The Situation: It is 1999, and 83 year-old Iris Griffen would more or less like to be left alone, but Myra, the daughter of an old friend, has taken it upon herself to make sure Iris stays fed, her house stays clean, and the laundry is always done, among other things. What Myra does not know is that Iris has decided to write down the events of her life. The story may begin with the day Laura, Iris' sister, drove a car off a bridge, just ten days after World War II ended, but this is also where the story will takes its wildest eventual turn. Before this, there is their childhood, a charmed existence eventually marred by a turning economy, tragedy, and decisions made for the greater good.
The Problem: Whether Laura's death was a suicide as opposed to an accident is the question, and after posing it, Iris starts at the beginning, when the two of them are young, both parents are alive, and the future holds nothing but promise. But as the two sisters grow up, death will claim loved ones, and the family button factory will cease to be profitable as conflict overseas continues. When Iris is married off as more of a business transaction than anything else, it is supposed to signal a positive turning point for everyone, but ends up not helping anyone. As Iris tells her story, she also shares chapters from her sister's book, The Blind Assassin. Both stories eventually come together to reveal everything, changing the history of Iris and Laura that everyone thought they knew.
Genre, Themes, History: This is a fiction novel that moves back and forth through time, though mostly stays in the mid-20th century, before, during, and after WWII. Otherwise, Iris talks about her life in the year 1999, and lets the story of when she was younger eventually catch up to the present, revealing exactly how she got to be where she is, and every secret along the way. When she is not talking about the past or the present, the reader is treated to chapter's of Laura's book, which, much like Laura's sudden death, upset everything for everyone involved, including Iris, her husband Richard, his sister Winnifred, and Iris' daughter Aimee. The book is a love story, a mystery, and even historical fiction, with some science fiction thrown in.
My Verdict: In the beginning, I had a hard time finding a rhythm with this book. I think the moving through time, with the chapters of Laura's book in between, was all a little hard to follow at first. However, once I got the hang of it, I found the three different stories refreshing, when usually in books like this at least one of them would not have been as interesting to me. Though technically, there are four different stories at work here, as Laura's book has two (the story of the two lovers, as well as the story the man is telling the woman), and then Iris is talking about her past, as well as the present. In other words, there is quite a bit going on here, but it is not cumbersome, and the reveals of the final twists do not feel cheap or unnecessary.
Favorite Moment: *spoiler alert* Call me cruel (I certainly would) but I did love the fact that marrying Iris off to a business friend did not result in the benefits her father was expecting. In fact, the whole thing could not have ended worse for him.
Favorite Character: Most of the characters in this book are tiresome, including Iris and her sister Laura. I did enjoy the brief encounters the reader got with Walter, Myra's husband, who has joined his wife in making sure Iris is taken care of, despite her protests.
Recommended Reading: I recommend Alias Grace, again by Atwood, which is also a limited series on Netflix.
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