Margaret Atwood's “The Blind Assassin” has recently been named this year's Booker Prize
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winner, and what an undertaking it is! Hailed as one of her best already, be prepared for
quite a ride in this novel, which is really a novel-within-a-novel. But no matter. Both are
worth your time! Complicated, yes; convoluted, yes; well-written, yes! It is told in first
person by Iris, the older sister, and set in 1945. Iris has witnessed her younger sister's
death--she drives her car off a bridge in Toronto. Officially labeled “accidental,” the book
takes off from there. The “second novel” is a sciene fiction one .” (It is told by a pair of
anonymous lovers, who seem to delight in spending a lot of time in third-rate hotel rooms!)
Both “books” are absorbing on their own as intriguing stories! Again, not an easy book to
absorb--but one well worth the effort. Atwood's reputation remains firmly fixed with this
one, and surprising--and satisfying--twists the book takes make it one prize-winner nont to
be missed.
The review of this Book prepared by Bill Hobbs
