newwavepolly

You have a flashback. Then the story. Then the story-within-the-story. Then a novel-within-the-novel. Then the story-within-the-the-story-within-the-novel-within-the-novel. Then you have some newspaper articles and letters stringing it all together. The Blind Assassin is truly a feat in crafting and structuring a novel. Atwood strings you along with more questions than answers, dangling the pay-off far in the distance in such a way only Atwood could.
With all the praise I could give right now, I was genuinely considering giving The Blind Assassin three stars up until the last ~100 pages. There are about half a dozen (maybe hyperbole, maybe accurate) being told here and I felt that the central story wasn't the one I was most interested it. I felt that I just... didn't get it. I still feel that way. But by the end, I had invested so much, wondered so much, and pulled as much of this book apart as I could that I can't deny The Blind Assassin is 100% effective. And I don't think I could really ever give an Atwood novel less than 4 stars just based on how much I feel for them.
It's wont be one of my favourites like I've come to expect from Atwood. The story and characters just didn't have that emotional pull. It was like a story I've heard a million times told in a more beautiful and elegant manner.

Also that cover art is just gorgeous I want it blown up and framed.