Stories within stories are difficult structures to maintain without losing the reader in a mass of explication at the beginning, or through the confusion of attempting to sort out the various plot lines unaided. On the other hand, when the interweaving of the stories is skillfully managed by the author, the reader's experience is enriched by the contrast of a global and a particular viewpoint, for example, the alternating chapters in Moby Dick and The Grapes of Wrath. .
In the novel, The Blind Assassin, Margaret Atwood certainly experimented in several novels with tales within tales, supposedly factual accounts interwoven with letters, in order to enhance the main narrative, an example being the brilliant Alias Grace. However, The Blind Assassin is her most ambitious work to date, combining Iris Chase's memoir, Laura Chase's novel, the Sakiel-Norn story told by the fictional Alex Thomas, the elements of his story that also turn up in an actual book, and the newspaper articles that offer clues to the real story of the Chase's. Although initially the story is confusing because of the many threads, it is worth persevering until the point-counterpoint begins to demonstrate its own logic.
To see both the dangers and the potentialities of the this book within a book within a book, it is useful to look first at the innermost story, the tale of the fantasy world of Sakiel-Norn. The two parts of the name allude to the Norse Fates, the Norns, and the wry, ironic twists of the storyteller known as Saki. The story, supposedly told by a lover during his and his girl's trysts, assumes a sort of Scherezade character. In spite of the element of Fate implied by the word Norn, the story seems mutable and capable of being changed if the audience so desires. "Any little detail you want added, just let me know," he says (Atwood, p. 115). However, as we hear more, it begins to appear that this is an empty promise; the storyteller is not really willing to make changes.
