Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (1996)

“Because you may think a bed is a peaceful thing, Sir, and to you it may mean rest and comfort and a good night's sleep. But it isn't so for everyone; and there are many dangerous things that may take place in a bed. ”

― Margaret Atwood, alias Grace.

A friend and I went to the Planned Parenthood Book Sale together one year, and she ended up buying me as many books as she bought for herself. When she gave me Alias Grace, one of the books she’d bought for me, she said that she thought I’d like it. I’ve read a few books by Margaret Atwood, but I find my interest in her books to be hit and miss. This one ended up being about halfway in between.

Grace Marks is a young woman sentenced to life in a Canadian penitentiary for her part in the murder of her wealthy employer Thomas Kinnear and his pregnant housekeeper and mistress Nancy Montgomery. In the afterword of the book, Atwood explains that it is based on real people and events, but in a way, this is Atwood’s attempt to build a backstory and possible explanation for Grace’s actions as the actual events of the day of the murder are unclear.  Even after the trial, where Grace and her accomplice, James McDermott, a stable hand, told a total of 5 different and contradictory stories.

In this novel, an American alienist, Dr. Simon Jordan, wants to study Grace, and so arranges to interview her at the prison governor’s house, where Grace works as a seamstress for the governor’s wife. Simon boards in the house of a woman whose husband has taken off and may or may not return.

Grace has claimed that she doesn’t remember much of the day of the murder and does not believe she has done what she is accused of. Simon believes that by having Grace tell her story from the beginning of her life, by the time she gets to the time of the murders, she will remember more or he will come to understand more about her condition.

And so begins the interplay between Simon and the women in his life at the time: his mother, various sweethearts, and his landlady. Grace’s narrative begins with her voyage to Canada and includes her parents’ lives and her past employments. Simon is fully engaged in Grace’s story but must also compete with those who would like to help or exploit her, such as the governor’s wife, Grace’s lawyer, past employers, and old friends.

This book seemed a slog to me. I began reading it on paper, but never connected with the book and it got put back on the shelf. After a purge of physical books, I decided to try an audiobook version, but that did not help. The narrator’s voice was monotonous and lacked variation of tone. Her sleepy way of reading everything, even the events of the day of the murder, was drudgery to listen to. It took me about 5 years (yes, years) to complete the book, because I kept stepping away from it.

In some ways the ending of the book was satisfying, because it provided information about what happened to the main characters after the end of the interviews. One part was a series of letters between the principles and other characters filling in details of the resolutions of their relationships.

However, at the end there are still many questions about the murders, Grace’s memories, and who is at fault. But that is as it should be. Of course, I will still look at other Atwood books, and there are more I haven’t read, but I might look twice before picking up the next one.