Transcript Margaret Atwood Alias Grace

Margaret Atwood
Alias Grace
Title: Alias Grace
Author: Margaret Atwood
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Pages: 592
Publisher: , 0
ISBN: 0770428495
Format: PDF / Kindle / ePub
Size: 7.3 MB
Download: allowed
Description
In Alias Grace, bestselling author Margaret Atwood has written her most captivating, disturbing,
and ultimately satisfying work since The Handmaid's Tale. She takes us back in time and into
the life of one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of the nineteenth century.
Grace Marks has been convicted for her involvement in the vicious murders of her employer,
Thomas Kinnear, and Nancy Montgomery, his housekeeper and mistress. Some believe Grace
is innocent; others think her evil or insane. Now serving a life sentence, Grace claims to have no
memory of the murders.
Dr. Simon Jordan, an up-and-coming expert in the burgeoning field of mental illness, is engaged
by a group of reformers and spiritualists who seek a pardon for Grace. He listens to her story
while bringing her closer and closer to the day she cannot remember. What will he find in
attempting to unlock her memories? Is Grace a female fiend? A bloodthirsty femme fatale? Or is
she the victim of circumstances?
Insightful reviews
Jack Jordan:
The more I read Atwood's work, the more I'm dedicated to it; once I finish one title, I'm instantly
looking forward to starting the next.
With Alias Grace, Atwood has perfectly embodied a literary classic - it reminded me of works
like Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Rebecca and others; luckily for us, Atwood hasn't held back
on her frankness on sex and other topics that she writes of so well.
Atwood gently weaves fact and fiction in this tale,so well that I can't help but want to believe that
this is the entire truth - that this is Marks' memoir, and not part fantasy.
Grace Marks is a wonderful protagonist, and all of the other characters are so easy to love and
hate, that being their purpose, I'm sure.
To those that haven't read the book, this quote won't spoil anything, but to those that have read
it, perhaps you felt as touched and saddened as I did when I read it:
"He does not yet remember her in her proper person, but persists that she is called Grace - an
understandable confusion, as Faith is very close to it in concept."
The ending is part satisfying, part anticlimactic, but I won't say any more than that.
This is my favourite Atwood tale so far, and I can't wait to keep reading more of her work.
Stela: Take a sensational event. Gather all information available about it, credible or not
(testimonies, newspaper articles, letters etc.). Fill in the gaps with your own imagination.
Carefully delete any border between reality and fiction. Here it is: the perfect recipe for a
postmodernist novel.
And what a novel! As usual, Margaret Atwood creates a "oeuvre d'art". The story of Grace
Marks, a "celebrated Canadian murderer" of the 19th century, is retold in a ludic manner,
enriched with unexpected meanings and robbed of all her "real" reality to be invested with a
whole "fictive" reality. Do you get now the "alias" in the title? Of course, the surprising adjective
stands also for the subtle transformation of "grace" into a commun noun, and for many other
meanings, yours to discover.
I think the theme of this extraordinary novel is the destiny, viewed like, why not, a quilt pattern,
to decipher before assembling. This becomes evident as soon as you understand Mary
Whitney's death story as a "mise en abyme" which foresees Nancy and her lover's deaths.
Almost the same story (the love between the gentleman and the servant gone bad), but with
different consequences and a somehow better served justice. Because Grace identifies herself
with Mary (another explanation for "alias"), and avenges her but saves herself by putting her
actions in Mary's hands (as in she doesn't remember, she has black-outs, she was possessed
by Mary's vengeful spirit as revealed in the seance of hypnotism organized by the impostor
Jeremiah the Peddler).
And this is only one interpretation of this peculiar story centered apparently around one big
question: "Is Grace guilty or not?" No one is able to discover the answer, not Simon the doctor
who interviews her to better understand the mind's mechanics, not her lawyer, not the hospice
doctor, not the reverend who writes petition after petition for her pardon, and of course Grace
herself never explains, only tells some parts of the truth. Like a quilt (the leitmotive of the novel)
with too many different patterns, the truth is hidden under too many variants.
But is the answer to the guilt question important? For real justice it certainly was. For literature,
not as important as the strong character created by a skilful writer from small details, from many
voices and little action. And this is, finally the main quilt pattern to discover.
Tony: It really happened. In 1843, in a remote Canadian farmhouse, James McDermott killed his
employer, Thomas Kinnear, and Kinnear's housekeeper and mistress, Nancy Montgomery. The
two open questions were: 1) was the 15 year-old servant Gracie Marks the paramour of
McDermott; and 2) was Grace involved in the murder?
Oh, people wanted to believe the worst. McDermott and Marks were found in flight across the
border in the States. There wasn't much of a trial. McDermott was easily convicted and would
hang. Marks was convicted as an accessory, both before and after the crimes. Her death
sentence was commuted. She spent most of her life in prison, a lunatic asylum, but eventually a
kind of 19th Century work release program as a servant to the governor.
