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A review by scrollingbooks
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
4.0
If this book was a meal it would leave me satisfied whilst feeling it needed a little something extra to make it special.
I liked the two narrators, Grace and Simon, especially the telling of Grace's early life and Simon Jordan's story. Bizarrely, when Grace was recounting the events around the time of the murders, the narrative was less compelling. To me, there was a lack of tension, and I didn't really feel any great dilemma regarding if she was innocent or guilty.
I felt the character of McDermott was a bit one-dimensional. He always appeared to be glowering, resentful, or generally in a bad mood with life, and there was no nuance to the way he was drawn. There didn't seem to be enough motivation behind the actions he ultimately took, other than he just wasn't very nice and had a chip on his shoulder. This was another reason why
Anyhow, I enjoyed the book but without raving about it.
I liked the two narrators, Grace and Simon, especially the telling of Grace's early life and Simon Jordan's story. Bizarrely, when Grace was recounting the events around the time of the murders, the narrative was less compelling. To me, there was a lack of tension, and I didn't really feel any great dilemma regarding if she was innocent or guilty.
Spoiler
That McDermott shot at Grace and that the authorities found the bullet embedded in the kitchen, which backed up her version of accounts, plus her naivety, makes me feel she was innocent.I felt the character of McDermott was a bit one-dimensional. He always appeared to be glowering, resentful, or generally in a bad mood with life, and there was no nuance to the way he was drawn. There didn't seem to be enough motivation behind the actions he ultimately took, other than he just wasn't very nice and had a chip on his shoulder. This was another reason why
Spoiler
I leaned toward Grace being innocent, because McDermott was in no way attractive to herAnyhow, I enjoyed the book but without raving about it.