This was a difficult book to put down. I had to stop taking this book with me to college, not because its heavy, but because I couldn't stop reading it, even during lectures.

This is the first Margaret Atwood book I've read, and I am in absolute awe of the lady and her genius storytelling.

This book is about Iris Chase Griffen, an 83 year old woman, and her younger sister Laura, who died years ago. These are the opening lines of the book:

"Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge. The bridge was being repaired: she went right through the Danger sign. The car fell a hundred feet into the ravine, smashing through the treetops feathery with new leaves, then burst into flames and rolled down into the shallow creek at the bottom. Chunks of the bridge fell on top of it. Nothing much was left of her but charred smithereens."

The rest of the sisters' story is told in the form of a memoir of an old woman overburdened with countless secrets. The book moves between past, present, and (bad) pulp sci-fi.

Iris's memoir is interspersed with The Blind Assassin Laura's controversial pulp novel published posthumously by Iris, and newspaper articles spanning back to Laura and Iris's childhood, giving the "official" account of the events of their lives.

Iris recounts the story of their childhood and the story of her disastrous marriage to a wealthy but insensitive businessman and her relationship with his scheming sister. The book gets tedious and somewhat boring at times but the end is so so rewarding. The minute details that seem unnecessary at first turn out to be much more significant.

The novel within the novel seemed torturous and honestly, a junk, to me. I'd skip paragraphs and sometimes whole pages of the story of the nameless couple meeting in secret and narrating pulpy science fiction stories to each other. But it turned out to be a symbolic and integral part of the novel.

This book has so many beautifully written and poignant passages and quotes, that I had to stop reading every once in a while to note them down in my journal.

The structure of this book is very complex and the plot can be painfully slow at times. So this book might not be everyone's cup of tea. But if you are willing to be patient and make a slight effort to understand the premise and construction, it will certainly take your breath away. While you are reading it you might feel lost and confused with the overlapping timelines and stories, but this is one of those books that come together only in the end. You got to wait for it and work for it. :)