The Blind Assassin won the Booker Prize in 2000, and as much as I hate to admit it, was the reason that I bought the book in the first place. According to the prize website
"The Man Booker Prize for Fiction represents the very best in contemporary fiction. One of the world’s most prestigious awards, and one of incomparable influence, it continues to be the pinnacle of ambition for every fiction writer."So, my expectations were pretty high. The only other Booker Prize winning book that I've read is Yann Martel's Life of Pi, which I really enjoyed.
The Blind Assassin contains three stories based on the lives of Iris and Laura Chase. Now in her 80's Iris lives in small town Canada and begins to write her memoirs, reflecting on life as the daughter of the town’s wealthy businessman. The book opens with the death of Laura Chase in a terrible traffic accident, two years later Iris publishes Laura's book - The Blind Assassin, which is received with critical acclaim making Laura and instant and enduring star. This secondary story tells of two unnamed lovers who meet in secret in dingy rooms in the unsavoury parts of town. He writes stories for trashy science fiction magazines and recites these stories for her (yet another story inside a story). Chapters of the book alternate between Iris' recollection of her youth and Laura's The Blind Assassin. The third story is intermingled with Iris' memoirs, giving the reader an insight into Iris' life now, in her twilight years.
As the three stories come together at the end of the book there is a twist - unfortunately, this twist is quite obvious throughout the book, and ultimately means that Iris' memoirs are empty and bland. To avoid exposing the twist none of the excitement of Iris' youth is revealed (Hughes, 2002) - unfortunately this left me feeling no empathy towards the young Iris, who seemed banal and indifferent to the world around her. For example, her much beloved sister is mysteriously whisked away on account of her mental instability to some distant institution - Iris barely reacts to this news aside from the occasional worried thought, she seems incapable of tracking her sister down or finding out what is really wrong with her. Again, when her father dies while she is on her honeymoon her husband keeps this information from her until their return - at which time she barely batters an eyelid that she wasn't informed or that she missed the funeral - she just takes the news with little reaction. On several occasions Iris mentions that she just prefers to spend her time wandering aimlessly and has no interest in being involved in any activity or interacting with anyone. In comparison the lovers in the alternate story are intensely passionate, and desperately needing each other, and we really get the chance to experience their highs and lows – unlike Iris who is unfulfilling.
I’m not sure how the story could have been told differently, without the twist, but I am sure that it could have been much more exciting. Often when I finish reading a book I feel a sense of loss that I wont be peering into the lives of the characters any more – when I finished this book I had no such feeling for Iris, I wasn’t sad to see her go at all.
I must admit, at the end once the twist had been revealed and Iris opened up I did have a good cry – so she must have done something right!?!?
Did it deserve the prize?? Surely in all of 2000 there must have been a better book!
(Hughes, 2002 http://www.geocities.com/fantasticreviews/blind_assassin.htm)
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