Monday, April 09, 2007
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood is, without doubt, a first class storyteller. This book held me spellbound – all 637 pages of it.
It tells the story of Iris Chase and her family, through the 20th century. Narrated by 83 year old Iris, we get not only Iris's own life in retrospect, but also an embedded novel, also called The Blind Assassin, which tells of a 1930s affair between a married woman and a political agitator on the run from the authorities, and a sci-fi story told by the man to his lover over the course of their infrequent meetings. Iris's life story takes in the momentous historical events of the first half of the century – WW1, the Depression, the Spanish Civil War, WW2 – as well as the changing role of women in society, while the sci-fi story is a clear metaphor for the political and social upheavals of the era.
Iris's subversive perspective, self-deprecating but loaded with the cynical wisdom of experience, is immensely charming and likeable, and Atwood's literary brilliance ensures a narrative that perfectly expresses character and context.
A feast of a book. I savoured every bite.
