Alias Grace: A Novel

I absolutely adored this book ... until the end. Atwood has a bad habit of ruining her books with the last chapter (take the Edible Woman for example.) In the case of Alias Grace the narrative become downright creepy, but with a distinctly different tone than the creepiness that flavours the rest of the novel. To say any more would spoil the ending, and perhaps turn potential readers away from an...more

I absolutely adored this book ... until the end. Atwood has a bad habit of ruining her books with the last chapter (take the Edible Woman for example.) In the case of Alias Grace the narrative become downright creepy, but with a distinctly different tone than the creepiness that flavours the rest of the novel. To say any more would spoil the ending, and perhaps turn potential readers away from an otherwise good read. Because other than the ending, this period piece is completely engrossing with interesting characters and a perplexing mystery. Atwood teases the reader with clues along the way but nothing prepares you for the solution. Despite the strength of this novel, it exists largely in the shadow of Atwood's more prolific work.   hide

I love Atwood. While this isn't my favourite, it was certainly a wonderful read.

Margaret Atwood has a very beautiful style of writing that is powerful and descriptive but not flowery. With a lot of books i read i can feel the author through the character but Atwood is subtle and allows the character all the attention. A chapter at the end explains the historical sources of the story, so you realise how ambiguous the facts are but Atwood presents you with such a tangable...more

Margaret Atwood has a very beautiful style of writing that is powerful and descriptive but not flowery. With a lot of books i read i can feel the author through the character but Atwood is subtle and allows the character all the attention. A chapter at the end explains the historical sources of the story, so you realise how ambiguous the facts are but Atwood presents you with such a tangable Grace that you want to shake the truth out of her yourself.   hide

An interesting perspective on the crime/mystery plot line. The story is told by a 19th century servant. A bit long but of course excellent writing - you'd expect no less from Atwood!