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The Blind Assassin

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The Blind Assassin

By: Margaret Atwood
Narrated by: David Attar, Emma Love, Jennifer Higgin
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Summary

 BY THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE HANDMAID'S TALE AND THE TESTAMENTS
WINNER OF THE 2000 MAN BOOKER PRIZE

'Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge'

Decades after Laura's mysterious demise, her sister Iris recounts her memories of their childhood, and of the dramatic deaths that have punctuated their wealthy, eccentric family's history. Intertwined with Iris's story are chapters from the scandalous novel that made Laura famous, in which two unnamed lovers meet secretly in rented rooms and seedy cafés, themselves writing a pulp fantasy novel of a blind killer on a distant planet.

As these stories-within-stories twist and turn through love and jealousy, self-sacrifice and betrayal, so does the real narrative, as all move closer to catastrophe in a brilliant and astonishing final twist. By turns lyrical, outrageous, formidable, compelling and funny, this is a novel filled with deep humour and dark drama.©2000 Margaret Atwood Classics Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Assassin Funny War
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Critic reviews

Atwood has never written with more flair and versatility than in this multidimensional novel. Adding sardonic wit and characterisation that takes you into the ambivalent intricacies of a personality, this is a novel of extraordinary variety and reach. A brilliant accomplishment
The fertility of Atwood's imagination is something extraordinary...The only thing familiar about The Blind Assassin is its technical accomplishment and exhilarating emotional power. Everything else is sparkling new
Margaret Atwood is one of the most brilliant and unpredictable novelists alive
With every year and every novel, Atwood's subjects get bigger...her new novel is so rich thematically and so convincing psychologically... THE BLIND ASSASSIN may indeed prove to be that most elusive of literary unicorns
All stars
Most relevant
This was a demanding read but well worth the patient effort. Margaret Atwood is a superb story teller and her language and style are second to none.

Depth and complexity

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You don’t need me to tell you how good this book is. It won the booker prize in 2000.

This unabridged version weaves 3 narrative stories into one book, offering different perspectives on the lives of the main protagonists Laura and Iris. It is a phenomenal piece of feminist literature in which Atwood highlights the societal challenges faced by women, not just in the 30s and 40s, when the book was set, but throughout history. Challenges at the hands of men and women alike, drawing into question whether women are actually implicit in their social standing.

Atwood highlights how women are treated as commodities: transactions in business deals and politics. Sci-fi, rather than being part of the integral narrative, is used as a vehicle to accentuate the aforementioned narrative.

I am not sure that ‘the blind assassin’ is quite as powerful as ‘the handmaids tale’, ‘demon copperhead’ or ‘the poisonwood bible’ but it still packs a punch and is well worth the listening time.

The narration is excellent and greatly elevates the book.

A feminist masterpiece

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Margaret Atwood is just fantastic.

I liked the use of different narrators and their performances although sometimes I felt the reading was more emphatic than I would have preferred.

Great story

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