Alias Grace

Based on a real nineteenth-century Canadian case, the novel traces the ambiguous territory of memory, testimony, and responsibility through the exchanges between Grace Marks and a psychiatrist. It is both historical fiction and a novel about unreliable narration.

historical fictionmemorywomencrime

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Work Information

Each conflicting account pushes the truth one layer deeper.

A landmark novel that quietly digs into the boundary between memory and responsibility through a nineteenth-century Canadian murder case.

Review Summaries

Readers praise the novel’s layered handling of contradictory testimony and the complexity of Grace Marks as a character. It is widely read as a dense and lingering reconstruction of history.

Book Information

Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Published: 1996-09-07
Pages: 480 pages
Language: 英語
ISBN-13: 9780771008351
ISBN-10: 077100835X
Price: 2799 JPY
Category: 洋書/Literature & Fiction/Genre Fiction/Historical

In this astonishing tour de force, Margaret Atwood takes the reader back in time and into the life and mind of one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of the nineteenth century. In 1843, at the age of sixteen, servant girl Grace Marks was convicted for her part in the vicious murders of her employer and his mistress. Some believe Grace is innocent; others think her evil or insane. Grace herself claims to have no memory of the murders. As Dr. Simon Jordan – an expert in the burgeoning field of mental illness – tries to unlock her memory, what will he find? Was Grace a femme fatale – or a weak and unwilling victim of circumstances? Taut and compelling, penetrating and wise, Alias Grace is a beautifully crafted work of the imagination that vividly evokes time and place. The novel and its characters will continue to haunt the reader long after the final page.

Margaret Atwood was born in Ottawa in 1939, and grew up in northern Quebec and Ontario, and later in Toronto. She has lived in numerous cities in Canada, the U.S., and Europe. She is the author of more than forty books — novels, short stories, poetry, literary criticism, social history, and books for children. Atwood’s work is acclaimed internationally and has been published around the world. Her novels include The Handmaid’s Tale and Cat’s Eye — both shortlisted for the Booker Prize; The Robber Bride , winner of the Trillium Book Award and a finalist for the Governor General’s Award; Alias Grace , winner of the prestigious Giller Prize in Canada and the Premio Mondello in Italy, and a finalist for the Governor General’s Award, the Booker Prize, the Orange Prize, and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award; The Blind Assassin , winner of the Booker Prize and a finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award; and Oryx and Crake , a finalist for The Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Award, the Orange Prize, and the Man Booker Prize. Her most recent books of fiction are The Penelopiad , The Tent , and Moral Disorder . She is the recipient of numerous honours, such as The Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence in the U.K., the National Arts Club Medal of Honor for Literature in the U.S., Le Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France, and she was the first winner of the London Literary Prize. She has received honorary degrees from universities across Canada, and one from Oxford University in England. Margaret Atwood lives in Toronto with novelist Graeme Gibson.

Reviews

不思議な小説

１５歳のGrace Marksが関わっていたとされる殺人事件を題材にした小説である。精神科医のSimon Jordanとの接見の過程で事件の一部が描かれていくが、最後まで呼んでも真実は謎のヴェイルに包まれたままだ。冒頭に置かれている事件当時に作られた詩が何かを暗示しているのかもしれない。
永遠に埋もれたミステリー

1843年にカナダで起きたスキャンダラスな殺人事件をもとにしたフィクション。史実の部分は、忠実に反映されているそうです。共謀者として終身刑を言い渡された、当時16歳だったメイドのグレイスが本当に有罪なのか、そして精神的に病んでいるのか、再度精神鑑定が試みられることになり・・・物語は、彼女の精神鑑定に臨む精神科医のエピソードを織り込みながら展開します。グレースの数奇な運命、そして、ゆるやかに足を踏み外していく若き精神科医… 普通の人間が普通でない世界に知らず足を踏み入れてしまう、その境界の限りない曖昧さ…危うさが描かれます。物語の大半を占めるグレイスの身の上話は淡々と細部にわたり、当時の階級社会や身分の低いメイドたちの悲哀、生活の様子がうかがえました。比較的長編ですが、飽きずに読めました。邦訳は、「またの名をグレイス」。
Surprising twist at the end

This story is one of those books which you never really get until the end of the story, and even then, you wonder what happens to the characters. You really start to understand why this books title is Alias Grace, at the end. For me, the ending of this story was a little queer. Its not very satisfying. However, I liked everything about the book besides the ending.
最高級の代物だぜ！

あまりの人間の醜さに直面し凍り付いたこれもしかしてホラー小説じゃない？正直handmade's taleより引き込まれたしかも実話だからねいつの時代も文明が発展したとしても人間という生き物は変わらないと思わせる小説だこわい！
Magnifiquement bien écrit !
Amazing . It is based on a true story. I was really gripped by the story all the way through. I can't say too much without revealing the plot and creating a spoiler. I will just say that I found it a very worthwhile read.
I have always shied away from Margaret Atwood's book as I felt they were a bit strange. Had to read Alias Grace for my book group and absolutely loved it. I am now a fan of hers and will be reading more of her books.
I really enjoyed reading Alias Grace. Very few writers can match Margaret Atwood's talent and skill. Her writing is precise, deliberate and controlled, and more than anything, it is underpinned by emotional intelligence and depth of thought. A good, solid novel. I recommend it.
Having really enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale, I was very excited to read Alias Grace and to see that it is a new series on Netflix. I really enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale but I have to say that I actually liked Alias Grace more. It might have been because it was based on a true story but the story was fascinating to me. Grace Marks is a prisoner, having been found guilty of the grisly murder of her employer and his housekeeper. She is said to have committed the murders of Nancy Montgomery and Thomas Kinnear with her coworker, James McDermott, who is a surly and jealous man. While she was initially sentenced to hang like McDermott, she is saved by her lawyer, who pleads with the court to consider her youth, and her sentence is commuted to a life term. Soon after she is imprisoned, she is committed to an asylum on account of fits and her amnesia surrounding anything to do with the crime. While she is treated with the worst of the time's psychiatric treatments, she still does not remember anything about the time when Montgomery and Kinnear are murdered. Years later, a young psychiatrist is brought in by a group trying to prove her innocence to try to help her remember more about the crime. My favorite part of this book would have to be the characters that Atwood has created, Nancy being one of my favorites. She is the perfect narcissist. She is jealous, manipulative and overly sensitive. One never knows where they stand with her as she can love you or hate you from day to day and minute to minute. Grace, herself, is actually quite likeable. She comes off as very intelligent in a very street smart way. I also think that she could be a very relatable character for many of us in that she is but a product of her past. While I didn't feel that Dr. Jordan's story added very much to the overall feel of the book, Grace's story was sad but very interesting. I was left wanting to know more. The writing style is sophisticated but still very easily readable. I really enjoyed this book and I believe that anyone who enjoys historical fiction, true crime or medical mysteries will enjoy this book, too.