Alias Grace

ALIAS GRACE

by Margaret Atwood

 

Nominations: Booker Finalist 1996, Dublin Finalist 1998, Women's Finalist 1997

 

Date Read: February 13, 2021

 

Based on a true story, Alias Grace follows the imagined inner working of Grace Marks, a notorious convicted murderess. Beyond the sensational headlines and gossip lies a real woman with hopes, dreams and failed ambitions. No one really knows whether she really did assist in the murders of her former employer, Mr. Kinnear, or his housekeeper and lover, Nancy Montgomery. This ambiguity is at the heart of my three-star rating while so many others gave a five.

 

While I don’t need details spelled out for me in black and white, I found this story riveting until the hypnosis scene. Atwood seems to half-heartedly delve into the mystical/pseudo-science here without fully committing. While the audience in attendance at the hypnosis bought her being occupied by a spirit, others proclaimed there should be a psychological explanation yet none was ever provided. Was Atwood’s intention to condemn Grace or exonerate her? I was left scratching my head.

 

I also found her interviewer, Dr. Simon Jordan, a complete puzzle. He flits from woman to woman like a leaf on a breeze. He resigns himself to marrying the woman his mother has chosen for him to then mentally rejecting her. He half-heartedly courts the Governor’s daughter and undresses her in his mind but then rejects her. He sleeps with his landlady without really knowing why, all the while abhorring her and wallowing in self-hate. Then he’s in love with Grace. Lordy. Perhaps the only thing that made sense about this character is his obsession with insane asylums because I dare say he belongs there. 

 

These two criticisms aside, Atwood is still a magnificent author and her writing is compelling. The wisdom she affords Grace was welcomed, considering her lack of education. Atwood clearly did her homework to maintain historical accuracy and almost all the inner workings of the thoughts and behaviors are believable with the two exceptions above. Overall a solid read.

 

Looking Forward: The Blind Assassin, Hag-Seed, Oryx & Crake, The Testaments

 

Looking Back: The Handmaid’s Tale

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