The Blind Assassin

Margaret Atwood

‘The Blind Assassin’ has a frame narrative which takes its roots from Middle Eastern tales such as ‘One Thousand and One Nights’, where Scheherazade tells a story within a story. In ‘The Blind Assassin’ there are three layers: a story told by Iris towards the end of her life; a story of an affair between an unnamed woman and a man, who we later discover is called Alex; and the story Alex tells to the unnamed woman.

Iris Chase was born just before the end of World War I and three years before the arrival of her sister Laura. It is the relationship between the two sisters which forms the basis of the drama. And it is Iris’s wish to finally tell the truth about what happened during the years when she became engaged and unhappily married to her husband Richard Griffen, that spurs her to retell the past. Her current situation and impending demise provide the impetus.

Atwood’s writing style is sublime: she is simply a master craftswoman. Her character portrayals are fully formed, her descriptions of Canadian landscapes and weather exquisite. Through dialogue and internal monologues we engage with Iris and try hard to understand her mercurial sister, Laura. Iris’s love and irritation for her, in equal measure, feel authentic, believable.

The secondary and minor characters are equally strong. A loyal housekeeper, Reenie, provides the soundbites for Iris’s life through proverbs and old wives tales. Her sister-in-law, Winifred, is a classic social climber with dubious taste. Myra, Reenie’s daughter, is her rock in old age with a potential family secret of her own.

The drama enfolds during much of the last century and the major events and social upheaval of that period, particularly of the thirties and forties, provide a rich backdrop to the sister’s story. It is during this tumultuous time that Alex’s role fits into the story – the drifter with noble ideals and a wild imagination. His chapters are written in present tense, evoking a constant feeling of impermanence and, frequently, fear of discovery.  He is the person who tells the story of the blind assassin; the story which Iris publishes under her sister’s name, shortly after Laura drives her car off a bridge. It is an act of atonement for the terrible impact her marriage to Richard had on Laura.

At the heart of her relationship with Laura are secrets, regrets and betrayals. It is these that eat at Iris’s conscience and provide the final, satisfying plot twists. 5 stars.