OBOC - Canada

Maragaret Atwood has long been on my reading list but until now I had postponed reading her. She was the obvious choice for me for Canada and I had a difficult time deciding which of her books to read. I decided on "The Blind Assassin" not because of the Booker Prize, but because descriptions of the novel convinced me that I would also get a good picture of Canada, which after all is one of the main objectives of OBOC.

I heard you either love or hate her writings. I am now certainly in the former camp. I loved the book, for the plot, for the style (she pulled off 4 stories in one novel all intertwined with each other), the lyrical prose, the characters and for the historic setting which painted a picture of Canada through the war years.

If you want the plot -Iris Chase the protagonist is now an old woman in her eighties reliving the events of her childhood, her unhappy marriage to Richard Griffien, the death of her sister Laura following the Second World War and how her life takes shape after these tragic events. Iris is recounting these incidents in the hope that her estranged granddaughter Sabrina would just listen to her story(not seeking her forgiveness or love - we are told). The story is as much Laura's as it is Iris' as their lives are intertwined. 'The Blind Assassin" is recognized as Laura's posthumous work and this novel contains another novel in which the lead character (a hunted communist - assumed to be Alex Thomas a childhood friend of both the sisters) is narrating a science fiction story to his lover (assumed to be Laura) during their clandestine meetings.

The main story is a revelation and as it progresses all our questions are answered - what caused Laura's death? what did Alex Thomas mean to the two sisters? why did Richard kill himself? who actually wrote the novel - The Blind Assassin? - some are more obvious than the others, still the process of unraveling kept me very engrossed. Now if all this seems too complicated, trust me we are in good hands. Atwood's skill in weaving all these stories and tying them all up is similar to that of a brilliant musician or a visual artist who brings it together!

Interwoven into all these stories, is also the story of Canada during the Depression and the Second World War.  Losing the button factory during the Depression led to Iris' marriage to Richard and her dad drinking himself to death; the sisters' relationship with Alex Thomas was always in the hiding because he was a hunted Communist;  Richard's stance over the years wavers from admiration for the Nazis to supporting the Communists under "Uncle Joe" (Stalin) - through these episodes in Iris' and Laura's lives we get a vivid picture of Canada during the '30s and '40s. Also not lost on me were the descriptions of the women and their lives as they lived through the war outside their homes and the violence within the confines of their own home.

The other interesting aspect of the novel was how the wild fantasy ride of the science fiction novel within the novel was a clever allegory for the events of the Second World War. Residents of Sakiel Norn joining with the Barbarians to fight the Lizard Men, is a possible allegory for Allied forces joining with the much hated Communists to take on the Nazis. The plight of the mute maiden and her noble rescuer the Blind Assassin - parallels Iris' & Laura's state and Alex's fate at the end of the war. Now is that intentional or am I reading too much between the lines? I don't know, but it was interesting alright!


Iris Chase will remain one of the most memorable characters in fiction for me. She is in no way perfect. I expected a lot more out of her and blamed her indirectly for Laura's death. There were many things she could've done and should've done, but i also forgave her as she was certainly a victim of circumstances too.

Overall, great plot - check; great characters - check; great technique - check; great storytelling - check. The only negative,  I now don't have Chile or China with me as I thought this one would take much longer to finish. I didn't expect to be sleep deprived because of this book, but I am!