Alias Grace
by Margaret Atwood
If you have never read Margaret Atwood before you need to do so immediately. She is one of those contemporary authors that will be immortalized for her novels. I can imagine a century from now students studying her work to define the literary atmosphere of the 21st century. The Handmaid's Tale is at this point her most famous piece of work. And, yes, I would recommend that title as your Atwood introduction. That work is very quintessential in defining her style and focus. I do not think it would be outside the line to call her a feminist author.
Alias Grace is another novel with a feminist leaning threaded throughout the narrative. The plot behind this novel is based on a real case out of Toronto from the mid 19th century. It follows the imprisonment of Grace Marks who has been accused of murder. The case was real and some of the journalism from that time plays highly into the story Atwood weaves to fill in the gaps. This falls under the category of speculative fiction, taking known facts and then choosing how those facts might theoretically stitch together into a finished quilt.
I say it has a feminist leaning, which I found very present in how Atwood describes the treatment of Grace. Being a woman in many ways protects her, as she is believed to be too weak in body or mind to possibly be a brutal murderess, thereby saving her from the gallows. But in other ways her treatment belittles her mind and leads others to assume a flawed character due to her being of the fairer sex. It is interesting to see how she uses those assumptions to manipulate those around her to advance her own cause.
As someone who loves both non-fiction novels (like those of Erik Larson) and feminist fiction (seriously, Margaret Atwood really is the star in this category) this was a novel I found incredibility compelling. It clocks at about 468 pages and kept me engaged the entire time.
As the MaddAddam triology and Hagseed are both on my soon-to-read list you can expect to see more reviews of Margaret Atwood in the near future.
Alias Grace is another novel with a feminist leaning threaded throughout the narrative. The plot behind this novel is based on a real case out of Toronto from the mid 19th century. It follows the imprisonment of Grace Marks who has been accused of murder. The case was real and some of the journalism from that time plays highly into the story Atwood weaves to fill in the gaps. This falls under the category of speculative fiction, taking known facts and then choosing how those facts might theoretically stitch together into a finished quilt.
I say it has a feminist leaning, which I found very present in how Atwood describes the treatment of Grace. Being a woman in many ways protects her, as she is believed to be too weak in body or mind to possibly be a brutal murderess, thereby saving her from the gallows. But in other ways her treatment belittles her mind and leads others to assume a flawed character due to her being of the fairer sex. It is interesting to see how she uses those assumptions to manipulate those around her to advance her own cause.
As someone who loves both non-fiction novels (like those of Erik Larson) and feminist fiction (seriously, Margaret Atwood really is the star in this category) this was a novel I found incredibility compelling. It clocks at about 468 pages and kept me engaged the entire time.
As the MaddAddam triology and Hagseed are both on my soon-to-read list you can expect to see more reviews of Margaret Atwood in the near future.
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