Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

L'assassino cieco by Margaret Atwood

11 reviews

emma_and_pickle's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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thejellybeany's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The Blind Assassin is a story about Iris Chase, a woman haunted by her past, who, in the final years of her life, decides to at last lay it all to paper, and therefore hopefully to rest; if not for her sake, then for that of her last remaining kin, her granddaughter Sabrina. 

The book consists of parts alternating between her retelling of her family history, upbringing, and married life, and chapters of 'The Blind Assassin', a beautiful and moving novel of love and longing between a married woman and a communist rebel on the run, and one with a huge cult following, written by Iris' late younger sister, Laura, who drove off a bridge to her death before it was even published. To say much more about the plot would not truly do it justice, but it is ultimately a story of two sisters, and the deep regret Iris feels around not having looked out for Laura, as she had long ago promised her mother and father she would. 

With intelligent writing and eloquent prose, we learn about this woman who is finally claiming the narrative of her life for her own, unfortunately knowing all too well that it has come 60 years too late for all of the characters in it. Similar in many ways to the novel that appears alongside it, Iris' is a story of love, loss, and longing, and a reminder that the ghosts of the dead are powerful, but we must be more so. 
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emmonsannae's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Even down to the last twenty pages, this book wasn’t what I expected. It did move slowly, and I wasn’t especially invested in it until page 350 or so, which is a long wait. But the construction of the book (a novel within a novel) is interesting enough to make up for its slow pace. M.A.’s writing is arresting as well—even when I wasn’t invested in the story I enjoyed her telling of it. And the ending was a gut punch that made the early reading feel like a very worthwhile use of time. 
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courtneyreadsometimes's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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libristella's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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telcontar2901's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book is a multi-layered story of a family: the bonds between spouses, parents + their children, and especially sisters—and how these bonds can twist, bend, and break. It took me about 100 pages to get the hang of this one, due to the structure and pace: the narrator takes her time describing things, and the story-within-a-story-within-a-story format will leave you with many questions. However, as I read on, I found my initial assumptions challenged as I was drawn into this moving story of regret and the passage of time. 
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laurenw's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

4.5

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orlagal's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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readerette's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I debated what to say in my review of this book. It's an intriguing set of literary devices, to be sure--stories within stories within stories, nonstandard narrator approach, nonlinear flow, interweaving "news articles" into a narrated plot. It takes quite a writer to ensure that those devices don't become cacophonous, and I think Atwood succeeds in that regard.

It's not a happy tale, which has been my experience with Atwood's other works. There is a great deal of depth in each character, and many different ways that depth is achieved. The level of unhappiness feels true to life--believable, if a bit fatiguing as a reader. There are laugh-out-loud funny moments mixed in with commentary on the meaning of life and wisdom of the choices we make. No character is perfect or overly trope-y. 

The pacing was too slow for my taste, and there was too much content that didn't feel like it added anything except length. I believe others might see that as the way the narrator thinks or different characters engage in the world of the narrator, but for me, the excess was just dull.

Overall, I do recommend for anyone who enjoys historical fiction, slow burn mysteries, or reflective characters.
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alannah_m's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a fascinating book that I enjoyed more than I thought I would. Again, it is FAR too long, and suffers from a complete disinterest in pacing, but I could analyse this for hours and constantly find something new to say. Weirdly enough, my favourite sections were the fake parts of the sci-fi book 'The Blind Assassin'...maybe I just want Atwood to write pulp sci-fi book! I can dream...

Pet Theory for this Book: Alex isn't real


Also, does anyone else see the similarities to Rebecca? Just a theory I'm working on...
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