num_pages: 521
description: The Blind Assassin opens with these simple, resonant words: "Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge." They are spoken by Iris, whose terse account of her sister's death in 1945 is followed by an inquest report proclaiming the death accidental. But just as the reader expects to settle into Laura's story, Atwood introduces a novel-within-a-novel. Entitled The Blind Assassin, it is a science fiction story told by two unnamed lovers who meet in dingy backstreet rooms. When we return to Iris, it is through a 1947 newspaper article announcing the discovery of a sailboat carrying the dead body of her husband, a distinguished industrialist. Brilliantly weaving together such seemingly disparate elements, Atwood creates a world of astonishing vision and unforgettable impact.
language: English
title: The Blind Assassin
titlecomplete: The Blind Assassin
characters: Iris Chase, Winifred Prior, Norval Chase, Myra Sturgess, Alex Thomas, Richard Griffen, Reenie, Laura Chase
genres: Classics, Historical, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Literature, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction, Canada
ratings_count: 152895
places: Port Ticonderoga, Ontario, Canada, Toronto, Ontario
awards: awardedAt: 946713600000
name: Booker Prize, awardedAt: 978336000000
name: Orange Prize
category: Fiction Shortlist, awardedAt: 946713600000
name: Hammett Prize, awardedAt: 978336000000
name: Puddly Award
category: New Novel, awardedAt: 1009872000000
name: Dublin Literary Award
category: Shortlist
publisher: Anchor