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

Laborious and Inconsistent Audio

Laborious story. Still confused about some connections. Audio quality not consistent. I am now annoyed that I need to add words to meet 20 minimum.

Worth the effort! Excellent book

This is really the story of Iris Chase, as told when she looks back at her life from the viewpoint of an octogenarian. Born into a life of privilege in the early 1900's, Iris and her younger sister Laura watch as their lives take turns for the worse because of changing family fortune and circumstances beyond their control in that era. Laura dies tragically at 25 in what appears to be a bizarre accident. This novel is not linear, but the shifts in time make the story all the more suspenseful, in my opinion. The novel has a number of layers: Iris's narration, newsclippings, and a second, largely separate narration: the story of how two unnamed lovers meet secretly, make love, and debate plot and characterization for a pulpy science fiction novel. One does have to listen through extended passages of this rather trashy science fiction novel. The listener needn't really bother to make sense of the sci fi. (I'm not sure it does fully make sense!) What is of interest in this parallel story is what the lovers say to each other about their lives and about the novel they are collaborating to write. This is what is key to the novel as a whole. To be honest, I would have given this five stars, except that I personally found the sci-fi passages a little tedious to get through. However, the rest of the novel was so original and thoroughly engrossing that I still give the novel an unqualified recommendation.

Beautiful written descriptions

The Blind Assassin is a beautifully written, interminably long and basically gloomy, frustrating history of a woman caught in a non-accommodating society. If you enjoy descriptions of antique society, women's clothing and buildings, you may enjoy most of the book - just not the plot.

Swept away by story, annoyed by poor production

This is a lovely pulp-style sci-fi story within a historical narrative within a memoir. I was impressed by how fully fleshed out Atwood's characters were, and the story layering was very complex. The prose is so beautiful that I found myself stopping my multitasking to just soak in the language. I was particularly moved by her descriptions of the challenges, fears and comedies that come with age. Atwood also succeeds at fleshing out her character's surroundings as they move through a rapidly changing Canadian society.

On an unfortunate note, I really had to push through the poor production quality of the audio. It nearly caused me to give up on listening, and just find the book at the library to finish. I don't want this comment to reflect badly on the narrator, because her voice was fine and expressive. But there were times when the editing seemed choppy, and I was wondering if parts were cut out at the end of chapters, because the next chapter would start a nanosecond after the previous. There were also maddening clicks and hisses that peppered the recording during the first half of the listen. Despite knowing this from other's reviews, I decided to tough it out, because I was so blanketed with fascination by Atwood's narrative. I really hope Audible does a re-record of this story...it really deserves it.

This Seriously Needs to be Re-Recorded Already!

You can tell that this book was originally a cassette tape. Could really use a new recording with a new narrator.

Great book, poor quality audio!

This is my first review, and I would like to echo the other complaints about the quality of the audio. At first I thought it was something wrong with my car, then I realized it was the audiobook and I was unhappy and not sure I would be able to finish this book! But I'm stubborn and hung in there. Someone really needs to review this book and fix the audio! I'm a big Margaret Atwood fan and hate to have listen to her work with such a faulty recording!

Poor audio quality

It sounds like this is a transfer from audio cassettes. I wish it had been cleaned up or re-recorded.

gorgeous

I love the reading. The subtle sounds in the background while the story was being told really added a lot to it the performance. the language in the book is amazing. Beautiful. And the story is great. I thoroughly enjoyed it

Poor recording quality. Excellent narrator.

After a few chapters you get used to the recording quality. The story is captivating. I enjoyed it.

A gripping page turner

This was a really fun listen. Most literate and intelligent. Margaret Atwood is my kind of writer!