Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood REVIEW

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Published by Virago
Paperback
Published 16 August 2001 (first published 1996)
534 pages
Owned

Author website WHAT'S IT'S ABOUT

'Sometimes I whisper it over to myself: Murderess. Murderess. It rustles, like a taffeta skirt along the floor.'

Around the true story of one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of the 1840s, Margaret Atwood has created an extraordinarily potent tale of sexuality, cruelty and mystery.

OPENING

Out of the gravel there are peonies growing.

WHAT I THOUGHT

I really didn't enjoy Alias Grace. Judging from the glowing reviews on Good Reads I appear to be in the minority but never mind. This book just left me cold. Atwood is a fantastic writer and she has blown my mind with books such as The Handmaid's Tale, The Robber Bride, Cat's Eye and the Madaddam trilogy. Alias Grace is very different than these books and didn't work for me. I found the book boring, long-winded and tedious at times. I found reading then book a chore and I slogged through pretty much all of it. I really liked the idea behind the book but for me this didn't pan out. I really wanted to enjoy Alias Grace because the author's work has impressed me in the past but this book did nothing for me. I feel like I was reading it for months and months and thought I would never reach the end. Alias Grace disappointed me and I wouldn't recommend it.