The Book That Shaped My World: 'Alias Grace'

by Phoebe Clark

I wanted to talk about Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood because of the way that she deals with the stereotypes of women in the past and the way that certain perspectives and details make the reader question every point, making them actively reading instead of simply sitting and taking it, a reference to the objectification and inequality of women. The narrator tells her story in such a pragmatic and believable way that when we find out later on that she might be an unreliable source, it makes us question every detail within the book and therefore forecast us to make our own judgement upon the story, which allows a sense of freedom and imagination within the novel. 


Also, the fate of both characters shows us the huge inequalities between the sexes at that time, especially because it is based on a true story. Another thing that the author made judgement upon was how the mentally ill, or not, were treated in such institutions and how that affected the human psyche. I actually read this book because I read a Handmaid’s tale by the same author because I loved her way of describing minute details and the way she told so beautifully of the basic, physical, human need for love and lust from a feminine perspective, giving females a voice within sexuality and sexual and emotional desires within a dystopian world, that could be so related to our own. 

I have started to read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and I am loving it because of the complex language and intricate storytelling. I would also like to read Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman, after seeing the racial injustices in the world, especially in America after the death of George Floyd.