
The Blind Assassin
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Narrated by:
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Margot Dionne
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By:
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Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood takes the art of storytelling to new heights in a dazzling new novel that unfolds layer by astonishing layer and concludes in a brilliant and wonderfully satisfying twist.
For the past twenty-five years, Margaret Atwood has written works of striking originality and imagination. In The Blind Assassin, she stretches the limits of her accomplishments as never before, creating a novel that is entertaining and profoundly serious.
The novel opens with these simple, resonant words: "Ten days after the war ended, my sister drove a car off the bridge." They are spoken by Iris, whose terse account of her sister Laura's death in 1945 is followed by an inquest report proclaiming the death accidental. But just as the listener expects to settle into Laura's story, Atwood introduces a novel-within-a- novel. Entitled The Blind Assassin, it is a science fiction story told by two unnamed lovers who meet in dingy backstreet rooms. When we return to Iris, it is through a 1947 newspaper article announcing the discovery of a sailboat carrying the dead body of her husband, a distinguished industrialist.
Told in a style that magnificently captures the colloquialisms and clichés of the 1930s and 1940s, The Blind Assassin is a richly layered and uniquely rewarding experience. The novel has many threads and a series of events that follow one another at a breathtaking pace. As everything comes together, listeners will discover that the story Atwood is telling is not only what it seems to be—but, in fact, much more.
The Blind Assassin proves once again that Atwood is one of the most talented, daring, and exciting writers of our time. Like The Handmaid's Tale, it is destined to become a classic.
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Critic reviews
Book Sense Book of the Year Award Finalist, Adult Fiction, 2001
"Dionne’s narration is hypnotic and moody, mapping out Atwood’s social and emotional geography, the many little hurts and betrayals, and the hopes. Listeners will find themselves piecing together the clues, guessing at truths, but the rewards are to be found in the layering of details and the skill of the storytelling." –AudioFile
“An example of a writer at the very peak of her performance.…As it delves into the kinds of relationships that can exist between men and women and the rich and poor, it becomes a compassionate and utterly honest book. It is profound and touching. It is to be treasured.”
–Edmonton Journal
“The Blind Assassin is the kind of story so full of intrigue and desperation that you take it to bed with you simply because you can’t bear to put it down.…It’s one thing to write an accomplished novel; it’s another entirely to spin a tale so brilliantly that the reader internalizes it.” –Harper’s Bazaar
“Margaret Atwood is one of the greatest writers alive.…A novel of luminous prose, scalpel-precise insights and fierce characters.…[The Blind Assassin] is so assured, so elegant and so incandescently intelligent, she casts her contemporaries in the shade.” –Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Featured Article: Best Authors for Fans of Margaret Atwood
Iconic Canadian author Margaret Atwood is more than a beloved novelist, poet, and essayist. She’s also a feminist, environmental activist, and innovator. Atwood examines important themes across many genres, including nonfiction, poetry, dystopian fiction, science fiction, and retellings of mythology. If you've worked your way through all of her stellar audiobooks and don’t know where to go next, here are some listens by authors similar to Atwood for you to enjoy.
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Though i love audio books i reccomend reading this one.
the reading assassin
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Beautifully written and beautifully read
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Not bad audio people! It's called Ambiance...
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The world's best-written unhappy story
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Slow confusing start but excellent in the end
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The Blind assassin
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are there birds chirping?
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Good book, but very bad sound quality
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Excellent
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This definitely took some time to get going. I felt a little lost at first with all the different story lines. It’s probably one that would’ve been better read with a physical book, but just for the beginning. That, or, the reason audible should stop listing chapters by number and put the book titles of the chapters on the list.
Really liked the story. Not one of my favorites, but, let’s be honest, she’s an amazing writer, so “not a fave” still ranks it above most other authors. That’s why my overall is a 4, but for her, it’s a 3. She does weave these complicated stories all together, holding out the big picture for as long as possible, and that I admire. I tend to figure things out quickly, so I appreciate that I can’t always do that with her until the very last bit of info is gathered.
Overall, good, interesting story. A must if you like the author. Choose something else if you’ve never read her before. This is my 3rd Atwood novel, so I’m already hooked. If you’re willing to invest the first 1/4-1/3 of the book to feel like you can follow along, go for it. It’ll pay off. Following along ended up being part of the mystery to solve for me. Haha.
Give it the time it takes to get going and you’ll be fine
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