noracharles | The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

We'll be reading and discussing The Blind Assassin from June 24th to June 30th. Only the first chapter is required reading to participate in the discussion, but of course you're very welcome to read on for as long as you enjoy the book.

The Blind Assassin opens with these simple, resonant words: "Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge." They are spoken by Iris, whose terse account of her sister's death in 1945 is followed by an inquest report proclaiming the death accidental. But just as the reader expects to settle into Laura's story, Atwood introduces a novel-within-a-novel. Entitled The Blind Assassin, it is a science fiction story told by two unnamed lovers who meet in dingy backstreet rooms. When we return to Iris, it is through a 1947 newspaper article announcing the discovery of a sailboat carrying the dead body of her husband, a distinguished industrialist. Brilliantly weaving together such seemingly disparate elements, Atwood creates a world of astonishing vision and unforgettable impact.

Because the first chapter is five and a half pages long, I am committing to reading at least the second chapter.

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From:

noracharles

From:

noracharles

Wow, that's a lot of repressed and dissociated emotion, and an intriguing start. I like how Atwood first shows the narrator's emotional distance to the suicide, then has her tell us and explain it, with her being in shock and with keeping up appearances. I wonder about the beautiful imagery, why that is.

From:

noracharles

From:

noracharles

So Mrs. Richard E. Griffen got her way, and the police did as she wanted. How much is respect for the dead and how much is fear of Richard Griffen?

From:

noracharles

From:

noracharles

I don't know what to think about this. It's beautiful and sensual, but it doesn't really grab me. I guess I'm glad it's only a short interlude.

From:

blnchflr

Do we find out who the other two people present at the time of the picture are (the person the hand belongs to + the photographer)? @ anyone who's maybe read the whole book.

From:

noracharles

From:

noracharles

Hmm. It's a typical butch adventure tale, so interesting enough parody. If the guy is trying to impress her, why is he making it so self-consciously masculine and lurid? She seems to be into him, anyway. I always feel a little annoyed when the point of view character is shown to be really into a love interest but I have no idea what's supposedly so great about them.

Does the narrator have autobiographical properties of Laura? Probably, right? Laura's sister shares that creeping feeling of always being watched and evaluated by others.

From:

blnchflr

I always feel a lot annoyed, *g*. But then I decided I didn't care for either of them, so whatevs.

From:

noracharles

That's a good attitude to have about it! I'm definitely going to try to care less about the woman in Laura's book. I don't understand her choices and find it difficult to sympathize with her.

From:

kabal42

I was thinking the same. That she is probably a key or something for Laura. I find it hard to really get into either of the second and third tier stories, though the second especially. The third has the trappings of world building, which draws me in a little, as appalling as the world seems to be, and the first story has a good sense of mystery right now. I want to know where that one goes! (Shoot, I may have to read the entire thing *G* I found a preview of the first two chapters on google books for free.)

From:

noracharles

I'm glad you're reading along, I didn't think you would have time! I've been too busy since Sunday to read any further, but I still am a little tempted, to see if maybe it grows on me.

I do like the sense of mystery of Iris' story too, and I suppose I could like a story about a blind assassin if it turns more bad ass revenge tale than horrible mash-up of bolshevik hatred of nobility and low-self-esteem male hatred of women.

But I have to be honest, I checked out some reviews on amazon and good reads to find out if the people who dislike the same elements as I do notice them through out the whole book, and they do. :/

From:

kabal42

I wasn't sure I would, but thanks to you putting up the discussion post so early, I had time :)

Yes, same here. So I guess I hope ;) I might borrow it from the library and find out.

Too bad to hear, though :( And it does make me less inclined to read more.

From:

noracharles

From:

noracharles

Ah, so we get a name for Iris. And she has a daughter. Iris seemed angry about the manuscript Laura left her, but she still had it published? Iris' sister in law Winifred is "noted socialite" - how will that work with Iris' desire for privacy and a respectable facade?

