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

A Female Version of The Great Gatsby

What did you love best about The Blind Assassin?

The way Atwood drew me into life in small-town Canada before the Second World War.

What did you like best about this story?

The ending. I didn't see it coming.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Iris finally stands up to Freddie and tells her she shouldn't wear that shade of green because it make a woman her age look bilious.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Iris described what it would be like if her estranged granddaughter would forgive her and come visit.

Any additional comments?

Iris is the kind of woman who, if you met in person, would probably not tell you about the details of her life. Two things that make this novel compelling: getting to hear her story before she dies and the way Atwood tells the story. It's not easy to keep track of what's going on, but if you just go with it, it all makes sense in the end.

Birds everywhere!

I was so glad to finally get to this Margaret Atwood book. But then, the tweeting started in the background. It comes and goes but is mostly there, at least for the hour or two I made it through before I almost pulled my hair out. I really hate that it ruined this for me- I was loving the story.

Great story -- audio issues overblown

Judge this audiobook on its merits. The hissing sound that other reviewers complain about lasts for the first 30 minutes of an 18-hour recording. After that, the audio quality is perfect.

Brilliant

I read this for the first time more than 20 years ago and it’s even better now.

NOT Science Fiction

This story a romantic period novel; it may even be a romance novel, but it is is definitely not sci-fi, as the "teaser" might indicate. The science fiction story is the contrivance between two adulterous lovers...he is a writer of stories for "Amazing Stories", "Weird Tales" and the other pulp fiction "dime" magazines of the time. Whoever the publicist is, should probably read a book before they review it. Since I paid for the book, I finished listening to it. I figured out most of it just by paying attention. Rating it as a romance novel I'll give it three stars; as a science fiction story, I give it NO stars.

My Favorite Book!

I loved this story, this has been my favorite book, and I now have it in all possible formats! However, the audio quality is pretty horrid. Tha narrator is fine, but the sound mixing is rough. I was able to get through, but the story is all that saves it.

Awesome story in a story in a story

I love this kind of book. Is there a name for this kind of genre? I don't mean the matreshka-like structure, but the idea of an old person putting the affairs of the past in order. I seem to come across more books lately that fit this pattern--from Angle of Repose to The Thirteenth Tale. But I digress. We old people do that. Some of the reviews here seem to find the pulp-fiction sections of the novel a distraction, as though Atwood was merely writing a straightup romance novel. I think that the pulp-fiction parts are the key to understanding everything about Iris. I think Atwood makes that as plain as day just from the title of the book. I think anyone who doesn't see that has really missed the whole point. I wish I could explain further but that would be giving away too much. We old people may be crotchety but we know how to keep a secret.

Great book, good narration, terrible production value

It's really a shame that the audio quality of this book is so poor. The book is wonderful and the performance is well done. It's not bad enough to completely ruin it but at times it is capable of pulling you out of the story. It's sounds like a cassette tape in and old machine

Poor audio

Loved the book and the narrator.
Lots of background noises make it very hard to concentrate.
Will try the other edition of same book.

Please rerecord this audiobook!!

If only they would rerecord this book with a better producer. The sound quality is terrible. Makes it impossible to listen to. Very dissapointing.