Alias Grace: A Novel Kindle Edition

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood tells the true story of 19th century alleged murderess Grace Marks.At age 15/16, Grace Marks was convicted of killing her employer and his mistress with a fellow member of “the help”, James McDermott. Grace’s trial was highly publicized across Canada, the US, and Europe (she was an Amanda Knox of her time, if you will, more on that later.) Her story soon became both sensationalized and romanticized, and the true story seemed to fall by the wayside as the years went on.Throughout Alias Grace, Atwood illustrates a system inherently skewed against someone like Grace because of her sex, age, and socio-economic status. At one point, a character notes that if Grace had come from a wealthy family her “madness” wouldn’t have been handled as it truly was. After the murder trial, Grace’s death sentence was changed to life in prison. However, for the first part of her imprisonment she was committed to an asylum, where Atwood alludes to abuse and sexual assault. I do not doubt it of that period, especially with a woman in that situation.Alias Grace is a framed story, with Grace recounting her side of the story to young Dr. Simon Jordan. Dr. Jordan has foregone a traditional medical practice in favor of studying the mind and mental illness. As a forerunner of the field (although Dr. Jordan is fiction), he seeks to prove Grace’s innocence by uncovering the truth of the events, as well as Grace’s mental state. It goes without saying that in the 19th Century, the majority of mental illnesses were not yet “discovered”, researched, and diagnosed–thus, the individual likely would have been locked up and forgotten.I particularly enjoyed Grace’s friendship with fellow maid Mary Whitney, as well as her doctor-patient relationship with Simon Jordan. Mary Whitney is often a foil to Grace; an outspoken young woman in a time when such behavior was viewed with suspicion. In fact, Grace and Mary were so close that I sometimes wondered if there was a Fight Club situation going on with them. I won’t get into spoilers, but there is a hypnosis event that occurs toward the end of the book that will both jolt and chill the reader. For some reason, and perhaps just because of my own world view, I did not go into this book thinking Grace was guilty. On the contrary, I viewed her as an innocent up until the hypnosis, and even after that I wasn’t entirely sure of its validity. I know Atwood is fond of using isolated, perhaps unreliable narrators (i.e. pedestal in Handmaid’s Tale in which we don’t get the full picture, just her perspective). In reality, no one is truly sure if Grace was guilty or innocent. Although the system worked against her, much of the public opinion was that she was innocent–an opinion which would later precipitate her pardon after 29 years in prison. The reader often aligns with Dr. Simon Jordan’s evaluation of Grace, as we are figuring her out alongside him. And in the end, even we do not know the truth.Simon was an interesting character in his own right, as there are a few chapters from his point of view and even letters from and to him from family members and colleagues. If Simon is reflective of the reader, then we along with him are brought face to face with what anyone might do, or could do, in Grace’s situation. Can dreams and the unconscious so heavily influence our waking actions?Atwood’s main theme seems to be a comment on society’s pre-conceived notions about women, especially those imprisoned: if a woman is young and pretty, are people more inclined to believe her innocence? And if a woman is old and ugly, does that make her guilty? At the same time, can society accept a young and pretty woman to be evil enough to manipulate people into believing her while she did the crime after all? Is society threatened by a clever woman, full stop, and would they inherently be suspicious of her because of that trait? If Grace had not been so young and pretty, would she still have been given a life sentence? Perhaps if she was ugly she would have been hanged, because society is apt to treat women who do not align with traditional beauty standards poorly. If James McDermott was not involved at all, could society have accepted that Grace may have done it all herself? If James McDermott was not involved, would society still think Grace a manipulative whore or a besotted lovesick girl? Femme fatale or innocent maiden? These two roles are often perpetuated not only in media, but in our society as a whole, as if a woman cannot be anything but one of these two archetypes and nothing more. The greater point I believe Atwood is trying to argue is that women are more complex than falling solely into one category. And the people judging Grace Marks clearly wanted her to fit into one box, regardless of facts vs. the desired narrative. But women cannot be seen as one or the other, nor sensationalized or romanticized, cast entirely aside nor placed on a pedestal. Rather, women should be viewed with all strengths and weaknesses in tact.Sadly, we will probably never know the truth about Grace Marks, but Atwood’s novel calls attention to issues still prevalent today. How we view Grace will inevitably reflect our own worldview, as it was at the time of Grace’s trial. People will always believe what they want to believe, regardless of the truth.

Atwood is a great story teller. Whether it is historical fiction or speculative fiction, she is able to bring to life all of her characters and weave a delightful and intriguing story. She is by far one of the best writers of this modern era.

I read a lot of Margaret Atwood in college (English major over here), and this is by far one of her most beautiful pieces. I first saw the Netflix series, which I also highly recommend, and just had to read this book. She outdid herself with this one!

