Alias Grace

By: Margaret Atwood

Narrated by: Shelley Thompson

Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's Summary

Sixteen years have passed since Grace was locked up, at the age of 16, for the cold-blooded murders of her employer and his housekeeper/lover. Her alleged accomplice in the crimes, James McDermot, paid the extreme sentence of the law and was hanged on November 21, 1843. But some thought Grace was innocent, and her sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment. After a spell in the Lunatic Asylum she now claims to have no memory of the murders, and so Dr Simon Jordan tries to wake the part of Grace's mind which lies dormant. But what will he find?

©1996 O.W. Toad Ltd; 2014 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd.

Quite good

An interesting story, but not as gripping as I found Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale to be.

I thought at first that the performance was not very good as it was sometimes not immediately clear to me whether it was speech or internal thought, though that did clear up, and I have a much hier opinion of her now than in the first portion of audio. It's much easier to understand a differentiation (for me, at least) when the character is not Irish, as I find the performer's own (Canadian, slightly maritime?) accent to be similar in kind to the Irish accents she puts on, though still different.

I enjoyed how all the characters' stories converged and went their own ways again.

What a great story!

Loved the writting, wits and depth of the characters. Inspired by a true Story, it makes it even harder to Believe (in fact, it remains an unsolved mistery)

Matches the series perfectly

I tried listening to “Alias Grace” before watching the series but became very confused – Atwood’s constant inclusion of letters and jumping around in the story is a bit difficult to wrap your head around in audio-form. However, after having watched the series, I decided to give it another go, and I absolutely loved this book despite knowing what was coming. I’m super impressed that the series creators were able to capture, almost perfectly, the whole vibe of this story. Absolutely excellently narrated. Loved it!

Adored it!

The narrator needs a standing ovation for this performance! Stunning book, stunning story, stunning overall!

beautifully written and narrated

This book really alleviated the tedium of my morning and evening commute. I found it thoroughly absorbing, due to the beautifully written prose combined with narration that complimented the writing so perfectly. I'm only sorry to have finished it!

great story

Great story but some of the level of detail and tangents were a bit distracting.

enthralling

I was fully captivated by Grace's story and Margaret Atwood manages that most clever feat - completely convincing you that you are in a different place and time by telling a story well and weaving details of history into it rather than drenching the tale in so many researched facts it starts to feel like a history lesson

Gripping and mesmerising

If you could sum up Alias Grace in three words, what would they be?

Intriguing, captivating, heart wrenching

What did you like best about this story?

Excellent narration of the different characters, lovely Canadian accent and gripping story.

Have you listened to any of Shelley Thompson’s other performances? How does this one compare?

no

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Occasional laugh and heart breaking in places

Any additional comments?

Only problem I had was occasionally distinguishing between the opening quotes at each chapter and the start of the story in each case- just needed a slight pause.

But I absolutely loved this clever book and its telling.

slow burner but well worth it!

stick at this one and you will be rewarded. I found it slow to start, but not one to waste a credit I carried on and got hooked!

Fascinating!

An insight into the early use of psychoanalysis to determine criminal guilt. Very well narrated using two voices.

Amazing amazing amazing!!!

Spectacularly written and extremely well read. a total joy to listen to. Will immediately download all Margaret Attwood's entire back catalogue

5*

Nothing happens for half the book!

It is a very long book in which nothing happens for the first half, just endless detailed slow descriptions of every day life. The story picks up pace and begins to unfold after the half way mark. I found it extremely boring and difficult to stick with until the end. The story itself may be interesting, as it is based on real events, but it is painfully dragged out and not many scenes of consequence or interest actually take place in the book as a whole and the repetitive descriptions get tedious after a while.

Good story that draws the listener in

What did you like most about Alias Grace?

It was a metaphorical page-turner

Any additional comments?

The audio book is so much better than the netflicks drama. There are so many more nuances explored that explain the story and why this or that happened. Grace was a very complex character who had to learn how to survive any way she could do. The audio book made me feel that she was quite naïve and young.

Well written, interesting, and hard to put down.

Such an interesting story that makes you stop and question. I truly loved it. I would highly recommend it.