First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther. Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.

Synopsis:

“Sometimes I whisper it over to myself: Murderess. Murderess. It rustles, like a taffeta skirt along the floor” Grace Marks. Female fiend? Femme fatale? Or weak and unwilling victim?

Around the true story of one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of the 1840s, Margaret Atwood has created an extraordinarily potent tale of sexuality, cruelty and mystery.

It’s the end of the workweek—yay! Finally, the weekend is here. I’m glad we were all able to survive another week. I hope everyone was able to, or will be able to, finish the week on a high note. I hope you accomplished all your tasks or at least made significant progress toward them. It’s now time to dress down and let your hair down—to dive into the weekend! I hope you get to spend this brief reprieve wisely, whether by simply resting and taking a break from the rigors of a tedious career, pursuing your passions, completing household chores or other tasks you put on hold, or spending time with your family and loved ones. The weather here in the Philippine capital remains a mix of hot and damp. Occasional downpours riddle the day. The holiday chill is also drawing out the heat. Yes, nights are a little colder—it is officially hibernation season. I hope you’re all doing well—physically, mentally, and emotionally.

With the workweek coming to a close, it’s time for a fresh First Impression Friday update. Over the years, this blogging meme has become an essential part of my weekly book-blogging routine. Not only is it the perfect way to close the week, but it is also a great opportunity to take a reading breather while reflecting on my current read. These updates have also become springboards for my eventual book reviews. Currently, I’m using the remaining weeks of the year—we are already halfway through December—to complete the books I listed in my reading goals and challenges; it has become a tradition to cram at the last minute. The remaining books in these challenges are part of American and African literature. My attention for the rest of the year is therefore on books written by authors from these regions. With my current read, Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace, I am about to complete my 2025 Top 25 Reading List.

Alias Grace, which is also listed as one of the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, is the sixth novel by the highly regarded Canadian writer that I have read. I also plan to complete at least twenty books from the said list. Anyway, it was through must-read lists that I first encountered Alias Grace, and a decade after reading my first Atwood novel, I am finally getting to it. Apparently, the novel is inspired by a real-life figure, Grace Marks, a poor Irish immigrant and servant in Canada. When the story commences, we learn that Grace is serving a life sentence. Back in 1843, she was convicted of the brutal murders of her employer, Thomas Kinnear, and his housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery. Another servant, James McDermott, was hanged. During her incarceration at Kingston Penitentiary, Grace proves to be a model prisoner. Her good behavior earns her a pardon from the Governor, who runs the penitentiary; she is to spend her days working as a housekeeper in the Governor’s home, under the supervision of his wife.

Fortunately for Grace, the Governor’s wife is part of a committee advocating for social reforms. Composed of gentlemen and ladies from the Methodist church and led by Reverend Verringer, the group firmly believes in Grace’s innocence and makes several attempts to win her a full pardon. Unfortunately, all their efforts are for naught, falling on deaf ears. Interest in Grace’s case, however, is revived with the arrival of a doctor named Simon Jordan, a psychiatrist hired by the committee to assist them in their goal of obtaining a pardon for Grace. Grace claims she cannot remember the events of the day of the murders and exhibits symptoms of hysteria. This becomes the catalyst for the group’s decision to enlist Dr. Jordan. They hope the psychiatrist will prove that Grace was a hysteric and not a murderess.

The answers to the looming quandaries, as always, lie in the past. Psychiatrists often begin there. Dr. Jordan starts by asking Grace about her dreams and memories. When Grace proves evasive, he takes a different route: her backstory. Grace then recounts her childhood in Ireland. Her father was often inebriated, her mother frequently pregnant, and as the eldest child, Grace had to care for her younger siblings. From Ireland, the family moved to Canada aboard an overcrowded ship, the harsh conditions of which are vividly captured through Grace’s memories. During the journey, her mother perished, leaving Grace and her siblings under the care of their alcoholic father. Upon arriving in Toronto, her father forced Grace to find work. She eventually secured a position as a live-in servant in the home of an affluent family, where she befriended a maid named Mary Whitney.

Grace’s narrative alternates with Dr. Jordan’s notes, written in the third-person point of view. This dual perspective allows readers to witness the story unfold from multiple angles. So far, however, his accounts are somewhat perfunctory. He has yet to present meaningful insights into his understanding of Grace’s character or psychological state before, during, or immediately after the murders. Still, the novel’s structure—particularly its epistolary elements—reminds me of another Atwood classic, The Blind Assassin. Interestingly, that Booker Prize–winning masterpiece also contains elements of mystery. This is as far as I have gotten in Alias Grace. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to seeing how Atwood will spin the threads. The book is, as always, rather hefty. Having grown familiar with Atwood’s oeuvre, I am cognizant that more twists and revelations are bound to unfold as the story progresses. For now, I am content to sit back and enjoy the ride.

How about you, fellow reader? What book (or books) are you reading this weekend? I hope you’re enjoying your current read. Happy weekend!