"Gone mad is what they say, and sometimes Run mad, as if mad is a direction, like west; as if mad is a different house you could step into, or a separate country entirely. But when you go mad, you don't go any other place, you stay where you are. And somebody else comes in."I had no idea until I read the author's note that this story was based on a true story. Margaret Atwood manages to create such a rich back story of Grace Marks and the painstaking detail she took with the research into this story is obvious. The book starts after the murders when Grace is in prison. The other man accused of the murders, James McDermot, is hung as his punishment for his role in the crime. Before he was executed, he left a written confession that the murders were entirely Grace's idea. A therapist, Dr. Simon Jordan, wishes to interview her to determine her innocence for a possible pardon request. Everyone around Grace, from the fellow prisoners to the Governor's wife to the Reverend to Dr. Jordan has very strong feelings about Grace's innocence. But who is right? Did Grace Marks murder Nancy and Thomas in cold blood? Was she actually a victim of James McDermot? Did she lose all memory of the murders as she claims?I was fully invested in the book from the very beginning. I wanted to hear Grace's story and yes, like the media accounts in the novel, I had a morbid curiosity to know all of the details regarding the crime. I got the feeling that Dr. Jordan had this same morbid curiosity. Grace begins her sessions with Dr. Jordan by describing the events in her childhood that led to her coming to Canada. She eventually tells of the events that led her to working for Thomas Kinnear and the events leading up to the murder. Dr. Jordan pushes Grace to open up and at times, seems impatient that she is giving all this extra back story.It is hard to trust the narration of either Grace Marks or Dr. Jordan. Even when it is Grace's voice, she appears to be holding back, both from Dr. Jordan and the reader. It is easy to see why Grace wants to hold back from the doctor. She doesn't want to reveal too much for fear of being thought crazy and being committed to an asylum. I also questioned Dr. Jordan's motives. His motives seemed to be about ego more than anything else and then eventually it is clear that he is falling in love with Grace. I really distrusted his point of view when it came to the sex/rape scenes between him and a woman he was having an affair with. He says that the woman wants to have sex with her, despite the fact that she repeatedly says no. I think I could have done without those scenes.The ending of this book is a bit ambiguous. I wasn't sure why Margaret Atwood would choose to end it the way she did until I read the author's note. Atwood stuck to the factual case of Grace Marks as much as she could, but in the end this is a work of fiction. In real life, the innocence of Grace Marks was still a question up until her death. The ending of the book was a bit anticlimactic for me, but this was still a very compelling story.

Being that this is written by Margaret Atwood, it was well-written. However, I am one of those people who, when totally absorbed in a book, will read it all the way through within a day or two. This took me weeks, usually reading a few pages at night when struggling with insomnia. (I read it on my Kindle which makes it hard to really see how much is left). It did intrigue me enough to finish it but it wasn't my favorite book by Margaret Atwood.

