Reading The Blind Assassin after The God of Small Things was very complementary. Both novels with a similar plot set in different cultures (Canada and India respectively): a family is traced for three generations with the first generation starting a modest company which in the second generation is challenged by the communist movement that the owners are sympathetic towards but cannot sustain the demands, and it is in the third generation that things begin to differ, well that and Atwood’s writing is far superior and less superficial. Also, alongside the story told by a daughter of the third generation, Iris, is the enigmatic novel of the Blind Assassin written by one of the siblings of the third generation. So, essentially Atwood has granted us the gift of two novels in one. Of course, The Blind Assassin depicts a part of the narrator’s life that she does not feel comfortable explaining as fact in her life story, but implies only subtly. Even though the plots differ by the time we reach the third generation, there are some striking similarities: the issue of class and marriage and forbidden love interests.
Although the book is long it moves at a quick pace and is not stunted by overly descriptive writing as it is in Roy’s novel. The characters are believable even though their situation is unusual.
One theme that is gently weaved into the book, yet holds a strong presence is that of God and religion. My favorite quotation regarding the theme: “A paradox, the doughnut hole. Empty space, but now they’ve learned to market even that. A minus quantity; nothing, rendered edible. I wondered if they might be used – metaphorically, of course – to demonstrate the existence of God. Does naming a sphere of nothingness transmute it into being?” The belief in God shows up in different forms and varieties among the many characters in the novel. Iris, the narrator and the one responsible for the quotation above, obviously is not a believer. Her sister Laura is a believer in the essence of God; she does not allow the superficial aspects of organized religion to interfere with her behavior and acts in a way that is peculiarly honest. In a sense this makes her so pure and innocent that she is exempt from carrying any of the burdens of the family and they all fall on Iris. Reenie, a woman who looks after them and manages the house, although good at heart also believes in God, but in an institutional sense as well; she often cares about how certain behaviors appear to the community and gossips as many religious people do. However, Reenie is a moral character and a pillar for the two sisters.
The different forms of belief extend to other secondary and tertiary characters as well. I do think that the way each character decided to believe in God has an indirect impact on their fate since essentially it determines their outlook on life. Laura’s disappointments in human nature are earth shattering and drive her to suicide, Iris’s practical atheism is what makes her a perfect candidate for taking on the family’s burdens, and Reenie’s well-rounded approach to life results in a normal family, yet she does contradict her own “Christian morals” by becoming pregnant before wedlock.
Atwood has created an honest, intelligent, beautifully written, and entertaining novel. It’s a book for all lovers of literature!
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