Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
[...] In any case, I think our particular line of discussion while entertaining illuminating, has gotten us very far from consideration of Alias Grace as just a story and as a representation of the Victorian novel. We've been led astray. But another unanswerable issue is to what extent Atwood may have intended it?
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As a story I found it uninspired, uninspiring and unsatisfying. As a presentation of facts I thought it was ineffective. I've not studied literature formally so the concept of a "Victorian novel" is a bit loose with me. In my mind these tend to be large in scope with many characters, and so mostly unlike this narrowly focused book with its small cast. It would not have occurred to me to think of this as a Victorian novel.
Margaret Atwood is not exactly a newcomer to the art, and her work seems very deliberate. So while specific reactions are perhaps too variable for an author to reliably intend with any precision, I would say that our mixed reaction would have been expected, and I doubt if she would be surprised by anything much we've expressed on this thread.