It is in this last venue that Margaret Atwood re-imagines it all by having a doctor of some
nascent psychiatry conduct a series of interviews with Grace. We see Atwood here at her most
brilliant, channeling the voice of Grace Marks, and thereby telling the story, but also placing it in
time and place. But we also see the Atwood who can be clunky with plot construct and
attendant characters. A cynic might think some of it was done just to pad the book. And of
course all of the men - all of them - are worthless biological scum.
So what of the 'the two open questions'? Well, Atwood fuzzies them, perhaps for artistic
reasons, perhaps because she herself is not sure. I noted that Grace, in the re-telling, begins to
call McDermott 'James' around the time of the killings. Maybe that was a subliminal message
coming through. And, of course, Grace was involved in the murders. The question is to what
extent. You, like me, will have to read the book for that.
As Grace tells her story, she quilts. In the reminiscence, she tells this:
The pattern of this quilt is called the Tree of Paradise, and whoever named that pattern said
better than she knew, as the Bible does not say Trees. It says there were two different trees, the
Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge; but I believe there was only one, and that the Fruit of
Life and the Fruit of Good and Evil were the same. And if you ate of it you would die, but if you
didn't eat of it you would die also; although if you did eat of it, you would be less bone-ignorant
by the time you got around to your death.
Genia Lukin: this is often a very well-written book, and particularly fascinating besides. My major
issues of it have been that during a feeling it was once nearly too well-written - it felt
overwrought, and the substance usually appeared to take moment position to the language. It
was once written with such a lot of inventive units and instruments that, in a way, I occasionally
simply needed the writer could pop out and say what she needed to say.I additionally felt the
finishing (I will not damage it for you) was once just a little of a cop-out. It felt like the way to
unravel issues with no quite resolving them, or to extricate the writer out of the quandary of, at
the one hand, offering a victim, and, at the different hand, reconciling the evidence. it'll were
way more interesting, I felt, to unravel the problem a method or the other, and current a
character congruent with that resolution.I additionally admit to feeling a bit of dumb, in that i
didn't continually comprehend the relevance of the cover names (the bankruptcy headings) to
the content material of the chapter. Atwood's symbolism is frightfully associative. a few of them
have been obtrusive (Pandora's Box, for instance), yet a few i discovered have been simply
reaching. Of course, it being associative potential the author's institutions are invoked, and that i
can say not anything to that.Atwood is, as always, excellent. there is not any denying her ability
as a writer, and ehr skill to build a very good story. It felt a bit too lengthy and dragged, yet most
commonly I go away this ebook with a favorable impression.
Chrissie: My first Atwood. Actually, I picked up this e-book no longer a lot to profit concerning
the homicide of Thomas Kinnear, a prosperous Ontario farmer, and his housekeeper, Nancy
Montgomery, on July 28, 1843, yet relatively to aim the author. I had heard such good stuff
approximately Margaret Atwood, and ancient fiction is a style I enjoy. The writing is special. the
writer is expert and that i was once impressed. She has a expertise for placing simply the best
traces into her various characters' mouths. there's humor. This humor is dark. it truly is satirical.
On religion, on justice, on femininity, on learning, on human behavior. I enjoyed the humor.
throughout the humor a message is conveyed. The humor is what offers the booklet its
highbrow strength. You snicker and imagine on the related time. do not be fearful while you are
completely stressed for those who commence the book, fairly the audiobook format! I was! you
are going to comprehend if you see how the tale is told. Letters, poems, newspaper articles and
such are integrated as a way of delivering more information in regards to the murders. You the
way to pass judgement on the validity of the various insertions as you recognize extra of the
details. the tale additionally flips among Grace's first individual narrative and Simon who's
learning her case. he's a doctor, a "psychologist" of sorts. His narrative is advised within the 3rd
person. he's a fictional character, invented by way of Atwood. via him we will see open air
Grace's world. The impact of all it is a disjointed telling. The time and position and especially the
highbrow principles of the era, that's Toronto within the mid-1800s, are good described. in fact
those perspectives weren't particular for simply Toronto. adjustments have been occurring
within the examine of subconsciousness, somnambulism, hysteria and amnesia. Spiritualism
and the occult too. i'm certain you've got heard of Jean-Martin Charcot. modern authors and old
occasions are woven in - the higher Canadian uprising is one example. those information
upload to the authenticity of the story.The finishing allow me down. It fizzles out. I want Atwood
hadn't embroidered the real tale with fictional characters and events. For me the finishing is
simply too adorable and too simplistic. (view spoiler)[Simon turns into too evil. Jamie too
wonderful, and his marriage to Grace is too cute. In general, males are offered in an
extraordinarily unfavourable fashion. (hide spoiler)] whereas i believe Grace's perspectives are
larger portrayed, (view spoiler)[I do not feel her bi-polar character comes via well. this is often
instructed instead of shown. (hide spoiler)]An epilogue does make clear what's truth and what
fiction. it really is totally necessary. i stopped up particularly liking the audiobook's narration
through Shelley Thompson. I disliked it immensely within the beginning. It used to be too fast.