Canada, 1843. Grace Marks ha appena compiuto sedici anni quando viene condannata a morte ‒ condanna commutata poi in ergastolo ‒ per concorso in omicidio. L’omicidio è quello del suo datore di lavoro, il proprietario terriero Thomas Kinnear e della di lui governante (e amante), Nancy Montgomery. Con Grace viene condannato a morte, e questa volta senza sconti di pena, anche il suo presunto complice James McDermott. Ma la giovane Grace, creatura silenziosa, dagli occhi chiari e dal viso puro, quasi angelico, sospettata di insanità mentale, debolezza spirituale, ritenuta una bugiarda ingannatrice, una subdola calcolatrice assassina, o, a seconda dei casi, una vittima della società e un diavolo tentatore, è colpevole o è innocente? È vero che non ricorda nulla, dell’omicidio? Nel frattempo, sconta la sua pena, in carcere, cucendo. In molti la vorrebbero vedere libera, primo fra tutti il giovane Simon Jordan, laureato in medicina e specializzato in quella che è la branca nascente della psichiatria. Cosa nascondono gli occhi profondi della bella Grace? Cosa hanno visto?Margaret Atwood, nata ad Ottawa e cresciuta a Toronto, è la scrittrice canadese contemporanea più conosciuta in Europa. “L’altra Grace” è basato su una storia vera. L’autrice esegue una ricostruzione dei fatti molto precisa e puntuale, come se stesse, insieme a Grace, cucendo gli scampoli di tessuto per farne il copriletto perfetto: con la fantasia e l’immaginazione, l’Autrice colma i buchi di ciò che non rientra nei dati storici raccolti, in sapiente bilico tra ciò che è stato e ciò avrebbe potuto essere. Il risultato è un romanzo scritto con una prosa elegante, raffinata, ma totalmente realistica, narrata da diversi punti di vista, con un’abile cesellatura psicologica dei personaggi, e un contesto storico veritiero e tangibile.A lungo oggetto dei giudizi contrastanti dell'opinione pubblica - propensa a vedere in lei ora una santa, ora una carnefice -la protagonista di questo romanzo, Grace, appunto, può finalmente raccontare la propria vita al dottor Jordan, a caccia di una verità sia umana che scientifica, e a noi, che silenziosamente, sfogliamo le numerose pagine di questo volume.“L’altra Grace” non dà risposte. Siamo noi che ci aspetteremmo, dopo una così accurata ricostruzione dei fatti, di sapere chi è veramente Grace Marks e che cosa ha fatto. Ma la storia di Grace mancò di una soluzione evidente, univoca. Successe un secolo e mezzo fa, succede ora nuovamente: si legge di molteplici storie all’ interno di percezioni individuali, e tutte portano ad una conclusione diversa, come i riflessi di uno specchio in frantumi. Leggere questo romanzo, che ho assaporato inglese, molto, molto lentamente, cullata dal linguaggio colto della Atwood e dalla sua strisciante ironia, non è stato facile. Ne scrivo una recensione solo dopo mesi, una volta che la forte sensazione di straniamento, alla conclusione del romanzo, se n’è andata. I continui cambi di registro, dalla prima alla terza persona, ad articoli di giornale e atti del tribunale, gli scambi epistolari, frastornano il lettore, e lo irretiscono, lasciandolo con un senso di grande, profonda incertezza. Mi è piaciuto? Quando l’ho finito, non lo sapevo, se mi fosse piaciuto, “L’altra Grace”. La sensazione che avvertivo era come se avessi una scheggia sotto la pelle. Un fastidio strano.Era come se mi sfuggisse qualcosa. Tutto si rivela ineffabile, inconsistente. Un gioco di apparenze. La verità (ma, in fondo…la verità di chi?), il ricordo, la menzogna, l’amnesia, si fondono in un groviglio inestricabile. Mi bastava, per reputarmi una lettrice soddisfatta? O mi infastidiva, questa collosa sensazione di totale incertezza? A distanza di mesi posso dire << Sì, mi è piaciuto “L’altra Grace” >>, perché, se, dopo più di 500 pagine, chiudi il romanzo con più dubbi di quando eri a pagina 20, allora vuole dire che l’Autrice è stata veramente brava, a farti conoscere (o forse solo intravedere?) Grace, e le “altre Grace”, tante quante sono i narratori di questa vicenda, inclusa la Grace che ti immagini tu, Lettore, che saresti pronto a giurare sia la più reale, ma probabilmente ella non è che un ennesimo riflesso. Un’ennesima “altra” Grace.Bella, al pari del romanzo (anche se sembra impossibile, ma tant’è), la miniserie televisiva canadese e statunitense “L'altra Grace (Alias Grace)”, in 6 puntate (2017), diretta da Mary Harron, con una protagonista di straordinaria bravura, Sarah Lynn Gadon, e un simpatico cameo della Atwood. Consigliata senza indugio!“Murderess is a strong word to have attached to you. It has a smell to it, that word - musky and oppressive, like dead flowers in a vase. Sometimes at night I whisper it over to myself: Murderess, Murderess. It rustles, like a taffeta skirt across the floor.”

Calidad muy bien.

Kind of a weird complaint, but the paper used for this book is so thin that you can see the opposite page's print through the paper. It's a bit distracting!

Shamefully my first Atwood in decades. I now know what all the fuss is about as she can certainly write beautifully and I won't be leaving it so long before trying some more of her work.This novel is based on true historical events and tells the story of Grace Marks an infamous murderess (or was she!) of the 19th century.I certainly learnt a lot about religious beliefs and practices of the time and the changing attitudes towards mental illness.However I did find some aspects of the sub plot a little hard to believe but maybe that was all part of Atwood's plan to add an extra layer of very dark humour to the story. I will leave it up to you, the potential future reader to decide.

This novel is a work of genius interweaving real-life accounts with shifting narratives, extracts of poetry and newspaper reports of the time. But the real genius lies not in the narrative structure but the way Atwood's character draws us in and strings us along, evoking our sympathies with the tragic account of her short life prior to being jailed; and all the while, like the psychiatrist Simon Jordan, we are not certain whether she is guilty or not. Is Grace the cold, calculating murderess she is accused of being, stringing us/Simon along without revealing the one thing we want to know beyond everything else? Or was she an innocent victim, wrongly accused by media and public out to seek justice and revenge? In my experience,only people who have something to hide evade telling the truth.Simon Jordan is drawn into her web and becomes frustrated, confused and uncertain just as I felt on reading Grace's account. Simon Jordan gives up trying to understand Grace and seems to have been taken to the edge of breakdown by her.I was left with the feeling that Grace was extraordinarily astute, intelligent, charismatic and manipulative. Grace knew just how to play people and so does Margaret Atwood. As anyone will know ,who has had the misfortune to know someone with psychopathic tendencies,contact with such people will leave you feeling utterly confused and disturbed and unable to pin down exactly how they have 'played' you. You just know they have.This is exactly what Margaret Atwood has done through the character of Grace and it is this which makes this novel a work of genius.I would have given it 5 stars but I think the way Atwood concluded the story was neither credible or necessary to the plot.