The Blind Assassin in Bound Together

Oct 18, 2014 Annet rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dark, crime, literature-pure, beautiful-poetic, have-to-read-again, coming-of-age, family-ties, classics, wow-impressive, age-ing

‘It’s loss and regret and misery and yearn that drive the story forward, along its twisted road’, Margaret Atwood towards the end of this book. It describes the story of the Blind Assassin, which starts with the famous sentence: ‘Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge.’….
I’m deeply impressed and affected by this book. Without a doubt one of the best I ever read.

I started this book last year, had it on my shelves for a long time already. I couldn’t really bring m ‘It’s loss and regret and misery and yearn that drive the story forward, along its twisted road’, Margaret Atwood towards the end of this book. It describes the story of the Blind Assassin, which starts with the famous sentence: ‘Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge.’….
I’m deeply impressed and affected by this book. Without a doubt one of the best I ever read.

I started this book last year, had it on my shelves for a long time already. I couldn’t really bring myself to start on it, but I am a big fan of the apocalyptic books of Atwood and really thought I should do this. I started, and a couple hundred pages in, I stopped in October… and resumed the book in January. Don’t quite know why. It’s not an easy to read book. It takes all your attention, effort, energy. You need to stay alert. No easy reading here. And… the book deserves all that attention. Because every sentence, description, character is interesting, the story is so beautifully written. I just needed a break I guess.

Without getting into detail, because that would soon mean spoiling. It’s a dramatic mysterious story and you keep wondering who is who, what am I missing, who did what… in the end, it all fell into place for me (I think). I absolutely loved the story telling of Iris, the sister of Laura. Iris, an old lady now, tells the story of her family, her father, her sister Laura, her political and unloving husband Richard and gruesome sister in law Winifred… It’s a story of tragedy, love, guilt, power and powerlessness.

Iris’ stories are personal, sad, guilt felt, but also sharp, cynic, humorous. Her observations witty. About her husband… ‘He was putting on weight, he was eating out a lot; he was making speeches, at clubs, at weighty gatherings. Ponderous gatherings, at which weighty, substantial men met and pondered, because, everyone suspected it, there was heavy weather ahead. All that speechmaking can bloat a man up. I’ve watched the process, many times now. It’s those kinds of words, the kind they use in speeches. They have a fermenting effect on the brain…’

The scenes for example where she sits in the toilet of the doughnut shop, to read the new sentences added to the toilet door are great little scenes. ‘The newest message was in gold marker: You can’t get to heaven without Jesus. Already the annotators had been at work: Jesus had been crossed out and Death written above it, in black. And below that in green: Heaven is in a grain of sand. Blake…..’ Her stories are alternated by chapters called ‘The Blind Assassin’ of a man and woman meeting each other secretly in sleezy places, having an affair obviously, who are they? And always accompanied by a science fiction type story about the planet Zycron and the city Sakiel-Norn, a story that the man tells the woman in parts.

I took the last part of the book in stages of 30-50 pages, slowly reading on and taking everything in. I don’t know quite what to say anymore. I will be thinking a lot about this impressive story... For those who find it hard to get through the start, do keep at it, it’s worth it…. Truly, a grand book. ...more

137 likes · Like · see review

Jun 19, 2015 Chrissie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, returned, hf, 2015-read, audible-us, magic, canada

First of all, I totally agree with all who adore Atwood's words. How do you describe them, so those who have not yet read a book by Atwood will properly understand? You read one of Atwood's sentences and the words mean more than what is said. Each sentence has several meanings; it us up the reader to interpret them.

Many lines send your head into a twirl. How do people interact? What do you see if you observe carefully? Atwood says, "As for the dance, it was more like a battle than a dance." If First of all, I totally agree with all who adore Atwood's words. How do you describe them, so those who have not yet read a book by Atwood will properly understand? You read one of Atwood's sentences and the words mean more than what is said. Each sentence has several meanings; it us up the reader to interpret them.

Many lines send your head into a twirl. How do people interact? What do you see if you observe carefully? Atwood says, "As for the dance, it was more like a battle than a dance." If there is a stare, is it a stare of hostility, jealousy or joy?

What do you think of this line? "Romance means leaving things out." You must always read between the lines, Atwood's lines that is.

Some lines make you chuckle. Iris "scooped (the peanut butter) directly from the jar with her forefinger. Why dirty a spoon?" And you? Have you never done this?

Some lines create a tension, a feeling, "voices like liquid rope." Let me add here that the audiobook narration by Lorelei King is top-notch, superb. The voices sound here exactly as "liquid rope"! Children's and adults’, male and female, each character has a perfect intonation. Those told in first person, those in the third person, those in the crazy story within the story.

Then there are the lines of Reenie, the loyal Chase family housekeeper. She is responsible for the running commentary on the family's shenanigans. Her lines are pitch-perfect: "Business is business and then there is funny business." or "Loose your temper and you lose the fight." I should remember that myself! She is the one who raised both Chase girls, Laura the younger and Iris the older. It is a bit pat, by that I mean the role that she plays, but I couldn't help but like her! Reenie advises Laura to, "Think twice." Wise Laura responds, "Why only twice?" You may think she is young and naive but she has a head on her shoulders, that young one!

Enough about Atwood's words, I find them sometimes delightful, sometimes humorous, and often noteworthy. They say much more than what you take them for at first glance. This aspect of the writing I like VERY much.

BUT, I have had huge problems with the story within the story, also called "The Blind Assassin"! Making it even worse, there is a third story within the second story. All these stories within stories are confusing. The so called "clever" point, that is to be made, is NOT convincing, as far as I am concerned. I do not find (view spoiler) I find the fantasy, science fiction parts boring. I wanted those sections to end as soon as possible.

I admit, I like neither science fiction nor mystery! There is a mystery element too. The writing I appreciate, but not the plot.
...more

35 likes · Like · see review

Jan 20, 2011 PattyMacDotComma marked it as dnf-abandoned

I did not finish this. I tried and tried and just couldn't get interested in any of the stories within the story. I couldn't bring myself to care about the characters, so I gave up and moved on. It's sad, because I always look forward to Atwood's work. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Mar 31, 2013 Irene rated it really liked it

Reading this prize-winning novel was absolutely pleasurable. I loved the play of language, especially the similes. Eighty-three year old Iris recounts the story of the first 35 years of her life as a final legacy to her estranged granddaughter. We experience the slowly evolving maturation and self-possession of a wealthy, sheltered young woman in the early 20th century. We feel her loves and longings, her timidities and uncertainties, her betrayals both done to and by her. The story unfolds like ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 28, 2021 Bucket rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-read-all-editions, literary, world-lit, experimental, reviewed, life-and-death, unreliable-narrator, women

It took me a while to get into this one, and I'm not one who needs a bracing plot. The structure is interesting, and ultimately works in the end, but I found it a little clumsy at the start. The newspaper articles either told me too much or not enough in advance of reaching those points in Iris's narrative.

But I enjoyed both Iris and Laura - they are broken people and not fun or charming, but interesting. Social constrictions placed on women are at the root of their problems, but their family m ...more

Like · see review