I’m pleasantly surprised by this novel, realized that I’m reading it much faster than Marquez’s Solitude which I thoroughly enjoyed plodding through even though it stopped me every other page with fascinating writing, metaphors and concepts. And faster than DeLillo’s miniscule The Body Artist which stopped me with its vague details to attempt to discover a meaning that may or may not have been there.
Being a murder mystery and based upon a real case in Canada in 1843, the book naturally has the appeal of story, but Margaret Atwood doesn’t handle anything just as is. She creates more just by her manipulation of time elements and the hints I’ve grown used to from her short stories. You learn to listen closely when Atwood speaks, and you get used to the nuances of the language she uses, chooses specifically to achieve the effect she wants the reader to catch and question.
While I’m sure I’ll come to various conclusions as I read along, I’m wondering about the choice of title: Alias Grace. While we have no reason to believe so far that Grace used other names, we question whether she uses another if not many sides of herself. I have a feeling that Atwood will offer us a character loaded with personality to discover for ourselves, and just as there was opinion at the time that ranged from innocent child to psychotic murderess, we’ll have a chance to explore our own perceptions based on Atwood’s fascinating manner of presentation.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology