The Blind Assassin

By: Margaret Atwood

Narrated by: Margot Dionne

Length: 18 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2000 by O.W. Toad, Ltd.

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

Terrible audio, OK book

First thing first, the audio sounds like they made a digital recording of a tape. It's horrible. Somewhere in the first fourth of the book, there was even a little squeak that worked its way in. I literally had to turn it down to figure out if it was on the audiobook or in my car. I am SURE an audio engineer can clean this up. After a while, you get used to the audio. The story follows Iris's life from childhood to elderly woman. This was a very long story and I found myself getting bored from time to time. There is a twist at the end of the novel that I imagine most readers figure out before you get there. I am honestly tired of reading novels that have stories within a story but I can't hold that against this book since that has more to do with the order I've picked my books recently.

Atwood is a genius

Plot line is rather difficult to understand (plot line within plot line) and I had difficulty figure it all out. I read it twice and finally got it :) It is still keeping my brain challenged every time I see this book in my library. Not for everyone, but if you are a fan of Margaret Atwood, this one is a must read.

The Blind Assassin

I loved this book.
True elegance in the writing and the narration.
Stories within stories.
What talent!!!!!

Great Book, Fine Performance, Bad Sound Quality

I continue to be amazed my Margaret Atwood's talents, having previously read The Handmaid's Tale and the MaddAddam trilogy. The Blind Assassin sees Atwood demonstrate her subtle hand at narrative craft in a completely new direction (at least from my prior experience of her works). However, before continuing, it must be noted what a TERRIBLE sound quality this work has. It's easily the worst sound quality I've ever encounter on any audiobook here at Audible or anywhere else. Simple atrocious! In the early part of the novel, I could barely make out what the performer was saying. I don't know if the sound quality improved over the course of the novel or whether I just grew accustomed to it. I would also add that this was clearly not the fault of the performer, whose voice as Iris Chase I grew love. What a wonderful tale this was, as well. I must admit that the alternating threads of Iris Chase's reflections on her life and the Blind Assassin novel-within-a-novel was distracting at first. And while I do enjoy the Sci-Fi genre, I found that Iost interest in those section, and it was at times a struggle to continue on and not try to skip ahead, but without disclosing any spoilers, I did feel the effort was worth it by the novel's conclusion. As it drew to a close, I once again agog at the author's tremendous talents. Atwood has certainly cemented her place in my personal pantheon of favorite authors!

Torn

I was expecting a film noire type plot. This was not that type of book. In a way I was disappointed. In another way I have read a book that was able to paint an incredibly dark and descriptive narrative. Dark may not be the best word, shadowy might be better. I don't think this book will be in my top ten list, but is was one of the most memorable, creative, and flowering. I think a female would enjoy this book more than a male. Anyone, however, should like it.

Frivolity of it all.

Obviously Margaret Atwood is beloved & she’s a gifted writer. But at some point the main character was writing about “frivolity” of it all and that was it. it was beautifully written but geez does anyone really care?

Typical excellence from Atwood

It's difficult to overstate how brilliant this book is. Among the best Atwood's ever written, and brought to life by one of the finest narrators I've ever heard, bar none. Absolutely gripping, tragic, insightful as always, filled with characters that are larger than life yet painted with a detailed brush, even from a distance.

The first-person narrator (not the performer) is a voice that is quintessentially compelling - relatable, (understandably) bitter, humorous, sarcastic, damaged, and self-aware. A tour-de-force from start to finish. And let me not fail to mention the performer, again! Absolute brilliance.

Glad I read it.

This book is pretty graphic for quite awhile but I am glad I stuck with it.

An Atwood novel that disappointed - a let-down

This was one of those Atwood novels that is written with great imagination and beautiful language. But in the end, it turned out to be a bit of a let-down. The story itself is based in the 1930s and has the feel of a 1930s dime-store novel (except with lyrical language). Anyway, without giving too much away, I wasn't blown away by this book. And I have read a lot of her works.

Great writing. Dark story.

Atwood is a brilliant writer and I probably would have liked it better reading it. Some of the chapter titles and other reader cues are somewhat lost in the audio format. Also, a cast of lost or unlovable characters make this especially dark. But then, that’s Atwood.