Reviews with content warning for Car accident - L'assassino cieco

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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wormgirl's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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milele23's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

0.25

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chealey14's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-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

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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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isabezza's review against another edition

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challenging informative mysterious slow-paced

2.75

I love Margaret Atwood's writing - this book contains her signature imagination and characterisation, as well as a moral question founded in American history. However, this book requires an active brain so I found it useful to research some of the themes whilst reading (e.g. themes of money, women's roles, the great depression, war, social context.) This is a heavy book with huge twists only revealed at the end, and changes to how readers may interpret the characters. This novel takes a lot of energy to comprehend, involving multiple narratives which take a while to understand and stitch together (Laura Chase's novel, Iris' narrative in the present, and Iris' narrative in the past.) Certainly a slow read and not one I may recommend for enjoyment but I certainly learnt a lot from this novel.

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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

Content Warnings

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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