The Blind Assassin

By (author) Atwood, Margaret
Short description/annotation:
* Atwood''s Booker prize-winning novel reissued with a striking new jacket along with other titles from Margaret Atwood''s backlist
Description:

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.

Review quote:
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
Review quote:
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
Review quote:
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
Review quote:
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
Review quote:
Margaret Atwood is one of the most brilliant and unpredictable novelists alive
Review quote:
Margaret Atwood is one of the most brilliant and unpredictable novelists alive
Review quote:
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
Review quote:
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
Biographical note:
Margaret Atwood is the author of more than forty works, including fiction, poetry and critical essays, and her books have been published in over thirty-five countries. She has won many literary awards and prizes.
Primary cover copy:
''Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge. The bridge was being repaid; she went right through the Danger sign . . . nothing much was left of her but charred smithereens.''
Review quote: previous work:
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 - Peter Kemp, SUNDAY TIMES

The fertility of Atwood''s imagination is somethi