Alias Grace: A Novel
by Margaret Atwood
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Book Summary Information
Author: Margaret AtwoodEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1997-10-13
ISBN: 0385490445
Number of pages: 480
Publisher: Anchor
Book Reviews of Alias Grace: A Novel
Book Review: So Intimate It Seems To Be Written On The Skin
Summary: 5 Stars
Since taking up English Literature at college, I have become interested in actually reading books. Yeah, I know it sounds dumb - you got to read books if you take up the subject, but I never used to read at all, I was just good at the subject. I've since started to read books more and more, and my favourite has been Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale." I was enthralled with that novel and my exam took place on it in June - results mid-August. Around April I decided to buy another novel by Atwood, and I chose "Alias Grace." I had absolutely no idea what the novel was about, but I didn't care - I just wanted to read more of her work. I started reading the book in April and have only just finished it...
I must admit that the novel didn't really reel me in to begin with which is why it took me so long to read it, but after a while I really began to love the book! By the time I finished the book last week I didn't want it to end, and I straight away went out and bought another Atwood novel - "The Blind Assassin," which I am currently reading. After reading two Atwood novels so far to date, I can safely say she is a remarkable author and has a true talent for storytelling.
Alias Grace is a work of fiction, although it is based on reality. Its central figure, Grace Marks, was one of the most notorious Canadian women of the 1840's, having been convicted of murder at the age of 16.
Grace Marks allegedly murdered - along with a fellow-servant James McDermott - the man and woman she worked for: Mr. Thomas Kinnear and his housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery. The headlines were sensational: The Kinnear-Montgomery murders took place on July 23rd 1843, and were extensively reported not only in Canadian newspapers but in those of the United States and Britain. Grace Marks was uncommonly pretty and also extremely young; Montgomery had previously given birth to an illegitimate child and was Thomas Kinnear's mistress; at her autopsy she was found to be pregnant. Grace and her fellow-servant James McDermott had run away to the United States together and were assumed by the press to be lovers. The combination of sex, violence and the deplorable insubordination of the lower classes was most attractive to the journalists of the day.
The trial was held in early November. Only the Kinnear murder was tried: since both of the accused were condemned to death, a trial for the Montgomery murder was considered unnecessary. McDermott was hanged in front of a huge crowd on November 21st: but opinion about Grace was divided from the start, and due to the efforts of her lawyer, her sentence was commuted to life, and she entered the Provincial Penitentiary in Kingston on November 19th, 1843.
And the rest is history, as they say: this is where the novel begins. The first 100 pages or so involve one of the novel's most memorable characters, Dr. Simon Jordan, and his attempts to decipher the mind of Grace Marks. His plans are to investigate her character and get her to open up to him and reveal the truth about the murders. Whether she did indeed commit the murders are still undecided and the true character of Grace Marks remained an enigma for years. After their introduction, Grace takes things all the way back to her childhood. In immense detail and shockingly stark precision, Atwood portrays a clear and sharp, gleaming image of Grace's personality and her life before she became an international sensation.
The language Atwood uses for her characters in this play is remarkable. Everything remains as views on society were seen at the time, portraying a stunning sense of authenticity - like a real documentation of the accounts. Views on sexuality, violence and the way women are supposed to behave in society are incredibly real:
"McDermott said much too close a friend, in his opinion: and I said what did he mean by that? And he said that Jeremiah had looked at me in a way he didn't like, and that no wife of his would be allowed to hobnob with any Jew peddlers, and gossip with them at the back door, and flirt in that way; and if she did, he would black her eyes, and knock her head about her shoulders for her."
Throughout the novel Atwood offers different perspectives from many different character, which can make it challenging to understand and keep up with, but ultimately finishing the novel is extremely rewarding. Atwood obviously sees Grace as innocent and not guilty of the crimes imposed upon her, but due to the enigma surrounding the real truth, we will never know - yet I would like to believe Atwood is correct.
OVERALL GRADE: 10/10
I'm not quite sure which novel I enjoyed the most out of Alias Grace and The Handmaid's Tale, but I'm definitely sure that I enjoyed reading them because Atwood tackles unique and enthralling stories. She isn't a 9-5 author and if you prefer this type, you probably will be disappointed with her works. However, if you'd like to lift off, I urge you to give her a go - you will surely not regret it.
Summary of Alias Grace: A Novel
In Alias Grace, bestselling author Margaret Atwood has written her most captivating, disturbing, and ultimately satisfying work since The Handmaid's Tale. She takes us back in time and into the life of one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of the nineteenth century.Grace Marks has been convicted for her involvement in the vicious murders of her employer, Thomas Kinnear, and Nancy Montgomery, his housekeeper and mistress. Some believe Grace is innocent; others think her evil or insane. Now serving a life sentence, Grace claims to have no memory of the murders.
Dr. Simon Jordan, an up-and-coming expert in the burgeoning field of mental illness, is engaged by a group of reformers and spiritualists who seek a pardon for Grace. He listens to her story while bringing her closer and closer to the day she cannot remember. What will he find in attempting to unlock her memories? Is Grace a female fiend? A bloodthirsty femme fatale? Or is she the victim of circumstances?
In 1843, a 16-year-old Canadian housemaid named Grace Marks was tried for the murder of her employer and his mistress. The sensationalistic trial made headlines throughout the world, and the jury delivered a guilty verdict. Yet opinion remained fiercely divided about Marks--was she a spurned woman who had taken out her rage on two innocent victims, or was she an unwilling victim herself, caught up in a crime she was too young to understand? Such doubts persuaded the judges to commute her sentence to life imprisonment, and Marks spent the next 30 years in an assortment of jails and asylums, where she was often exhibited as a star attraction. In Alias Grace, Margaret Atwood reconstructs Marks's story in fictional form. Her portraits of 19th-century prison and asylum life are chilling in their detail. The author also introduces Dr. Simon Jordan, who listens to the prisoner's tale with a mixture of sympathy and disbelief. In his effort to uncover the truth, Jordan uses the tools of the then rudimentary science of psychology. But the last word belongs to the book's narrator--Grace herself.
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