The Blind Assassin

As many others did, I found this book nearly impossible to "get in to". I could never find the compelling character or hook to inspire me to keep listening. Over the past four years I have listened to well over 300 books and this is one of only two that I given up on.

I guess I expected more - or for it to make sense and somehow grab my attention. It was slow and very difficult to understand the story. I gave up after 2 disks.

I rarely fail to finish a book but this just never lit any fire. I tried restarting it twice, thinking it might be my own lack of concentration but there is something about it left me uninspired to load the next disk. I would not condemn it based on my review as it is possible I gave up too easily, however, through disk four I was looking for a good moment to ignite some feelings. Perhaps I will try again some day.

I enjoy a lot of Margaret Atwood's work but this one just didn't do it for me. It didn't seem to have a point. The story went on too long. The woman's life wasn't that compelling. It was written in a time period that doesn't interest me. The revelation was predictable. Try The Hand Maiden or Oryx and Crake instead.

Atwood is a master. Plain and simple. The way she weaves together the different threads of the story is like a complex painting that, when fully revealed is even more beautiful than the sum of its parts.

I'm half-way through and enjoying the novel within a novel within a novel. My only complaint seems to be one that has not been voiced yet. In order to hear the narrator over the traffic and my own engine I have to turn it up. Now, I've been a member over a year now and have listened to well over 50 different audio books. This is the first book that has degraded as you turn up the volume (I'm suggests the engineering, the actual recording, was dreadful). The narrator either spoke too close to the mic or the it just doesn't survive the volume knob for whatever reason. Otherwise, no complaints. Looking forward to a satisfying ending.

This book bored me so badly that after 3 hrs of listening I gave up. Everything about this book was depressing, from the characters to the narrator. The constant endless detailed family history was so tedious that I found my mind wandering, only to come back to the story and find that still, nothing was happening. Nothing about this book captured my attention. The only spark of interest in what I heard was the strange story being told by somebody's lover, (whose I wasn't quite sure) but even that was so disjointed and choppy that I couldn't follow it. After 3 hours I expected at least to know who the characters were and what they were up to, to some degree. But I just felt like I couldn't wait for it to end.

UGH, Too flippin' tedious! I ended up sending it back.

I've tried to listen to this book twice now and still haven't made it through. It's very difficult to get into the story, and the reader doesn't help things (she's very hard to hear). I like Atwood but I just can't seem to get through this one.

This is clearly a very good book, but has some complex issues of gender relations that are a bit difficult to deal with in the audio form.

This novel was beautifully written and read; it held my interest even when I was away and distracted me until I could get back to listening to it. The story was moving and also unique, imaginative and artful. I liked the ending, though I cried like a ninny driving down the freeway. This was my first but I will absolutely "read" all of Atwood's books!

The Blind Assassin is comprised of three narrations: old and bitter Iris telling us how her life ended up, objective Iris telling her life story without bias, apology, or self-sympathy, and the novel The Blind Assassin, a novel within a novel, within a novel. It was interestingly composed and surprising in the end. The narrator was excellent.

one of the best I have listened to. Engaging. Attwood should win a nobel prize for literature.

I have been a Margaret Atwood fan for several years, but this book is in a whole other dimension. She proves herself, once again, as a masterful storyteller, but her ability to create characters and poetically describe scenes is unsurpassed. This work is skillfully read by the reader. Highly recommended!