Blind Assassin tells four stories: of Iris at the end of her life; of Iris and her sister Laura as they come of age and Iris enters a loveless marriage; of a novel called Blind Assassin, about a love affair; and about a story the man in the affair tells the woman. Deftly done. It did take an effort to keep it all straight, and that effort was well worth it.

Some reviewers have characterized Iris the octogenarian as bitter. I saw her rather as wry, as unsentimental in looking back on her life, as hopeful that she might see her granddaughter Sabrina before dying. She also kicked herself for not realizing something about her sister, despite clues, but gave herself a bit of a break, realizing, I think, that we can't help but miss some things as we navigate life's labyrinthine turns.

I didn't love all of The Blind Assassin. Iris's (and Laura's) love interest is not what you'd call a mensch--and I wanted something better for them. The tension of wondering when someone would pay the right kind of attention to Laura was excruciating. I was not a fan of the lurid sci-fi story that the lover spins for Iris, which, thankfully, was just long enough to do its job in the larger narrative.

Among my favorites of the little gems scattered throughout was the bathroom graffiti.