I judged it by its title.
Upon seeing the title Alias Grace, I was immediately bored and it didn't capture my attention what so ever. In fact, I forgot that it was even on the list and the title did not even ring a bell in my mind when I had heard the title repeated by several friends and family members. However, my opinion (or lack there-of) of the novel was immediately changed when I read reviews and the plot of the story.
Before reading Alias Grace, I decided that I should do some research on it in order to gain some more understanding. This may seem like the sensible and mature thing to do in this situation, as I knew next to nothing about this novel, however the truth of it is that I was just lazy. From my research, I came to the conclusion that Alias Grace is a novel that is based off the true story of Grace Marks (the protagonist) who is notorious for the murder of Thomas Kinnear and his housekeeper Nancy Montgomery at the age of sixteen. As soon as I read the word murder I knew that this would a story that I'd enjoy, and even the summary of the novel intrigued me. This novel instantly became my first choice and I had a good feeling that it would be a story that would be compelling, thoughtful and easy to follow.
And then I realized that it was written by Margaret Atwood.
Not that I have anything against Margaret Atwood. As a Canadian writer, I've come to respect her, however through previous experiences with her other works, I've found myself lost, confused and slightly drowsy after and while reading. Instead of throwing the book down in predetermined defeat and venturing for another novel, I looked at Alias Grace as a challenge. When I looked at it, I felt it say to me, "You don't have it in you to get through this book cover-to-cover." and I replied, "Bring it on, Alias Grace. Bring it on."
So here it is: my official statement saying that I have accepted the challenge that I presented to myself in the voice of Margaret Atwood as the voice of Grace Marks by saying that I can and will read Alias Grace cover-to-cover without using Sparknotes, eNotes, or force someone into reading the novel for me. I will befriend Alias Grace as if it were a new student. I will become an expert on the novel, knowing both the fiction and non-fiction sides of it. And finally, I will be brutally honest about my opinions of the novel at all times.
That is one promise that I can be sure to keep.
