Strange presentation, but 100% effective.This is now one of my favorite novels and it sat on my bookshelf unread for god knows how many years. I hope that there are hundreds more just like it, gathering dust and waiting to be discovered.
Iris Chase Griffen is telling the story of her life. She's in her 80's, and grew up, with her sister, Ruth, in Port Ticonderoga, Canada. Her grandfather Benjamin, started a button company that was the town's major employer. Her father, Norval, took it over after the first world war, and the company floundered due to labor problems and a lackluster economy.
In an attempt to salvage the company in the early thirties, he makes a deal with an amoral, yet successful businessman, Richard Griffen. Norval essentially allows Richard to marry his daughter, Iris, if Richard will save his business and keep his employees on the job. Richard does neither, and it is revealed in the end of the book, that he was sexually abusing Ruth throughout the marriage to Iris. He got 'both daughters for the price of one'.
Alex Thomas is a labor agitator who is falsely accused of burning down the button factory and murdering the night watchman. He flees and is helped by Iris and Ruth. They hide him in the attic of the ancestral home, Avilion. Both Iris and Ruth have affairs with Alex. Alex is a science fiction author and 'The Blind Assassin' is one of his tales. Ruth is impregnated by Alex and Richard has her imprisoned in a mental hospital where the child is aborted. Later Ruth commits suicide when she learns that Alex died in the Spanish Civil War.
"What does god wear?"
"What age are you in heaven?"
Benjamin- grandfather
Norval- father
Richard Griffen- wealthy amoral businessman
Winifred (Fred)- Richard's conniving sister
Absolutely beautiful descriptions, and Attwood's insights are astounding.
on wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blind_Assassin
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