war. Following the suicide, Iris realizes through her sister's journals that Richard had been raping Laura for much of their marriage, blackmailing her to comply with him by threatening to turn Alex in to the authorities. Iris takes her young daughter Aimee and flees her home, threatening to reveal that Richard had impregnated Laura and forced an abortion on her. This move estranges Iris from the last people who were supporting her, and creates bitterness between her and the grown Aimee. Iris deceives Richard into believing that Laura was the one having an affair with Alex Thomas, which drives him to commit suicide. The novel ends as Iris dies, leaving the truth to be discovered in her unpublished autobiography that she leaves to her sole surviving granddaughter. Main characters Iris Chase Griffen: The narrator and protagonist of the tale. Laura Chase: Iris's sister, whose suicide opens the book and who is named as the author of the novel within. Richard E. Griffen: Iris's ruthless, older husband with political ambitions. Winifred Griffen Prior: Iris's fashionable, manipulative, and social-climbing sister-in-law. Alex Thomas: A young author with Communist sympathies who takes refuge in Avilion with the sisters' help. Cpt. Norval Chase: The father of Iris and Laura. After being seriously injured in World War I and later widowed, he begrudgingly runs the family button business while descending into alcoholism and depression. Reenie: The loyal Chase family housekeeper who becomes like a mother to Iris and Laura. Myra Sturgess: Reenie's daughter (possibly by Cpt Chase), who aids Iris in her old age. Aimee Adelia Griffen: Iris's daughter. Sabrina Griffen: Iris's granddaughter. Reception Reception was mixed. A reviewer for Salon described the book as a "cunning tale ... sketched with Atwood's trademark dark humor and deft hand." The Christian Science Monitor critic commented on "Atwood's crisp wit and steely realism" and said the book "brilliantly ... works to flesh out the dime-novel culture of the 1930s and to emphasize the precarious position of women." The New York Times critic Thomas Mallon was unimpressed, calling the book "overlong and badly written". Adam Mars-Jones in The Guardian was less negative but characterized the book as a "romantic tale" with political elements bolted on. The novel was awarded the Booker Prize in 2000 and the Hammett Prize in 2001. It was also nominated for Governor General's Award in 2000, Orange Prize for Fiction, and the International Dublin Literary