The blind assassin

Paperback, 659 pages

English language

Published July 14, 2000 by Seal Books.

ISBN:
978-0-7704-2882-2
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
463400886

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4 stars (26 reviews)

More than fifty years on, Iris Chase is remembering Laura's mysterious death. And so begins an extraordinary and compelling story of two sisters and their secrets. Set against a panoramic backdrop of twentieth-century history, The Blind Assassin is an epic tale of memory, intrigue and betrayal...

44 editions

600 pages

5 stars

Wow, i didn't notice that it took me a while to read it. Well, blame it on some stressful deadlines and on the fact that it's made of 600 pages, I guess because I loved it. I wouldn't say I didn't have expectations, but my expectations were few and kind of low, since Atwood has become so famous in the past few years (yes, I'm a snob or a hipster). I don't have the time or the spirit to write a long and cool review, so I'm just gonna say:

  • good plot;
  • great writing!

Won't read The Handmaid Tales. Maybe.

Review of 'BLIND ASSASSIN.' on 'Storygraph'

1 star

<spoiler>I finished only this book because of a twist promised in a review, but when the twist came, I nearly missed it.</spoiler> Most unimpressed.

Review of 'The blind assassin' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I've been thinking about what I want to say about this book since I finished it a few days ago. I loved the theory of this book. Two stories, interleaved -- one of an old woman looking back on her life and the suicide of her sister, and the other of the book her sister left behind. The themes of sacrifice and loneliness and sadness that echo throughout the writing. In retrospect, as I look at it logically, I want to like this book.

But it just didn't work for me as a story. It was just too slow-moving, the themes too obvious, the villains too villainous. The "surprise" ending felt hasty and patched. The pulpy space opera novel-within-a-novel-within a novel was tedious and dumb, and I didn't believe for a second that the book was as terrific and life-changing as it was described.

It took me two tries across โ€ฆ

Review of 'The Blind Assassin' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Another great read and phenomenal book from Margaret Atwood! Quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Her vocabulary and descriptive turns-of-phrases are levels above anyone I think I have ever read. And for the third book in a row (that I have read), Atwood does a fantastic job of crafting a story that entertains as well as making you think.

While The Blind Assassin starts off slower than other Atwood books that I have read, it is in no way less exciting that the others. Once things start to fall into place for the reader, it becomes a page-turner that you don't want to put down until you know the truth about everything and see if your hunches are, indeed, correct.

I would recommend either Oryx & Crake or The Handmaid's Tale for first time Atwood readers, but The Blind Assassin is definitely a must read for anyone who is โ€ฆ

Review of 'The blind assassin' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

No one beats Atwood for a brilliant terrifying dystopia, to the point that I've read many (many!) of Atwood's being-a-well-off-white-woman-in-Canada stories, like The Blind Assassin, looking for the same thrill. It's as if Margaret Atwood is two completely different authors, dependent on her subject matter.

This book was the last white-woman-in-Canada Atwood book I'll try. No more Atwood unless there's a robot on the cover.