The Blind Assassin

by Margaret Atwood · 2000

Margaret Atwood’s Booker‑prize‑winning novel weaves a haunting family saga with a daring story‑within‑a‑story. In 1945, Iris Chase recounts the mysterious death of her sister Laura, whose fatal car plunge on a bridge becomes the catalyst for a labyrinth of secrets that have haunted the eccentric Chase family for decades. Interlaced with Iris’s recollections are chapters from Laura’s own sensational novel, "The Blind Assassin," a sci‑fi romance penned by two clandestine lovers in dingy back‑street rooms. As the two narratives echo each other—love, betrayal, and hidden violence—the layers gradually converge, revealing a stunning twist that reshapes the past and the present. Atwood blends gothic suspense, romance, and speculative fiction into a spellbinding, richly textured tale that rewards readers with a brilliant, unforgettable finale.