A translucent golden model of a small bird skeleton stands beside a pale feather on a cream surface.

Original artwork, not a still

The Blind Assassin  ·  2000

Margaret Atwood

You want the truth, of course. You want me to put two and two together. But two and two doesn't necessarily get you the truth... The living bird is not its labeled bones.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Putting facts together may help explain something without capturing all of it. The living bird and its labelled bones make that gap visible. A neat account of separate parts still leaves out the life that made those parts belong to something whole.

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