C
I’m a sucker for historical fiction that centers around actual events. Books like The Black Dahlia, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and now Alias Grace are some of my favorites of the genre. I was not aware of the Kinnear-Montgomery murders until reading this book, and I do think they are not quite as sensational or fascinating as the other events depicted in the books I had mentioned, but it’s hard not to get enraptured by Margret Atwood’s version of Grace’s history and Dr. Simon Jordan’s attempt to remain impartial in his investigation for the truth.
One thing Alias Grace nails is the miserable life of the average woman in the nineteenth century. Once they’re barely teenagers, they have to work basically every waking minute of their life until they have enough money for a dowry for marriage, which basically amounts to two to three years of income before a man takes it, presumably wasting away on booze and disappearing for weeks at a time based on the majority of male characters in the book. The world is filthy. Drinking and washing water for the public asylum is taken from the same stagnant lake that the sewage runs into, cooking water is reused for washing at the run down inns along the road, and there’s dirt and grime everywhere. And it’s always the woman’s job to clean it up.
The broader politics of the US and Canada at the time also play a large role in shaping the cruelty of the world. Much of Grace’s life took place around the time of the Canadian rebellions, which directly impacted the public opinion of her trial due to the nature of those who were murdered. Dr. Simon also got caught up in the US civil war after an unceremonious exit from Canada (which I felt was a little too convenient of a way to take him out of the story’s end). The saddest and most timeless aspect is the way the media's sensationalized version of the murders were taken as evidence, and the assumption of guilt painting every little action as a reinforcement of that belief. Despite having a rigorous burden of proof on the prosecution these days, it still feels like the court of public opinion still operates the same as it ever did.
Where the book stumbles a bit for me is towards the end, when Dr. Simon begins to investigate outside of just interviewing Grace. Seeds of doubt are attempted to be placed in her story, but after 300 pages of hearing her version and not really seeing much beyond the opinion of others who we have spent zero time with in the story, it’s hard to really believe that there might be some sinister angle that she’s playing. There is also a mental health research angle that is toyed with throughout the book, but doesn’t really feel like it goes anywhere. Grace’s recount of her life is one that she gave willingly and openly, and the doctors’ primitive attempts to dig at buried memories that might reveal new information are all a waste of time and brushed aside.
The way the book was structured kept me hooked the entire time. I loved the way real documents about the case were used as an intro to each part, and how Grace’s story and Simon’s story are told from completely different perspectives. Dreams play an important part throughout the narrative, and each of them are disturbing and surreal to the point where it feels almost supernatural. I would hesitate to call this book long-winded, but I did start to feel its length towards the end after it felt like the plot has resolved (or hit an impossible roadblock might be a better phrasing). At least this depressing tale had a happy ending.
I’m a sucker for historical fiction that centers around actual events. Books like The Black Dahlia, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and now Alias Grace are some of my favorites of the genre. I was not aware of the Kinnear-Montgomery murders until reading this book, and I do think they are not quite as sensational or fascinating as the other events depicted in the books I had mentioned, but it’s hard not to get enraptured by Margret Atwood’s version of Grace’s history and Dr. Simon Jordan’s attempt to remain impartial in his investigation for the truth.
One thing Alias Grace nails is the miserable life of the average woman in the nineteenth century. Once they’re barely teenagers, they have to work basically every waking minute of their life until they have enough money for a dowry for marriage, which basically amounts to two to three years of income before a man takes it, presumably wasting away on booze and disappearing for weeks at a time based on the majority of male characters in the book. The world is filthy. Drinking and washing water for the public asylum is taken from the same stagnant lake that the sewage runs into, cooking water is reused for washing at the run down inns along the road, and there’s dirt and grime everywhere. And it’s always the woman’s job to clean it up.
The broader politics of the US and Canada at the time also play a large role in shaping the cruelty of the world. Much of Grace’s life took place around the time of the Canadian rebellions, which directly impacted the public opinion of her trial due to the nature of those who were murdered. Dr. Simon also got caught up in the US civil war after an unceremonious exit from Canada (which I felt was a little too convenient of a way to take him out of the story’s end). The saddest and most timeless aspect is the way the media's sensationalized version of the murders were taken as evidence, and the assumption of guilt painting every little action as a reinforcement of that belief. Despite having a rigorous burden of proof on the prosecution these days, it still feels like the court of public opinion still operates the same as it ever did.
Where the book stumbles a bit for me is towards the end, when Dr. Simon begins to investigate outside of just interviewing Grace. Seeds of doubt are attempted to be placed in her story, but after 300 pages of hearing her version and not really seeing much beyond the opinion of others who we have spent zero time with in the story, it’s hard to really believe that there might be some sinister angle that she’s playing. There is also a mental health research angle that is toyed with throughout the book, but doesn’t really feel like it goes anywhere. Grace’s recount of her life is one that she gave willingly and openly, and the doctors’ primitive attempts to dig at buried memories that might reveal new information are all a waste of time and brushed aside.
The way the book was structured kept me hooked the entire time. I loved the way real documents about the case were used as an intro to each part, and how Grace’s story and Simon’s story are told from completely different perspectives. Dreams play an important part throughout the narrative, and each of them are disturbing and surreal to the point where it feels almost supernatural. I would hesitate to call this book long-winded, but I did start to feel its length towards the end after it felt like the plot has resolved (or hit an impossible roadblock might be a better phrasing). At least this depressing tale had a happy ending.