I adore Margaret Atwood. She possesses so many of the qualities I yearn for in an author, including the ability to infuse her stories with an honesty that whispers Truth with gentle intimacy. Even Hubby, who read his last bit of fiction (Ender’s Game, for the curious) nearly half a decade ago, picked up on her talent after hearing only a paragraph of her work. He also commented on how her picture, at first glance, reminds him of Meryl Streep. I’d have to agree. One of the things I admire most about Ms. Atwood is her dignified elegance, which is a quality I see in Streep, as well.
But I digress. What I like most about Atwood is that clever mind of hers. From the post-apocalyptic (sci-fi, even!) Oryx and Crake, to the historical fiction of my most recent read, Alias Grace, she crafts her works with imagination and artistry.
Alias Grace is based on a true chain of events surrounding Grace Marks, “one of the most notorious Canadian women of the 1840s,… convicted of murder at the age of sixteen.” Where possible, Atwood uses historical documents to flesh out her narrative, but the fictional bits are more honest, if not as “factual.” Atwood has a way of describing the thoughts and logic of women with (surprising?) accuracy while still allowing her female characters to retain a measure of mystery. While reading, I was so fully immersed in Grace Marks’ world that I could smell it, taste it, and, after a time, I “knew” her mind. I “knew” what she would do, what the history of her life would lead her to do next, and yet I never reached a conclusion concerning Mark’s guilt (or lack thereof). I “knew” Grace, but Atwood gifted her character a measure of mystique that made her story all the more irresistible.
Atwood extends this fairness to her male characters, also, never allowing blame to be so simple as sex or race, power or poverty, but always more individual, more personal. When reading, I find great pleasure in realizing that, after having formed an opinion of a character during pages 1-100, I’ve come to doubt, or completely change, my opinion of said character a hundred pages later; there were several instances of this satisfying turn in Alias.
If you’ve never experienced Ms. Atwood’s wordcraft, I would recommend the remedy as an easy (and enjoyable) New Year’s resolution.