Author: Margaret Atwood
The Blind Assassin is a very interesting book written mainly from the perspective of Iris Chase, later Griffin, who narrates her life. However, the book also has elements of social history, which were cleverly written, thus, there are various fictional newspaper articles, obituaries, etc. I thought this was very interesting because while we read the story of Iris, we also read these short articles and obituaries, which confirm what Iris is telling us. The book was not initially an easy read because Iris talks about the present but then suddenly goes to the past, but once I got used to it, I enjoyed reading about her thoughts and life events because I generally like books that focus on characters and their life stories.
The book also has chapters with a sci-fi story written by Iris’s sister, Laura, which appear throughout the book and interrupt the main narrative. I did not think this story was particularly well-written, but at the same time, I noticed how the alleged author grows throughout this writing, so towards the end, it becomes better, and there is an unexpected ending to the sci-fi story.
The story of Iris and her sister Laura is also very interesting because the two sisters are upper-class members of the society, which got impoverished after WWII. This results in Iris having to marry Richard, a guy from ‘new money’ but no class or style, as she describes him. The whole notion of ‘old money’ vs ‘new money’ was very interesting, particularly when Iris describes Richard’s sister who clearly has no style or class for her standards, and who behaves in ways that appear to be vulgar and too much, whilst also not understanding that Iris’ reservedness is not passive aggression but simply manners learnt in an ‘old money’ society. I really wish the author explored this more, but I enjoyed it immensely due to links to my fashion research and my general interest in social class. This in itself adds immense value to The Blind Assassin (which is a title of the sci-fi story that runs through the book).
We learn at the beginning of the book that Laura died in a car accident/suicide, and Iris, throughout the book, narrates the story of their lives and what led to this misfortunate and tragic event. The story of the sisters’ lives is also embedded into the wider political and societal circumstances of the time, the early 20th century and after the WWII; thus, we also follow Canadian society of the time. I thought this was also very interesting, particularly the part on the Communist attempt to gain power in Canada, and how first Iris’ father got affected, and then later Iris’ husband, Richard. There is ultimately a love story here, albeit this is in the shadows and somewhat hidden, which is what I loved because I have never been keen on romance stories, but I do not mind love and romance if part of a larger narrative, as this book masterfully does. What is more, this book also explores the lack of love, affection, and hidden feelings, as well as tragedies that can happen as a result of love.
There is so much I could say about The Blind Assassin, but I am concerned with spoiling it, so I will stop and suggest that everybody read this book. If it is a heavy read initially, stick with it, and you will not be sorry. I would personally prefer it if it was a book in 2-3 parts, but it was worth the read nonetheless.
Thank you for reading!