The Blind Assassin

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A slow burn novel within a novel, set in a fantasy land and past and present day Canada - this book takes time, but it's worth it.

First thoughts: I wasn't gripped right away, but rather teased and intrigued - I wanted to see where the past met the present telling, and I wanted to know what happened in the sci-fi novel within the novel.

Favorite quotes:

"...some people can't tell where it hurts. They can't calm down. They can't even stop howling." -p2

"God didn't make everyone the same, otherwise he would just get bored of it all, and so he dished things out unevenly. It didn't seem fair, but it would come out fair at the end." -p88

"Better not to invent her in her absence. Better to wait until she's actually here. Then he can make her up as she goes along." -p276

"The only way you can write the truth is to assume that what you set down will never be read. Not by any other person, and not even by yourself at some later date." -p283

"So much better to travel than to arrive." -p290

"I will always remember this, she tells herself. Then: Why am I thinking about memory? It's not then yet, it's now. It's not over." -p341

Recommended for: women, writers, women writers, sisters, Atwood fans.

Final thoughts: I'm glad I stuck with this book - the ending was a good payoff. The mystery of each part kept me guessing throughout, and once I finally "got it" it was worth it.


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