an excessive amount of was once being thrown at me. i used to be so confused. Be patient;
you'll soon get the hold of the e-book and the narrations slows down. I enjoyed the humor albeit sarcastic, dark, tongue in cheek humor. no longer the snort out loud type. there's humor
the following that makes you think that after which smile. That on my own is sufficient for me to
offer the e-book 3 stars. i'll be checking out extra via Margaret Atwood. Her writing intrigues
me.["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>
Ginny_1807: “Una storia, quando ci sei nel mezzo non è una storia, è solo confusione: un
fragore indistinto, un andare alla cieca, tra vetri rotti e schegge di legno; è come una casa che
vortica in una tromba d’aria, una nave che si schianta contro gli iceberg o precipita giù in step
with le rapide, e nessuno a bordo può fermarla. È soltanto dopo che diventa una storia, prende
una forma. È quando l. a. racconti, a te stessa o a qualcun altro.”Magnifica ricostruzione
biografica basata sulla rielaborazione critica del materiale documentario dell’epoca ed
integrata, nelle sue parti più incerte o mancanti, dall'estro inventivo dell'autrice. los angeles
figura di Grace Marks, che impressionò consistent with decenni l’opinione pubblica nella
seconda metà del XIX secolo in Canada - e di riflesso in Gran Bretagna e negli Stati Uniti - ne
esce così trasfigurata a personaggio letterario, di quelli che restano scolpiti indelebilmente nella
memoria.La sua condanna alla pena capitale in keeping with duplice omicidio, poi tramutata nel
carcere a vita in considerazione della giovane età (16 anni) e, presumibilmente, anche
dell’avvenenza, divise i contemporanei in innocentisti e colpevolisti a causa dell’ambiguità dei
fatti emersi al processo, che potevano suggerire tanto una colpevolezza mascherata da scaltra
simulazione, quanto una innocenza compromessa dalla stupidità e dal caso. L’esposizione
degli avvenimenti, inframmezzata da lettere, brani di testimonianze e citazioni letterarie, alterna
los angeles narrazione in prima personality di Grace - voce narrante principale, che ripercorre il
passato e commenta il presente - a quella in terza persona, di narratore esterno onnisciente,
che ha consistent with protagonista il medico Simon Jordan nei suoi momenti privati. Questo
personaggio di invenzione, che si propone di studiare l. a. personalità di Grace in base alle
moderne teorie consistent with l. a. cura delle malattie mentali, finirà come soggiogato dal
fascino misterioso della donna, scoprendo, insieme advert un'altra Grace, anche i lati più oscuri
del proprio inconscio, e dimostrando in tal modo il fallimento della scienza e della ragione di
fronte alla insondabile complessità dell’animo umano. Singolare e suggestivo l’elemento
simbolico che l. a. Atwood adotta in line with scandire il racconto, cioè los angeles trapunta da
letto tanto vagheggiata da Grace, raffigurata graficamente nei suoi vari soggetti all'inizio di ogni
unità narrativa, alla quale dà anche il titolo. Ogni soggetto, stilizzato e rappresentato tramite
triangoli giustapposti di stoffe colorate, può essere interpretato in modi diversi a seconda della
prospettiva da cui lo si osserva. Ed è come se l. a. scrittrice ci suggerisse che lo stesso avviene
anche in keeping with Grace e los angeles sua storia.Nulla è certo, inquadrato, assoluto o
inequivocabilmente verificabile, perché il ricordo è fugace e los angeles realtà spesso
imperscrutabile. E allora anche l. a. canonica distinzione tra vittime e colpevoli si fa più sfumata,
in quanto "non sono i colpevoli che devono essere perdonati, sono le vittime, sono loro l. a.
causa di tutto lo scompiglio. Se solo fossero meno deboli e più attente, se pensassero alle
conseguenze, se los angeles smettessero di cacciarsi nei guai, pensi a quanto dolore
risparmiato, nel mondo."Stabilire l’innocenza o los angeles colpevolezza e risolvere l’enigma
del caso giudiziario, tuttavia, non è lo scopo primario del romanzo, in quanto i temi che solleva
travalicano i confini del semplice “giallo”, contribuendo a tratteggiare un quadro socio-culturale
del periodo a cui fa riferimento (la condizione femminile, il divario e le prevaricazioni tra le
classi, il trattamento oltraggioso nelle carceri...) e, insieme, uno straordinario, commovente
ritratto di donna ferita dalla vita fin dall'infanzia, con tutte le sue connotazioni e contraddizioni.
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