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

The Blind Assassin

I found this book another good example of the author's ability to keep you interested in her writing. After listening to the Handmaiden I began reading as many of her books as possible and found the author to be a wonderful writer. Unlike Danielle Steele I have yet to tire of her.

Disturbing but ultimately rewarding.

Would you listen to The Blind Assassin again? Why?

Probably not, but I may buy the book to facilitate looking up my favorate passages of writing.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The narrator herself, Iris, whose ferocious honesty led me to consider my own life experience with greater honesty (at least, I hope so).

Have you listened to any of Margot Dionne’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. This is the first time I've listened to her, but I will be on the look out for more. I think she did a superb job.

Magnificant

This book is wonderful. One of my favorite books written by Atwood. It is true that the audio quality is not excellent (at times certainly worse than others). However, the narration is excellent. I stayed away from the audiobook for over a year because of the reviews of the audio quality. That was a mistake. Someone should clean up the poorer sections because this book and performance deserve it, but I would not stay away from it for that.

Endless

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Who would enjoy this book more? Good question. I invited my mother to listen to it. She's in the same stage of life as the protagonist and from the same era. She hated it.
The book is introduced as a selection for children. Is that possible? What child would listen to an old woman reminiscences? What child could follow the syncopated threads of this story?
I haven't a clue

Would you ever listen to anything by Margaret Atwood again?

Maybe.

Did Margot Dionne do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

The characters were well differentiated -- the protagonist and her sister, especially. And also the protagonist and her husband's family.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The depiction of the era is completely believable. I actually enjoy that very much.

Worst recording ever

Better with head phones but not stellar. And I'm still not so sure if I finished this book or if it just came to an abrupt end.

A Good Read

Though a longtime fan of Atwood's work, I managed to overlook this book. That was a mistake. I found it engrossing. The narration was perfectly suited to the period and the feeling of the writing. Atwood wistfully captures in descriptive prose the changing social attitudes, the town, the lifestyles, and even the fashions of the periods her characters move through. I particularly enjoyed the fantasy story woven into the actual tale of two sisters. In fact, I found myself wanting more of the fantasy story and looking forward to the snippets from it. In conclusion, I have to say the exploration of naivety and experience and how our eyes are opened with hindsight made this my favorite Atwood novel since "Cat's Eye". I would highly recommend it.

True peace of art!

I loved everything about this book! Confusion caused by bits of information at the very beginning, followed by slowly unfolding world of one girls imagination, a tragic story of one family, a world of fantasy intercalated with real life events and masterfully painted finale. Margot Dionne’s narration was absolutely outstanding!

Enjoyed a lot

A really good book - I listened to it twice, because once I got to the end I wanted to hear it again knowing what was going to happen. The reader is a bit breathy, and the music in the beginning and end is distracting, but I thought these were minor points really - once you get into the book the narrator seems just right.

Great story - atrocious sound quality

Great story - atrocious sound quality. The performance and story were good, but shoddy sound quality takes away from the overall effect.

To me, enthralling.

As usual, Margaret Atwood held my interest to the point my heart almost aches when the book ends. The characters have depth and we get to know them, really know them.

Margot Dionne's voice just makes the experience that much more real to the listener.