From:

noracharles

From:

noracharles

He's kind of horrible. While I'm glad she's poking a little fun at his story, it's not enough to make up for how off-putting I find him flirting with barely veiled feelings of violence against women. I'm also not fond of the wandering point of view in Laura's novel. I thought at first it was just a mistake Laura made, but now I think she may be going for a James Joyce thing :(

From:

noracharles

From:

noracharles

I was hoping this newspaper clipping would be another death to spice things up, but that's really sad. Poor little girl. I wonder why Iris was not involved in her life.

From:

noracharles

From:

noracharles

Disgusting. I'm not so sure anymore that she's into him, or wholly into him. When I originally bought this novel I never got past chapter two though I was very much looking forward to reading it, but I didn't remember why. This grossness was probably part of what made me stop reading.

From:

noracharles

From:

noracharles

Winifred led a long life, and got a better reputation, it seems. I hope she and Sabrina were happy.

From:

noracharles

From:

noracharles

This is where I originally stopped reading, from where I found the bookmark. I don't know. It's gross, he's horrible, I don't understand why she keeps going to him, but at least it is being directly adressed. Nothing I hate more than creepiness that goes unacknowledged.

I haven't read it, but the guy reminds me of a story that's summaried in Quills, the movie about the Marquis de Sade. It's about a sadist who gets off on debasing a noble woman, and whenever she stops being horrified and disquieted by what he's done, he comes up with something even worse. And when she grows used to that, he dumps her because she's beneath him.

It's making me not particularly want to continue reading this book, but at the same time, since it's so popular, I have to hope something improves further along.

From:

blnchflr

Sounds like a lovely sadist.

Apart from him being creepy, I lose patience with characters who insist on speaking on riddles. Ok, suresen, enough negativity from you :)

I'm super-happy to have read the first chapter - it forced me to think about what I thought about it and put it down in words, and that's never a bad thing. But I'm unlikely to ever understand Atwood/become a fan.

From:

noracharles

I didn't notice him speaking in riddles, can you give an example?

I actually own several books by Atwood, bought because the were on sale and came highly recced and because I'd liked the one book by her I had read, and also because she's written some science fiction, right?

The book I've read by her also dealt intensely with the patriarchy and the complex way priviledge can intersect when a woman has class and race priviledge. It was extremely creepy, but it was also deliberately and elegantly creepy, if you know what I mean.

From:

blnchflr

Eh, I thought I could motivate myself to look up examples, but hockey ate my brain again, and now I'm over The Blind Assassin. It's also also quite possible I just don't get what he's trying to say, *handwaves*.

Have you managed to read on?

From:

noracharles

No, I'm over The Blind Assassin, too. After reading reviews I felt very discouraged, and then someone recced a book to me which is like candy and has even been easier to read in small chunks and keep my attention on than fic, so now I've mostly forgotten about Atwood.

From:

noracharles

From:

noracharles

Okay, if Laura's authorship continues to be this celebrated, maybe her novel is not horrible all the way through. How is its morality?

I like how Atwood can write in so many styles, her clippings really are spot on in the language of their eras. Laura's book is also similar in style to many forties novels I have read (at least parts of).

That's the conclusion of chapter two! I think I'll give chapter three a try as well, and hope there aren't two many excerpts of The Blind Assassin. Do you suppose this is why the excerpts are not labeled in the index, so as not to put readers off in advance?

From:

blnchflr

Yeah, I don't understand what's supposed to be so awesome about the fictional novel?

I think the newspaper clippings style is ok, but I'm not that impressed. But I'm speaking as someone who soured on the novel. Either way, as I point out in my comment messing up your system (sorry, posted comment before reading previous comments for Reasons), the other parts (narration + novel) read similarly to me.

From:

noracharles

Don't worry about my system, I found it less intimidating to read a tiny section at a time, but people can respond in any way they feel comfortable.

I definitely see a family resemblance between Iris' narration and Laura's novel, and I assume it must be intentional, given that the clippings are so distinct.

Maybe the novel became famous because Iris uncovers it as a roman à clef? That's a guess, I haven't read beyond chapter two yet.

Edited Date: 2015-06-21 07:38 pm (UTC)

From:

blnchflr

I only took notes on the first chapter - here unedited:

My copy of The Blind Assassin is 641 pages - I'm happy we're not attempting to read whole novels.

