's Tale and had great expectations for this book.

The positives:
1. Atwood's writing is beautiful. When I asked myself, "Would this book have been published if the writer's name hadn't been Margaret Atwood?" my answer was "Yes" because of the author's remarkable control of language.
2. The characters lived. I especially enjoyed the dry wit of the narrator and the understated way in which Atwood built her characters.
3. The book has a tremendous sense of time. The peripheral event I loved The Handmaid's Tale and had great expectations for this book.

The positives:
1. Atwood's writing is beautiful. When I asked myself, "Would this book have been published if the writer's name hadn't been Margaret Atwood?" my answer was "Yes" because of the author's remarkable control of language.
2. The characters lived. I especially enjoyed the dry wit of the narrator and the understated way in which Atwood built her characters.
3. The book has a tremendous sense of time. The peripheral events that were happening at the time of the story are palpable.

The negatives:
1. I knew from reading reviews that there would be "surprises" and "twists." When the going got slow, that kept me reading. However, it all turned out to be sort of hum-drum, with the foreshadowing of Richard and Winifred's true characters being more engaging than the truth when it came out. Had this been written in the 1950s, it would have made more waves. The domestic, social, and class taboos still exist, but they certainly don't have the power to shock.
2. Atwood glossed over some of the more intriguing elements of the narrative. For example, I would like to have learned more specifically about what Laura experienced rather than reading about the trite rendezvous of an unnamed couple. Instead, it was all the surface elements of the gothic without the underlying intense emotions.
3. The "Blind Assassin" story-within-a-story-within-a-story was a great imitation of pulp, showing Atwood's mastery of technique. But what is the point? To give character to the unnamed lovers? That could have been done without forcing me to read the dang thing. To suggest parallels between that narrative and the main narrative (Why was he blind and she tongueless? Love is blind? Marriage robs women of their ability to express themselves?)? Why work so hard?
4. The newspaper excerpts and society pages were tedious and only seemed to function as ways to contrast the public vs private lives of the characters and to set the narrative within historical time. Margaret, show me; don't tell me: Instead, stage a party scene and have people say things that, because we know the truth, seem ironic.
5. Would this have won the Booker if the author's name hadn't been Margaret Atwood? My guess is no.

A one-timer for me. ...more

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