bibliotequeish's review against another edition
4.0
"It's not easy being quiet and good, it's like hanging onto the edge of a bridge, when you've already fallen over"
The fictionalized retelling of the notorious murders of Thomas Kinnear and Nancy Montgomery.
A retelling in the way that only Margaret Atwood can.
And I say that with total, recognized, bias.
The fictionalized retelling of the notorious murders of Thomas Kinnear and Nancy Montgomery.
A retelling in the way that only Margaret Atwood can.
And I say that with total, recognized, bias.
lidz_2tc's review against another edition
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
miss_bct's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
larryleex's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
efabri123's review against another edition
1.0
Unpopular opinion: I hated this book. What a bore. I almost didn't finish. Aside from a few interesting one-liners or observations that I've already forgotten, the narrator is so naive it's annoying. So innocent that she is unrelatable and plain dumb. If other reviewers say this is Atwood's best, perhaps I should stay away from Atwood's books.
mdalonzo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
melissaolearyyy's review against another edition
4.0
Margaret Atwood once again shows why she is one of my favorite. Her writing style is so unique and well done. This book was amazing, and I plan to do more research on the Grace Marks case because it seems so interesting. I still can't decide if she did it or not!
southofsirius's review against another edition
3.0
As low as my rating is (i'd given it a 7 on a scale of 10), I cannot help but acknowledge how witty, devastating and well written Alias Grace is. I mean It's Margaret Atwood so what do ya expect. It only got so low of a score for me because I personally just couldn't get into it as much as I wanted to. Not wanting to include any spoilers, I shan't say much but that I really like how the book explored the themes of truth and ambiguity, how easy it is to bend the former, as well as overwhelming oppressiveness. Some paragraphs were extremely difficult to read as they dealt with Grace Mark's treatment at the hand of certain men and there were a lot of times I wondered if there would be a single man that had any redeeming qualities. Besides that, I loved the imagery of textiles that Atwood employed, especially with the usage of quilts and how they intersected with Grace Mark's life. In addition, interspersed between intentional monologues of boredom that bordered on despair, Atwood sews into your brain sentences like "Her lips are full, but fragile, like a rose on the verge of collapse" and "Underneath that is another feeling still, a feeling like being torn open; not like a body of flesh, it is painful as such, but like a peach; and not even torn open, but too ripe and splitting open of its own accord".
I have to say I much preferred the later half of the book wherein things got really intense and the pace sped up really quickly. It's a slow burn at first but it's worth the effort to see everything unravel as you're left sitting on the floor, jaw agape with your shirt torn at trying to understand what had just happened
I have to say I much preferred the later half of the book wherein things got really intense and the pace sped up really quickly. It's a slow burn at first but it's worth the effort to see everything unravel as you're left sitting on the floor, jaw agape with your shirt torn at trying to understand what had just happened