But it was an intriguing first chapter - In just one 6-page chapter we get:

A first-person narrative
A newspaper article
A novel within the novel

Wow :)

Basically knowing way too little about literature considering my university degree in literature, I hadn't realized The Blind Assassin was as new as 2000 until I wrote up the schedule for the reading club.

Reading the first lines I was struck with how not-2000 it was written. I don't know Atwood enough to know if she successfully wrote as if she was writing in 1945, or if her writing style is just a little old-fashioned?

She really likes her similes and similar figures of speech - or Iris and Laura do.

Iris (first-person narrative):
feathery with new leaves
no more fuss than stepping off a curb
as if from a distance
as if I'd been to the dentist
like ink spilled in water
less like something she'd chosen to put on than like something she'd been locked up in
as if she were admiring the view
glinting like a dragonfly

Laura (novel within the novel):
leather cases that looked like muzzles
like the heat from a sun-warmed stone at midnight
like a scratched match flaring
as if to fend her off in play
this square, lighted window of glazed paper
as if she's peering into a well or pool
shimmering like a jewel on sand
as if discarded
like ice cream smudged on chrome

Ok O___O

(I read on after the first chapter, but I didn't care for the characters at all, and when the sexual exploitation theme came up, I was reminded why I couldn't get through The Handmaid's Tale, either.)

From:

noracharles

I feel the same, I really noticed the 1940s writing style and the similes, and was impressed and eager to read on after chapter one, but alas.

Is Atwood always like that? No one has ever said so to me, I've been given to understand that The Handmaid's Tale is an exception, but the only two novels I've attempted to read by her have both been very concerned with sexual assault.

I don't like Laura very much so far, I don't like Laura's characters, and I'm disappointed in Iris for not looking after her granddaughter, but I'm still hopeful that I'll grow to like the book if I give it a bit more of a chance.

From:

wishfulclicking

Did you continue on? Did some of the things bothering you get better? I find The Blind Assassin parts increasingly offputting but I only read the first two chapters.

From:

noracharles

I did not continue on. :(
I read some reviews to figure out if the things I didn't like were going to get better, and several reviewers agreed that they were an issue throughout the whole book. I'm glad you gave the book a chance and read the first two chapters, even if it was not exactly a good experience for you! I feel like I ought to like Atwood, you know, and now the four of us have been very moral and upstanding in giving her a chance. ;)

From:

blnchflr

I think what bothers me is not the themes of sexual assault, but that the women in her stories seem to have so little agency in regards to it. WHICH IS TOTES REALISTIC, but it wearies me.

From:

wishfulclicking

I definitely noticed the style in the fake book and and Iris' part. The first sentence intrigued me and I actually wanted to know more about Iris and Laura, and I even kind of liked the Blind Assassin part with the photograph just because the imagery was so well done; but, having said that, I am not really enjoying The Blind Assassin parts and am wondering how the novel became so noted? Maybe it was a case of it getting popular attention even if the build of it may not be so spectacular?

I do remember liking The Handmaid's Tale more than this from the beginning. Penelopiad, which is shorter, is still my favorite of hers; but I haven't read a lot of her works. Still want to check out the Mad Adam trilogy.

From:

blnchflr

It's a great first sentence!

I don't get why the novel is so noted, but then I don't get why most great novels are noted :)

I think I'm done with Atwood - until the next time I forget I don't like her writing ^___^

But again not unhappy at all to have read a few chapters of something not fanfiction, that is always good!

From:

calvinahobbes

Urgh, I completely failed to join in on this convo, but I DID get part-way through III!

I agree that the problem with Atwood is that she writes unpleasant stuff - she's a great writer, but she uses it for creeping her reader out in this really unsettling way that she is very good at, but I just hate feel-bad-reads. *sigh* That said, I really am impressed with her range. This book's style and language is markedly different from Onyx and Crake, which I actually did manage to finish for a uni course.

I'm not actually turned completely off it yet. I like the way she weaves the different styles, and I actually want to know what happens next in The Blind Assassin. I'm actually a little bummed out that I don't really have time to stay with it, because we're on to the next book.

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