Brilliant writing; wonderful collection of stories

Superb collection of beautifully written and narrated stories.

The first story in the collection describes a woman in Saudi Arabia who offers assistance to a chance visitor, a stranger, who then becomes a persistent, and unwanted, admirer. Hilary Mantel herself describes the story as one of a person being trapped and constrained, whose agency is limited by circumstances and cultural difference.

The book title is derived from a story, in turn based on an experience of the author, in which her apartment overlooks the grounds of a nearby hospital at which Margaret Thatcher has received dental attention. In the story, the woman is expecting a plumber at the time Margaret Thatcher is scheduled to be leaving the hospital and in full view of the apartment window. The 'plumber' arrives and sets about assembling a rifle, engages in conversation with the apartment owner, and turns out to be an IRA assassin. After discussing Mrs Thatcher, fully aware of the intended assassination, the apartment owner brings the IRA operative a cup of tea...

The most beautifully written story concerns an author coming to talk about her work in a small town where she is booked overnight at a crumbling local hotel. There she converses and engages with a physically disabled girl, an employee at the establishment, who attends to her needs. Their exchange is brought to the foreground and the tired run-of-the-mill greying bookclub recedes in importance.

Wonderfully written with Mantel's characteristic blend of evocative language, psychological insights, and humour. Superb.

3 people found this helpful

Excellent !

What did you like most about The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher?

The originality of the work

What other book might you compare The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher to, and why?

None really, it is a 'stand alone'

Which character – as performed by Jane Carr – was your favourite?

I liked most of the 'cast'

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The endings

Any additional comments?

A classic and much as expected by HM in a class of her own

3 people found this helpful

Disappointed!

I should state that I don't really enjoy short stories.

i was reading this for a class.

The problem comes with the reader 'running' on from oe story to another, with little differentiation in her voice.

I think it would have been better, read straight from the book.

2 people found this helpful

a dull and uninspiring collection of rubbish

i really struggled to get through these stories. Not one of them was worth the time i wasted

2 people found this helpful

Great short stories, great narration

Where does The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

2nd - after the Collectors by Philip Pullman

What other book might you compare The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher to, and why?

Difficult to say - all short story collections have their special flavour.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

It would spoil the fun...

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No - one story at the time. Like a good chocolate.

2 people found this helpful

Not a great audio title to be honest

I have no doubt from a literary point of view these stories are top draw, I have to say however they don't seem to work that well as an audio listen. A couple of the stories stay with you, which is good, but the rest are, well, dull to be honest. One for a paperback I would say rather than a download. Performance is good but you can only make tea parties and anorexia so interesting without being depressing.

2 people found this helpful

A delightful mixture of short stories

Witty and at times naughty the stories flow easily. At times we are lost in the imaginative brush strokes of the stories and at other times we see a new world. One that we have not seen before. Beautifully read

1 person found this helpful

A let down

Would you try another book written by Hilary Mantel or narrated by Jane Carr?

Following the fantastic Wolf Hall and Bringi up the bodiesthis was a pale shadow, I would think twice before buying another Mantel, narration was fine.

Would you ever listen to anything by Hilary Mantel again?

A follow up to Bring up the bodies would be a certain choice, anything else would require closer analysis of reader reviews.

How could the performance have been better?

The stories were too shallow and often too short. I did not get to the end of the series of short stories because it was not an enjoyable experience to listen

What character would you cut from The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher?

N/a short stories

Any additional comments?

Not recommended

2 people found this helpful

Some Good Stories Spoilt by the Reader

Having just read the Wolf Hall trilogy, I thought I'd try more by HM. Sadly, it took a while to get over the irritating voice of the narrator who reads as if you're a naughty child in the Head Mistress's office. Some stories are better than others, but I recommend you borrow the book and read it yourself.

Satisfying lengthy lockdown listening

This is one huge continuous listen, no differentiation between the three books, except that the narrator seemed to change around the end of Wolf Hall, I thought. The first bit is a hefty introduction that contains certain spoilers although of course the life of Thomas Cromwell is history and well known for its facts.

I chose it to accompany me through the first weeks of social distancing, as I am living on my own. Twenty-seven hours is a challenge, but reading all three books would be similar, and listening to it on audible meant I could do other things at the same time, mainly walking. If I listened at night it would send me to sleep as it is nothing but conversations, intrigue, power games and the endless repetition of noble names. The readers tried to make individuals sound different but mainly made them sound querulous, in an exaggerated fashion. 'He' when referred to is always Thomas Cromwell of course. Always courteous and mannerly, he is an example of how to remember to think before you speak.

Thomas's voice is calm, controlled and determined. His human side comes out in the first chapters but for the meat of the book, he is almost robotic. His end, however, is moving and wonderfully done. I came away from this marathon wanting to know more, expanding on facts, although the author's notes on what happened next are wonderfully extensive if a bit hard to take in all at once. Elsewhere Lucy Worsley fills in more atmosphere and brings the characters to life in colour with her programmes. Looking up other reference books with portraits can be fascinating to take in, as you do get to know Hans Holbein as you go along. I had a strong fellow feeling when I heard that when England was enduring the Great Plague, Henry turned his horse around and changed direction to avoid a place that had it. The Cromwell house had its share of trouble from the Plague. That all felt quite topical now if a bit less than 500 years ago.

Many reviews will be written of the books but I wanted to give a taste of how the audible version works. I can guarantee that once you have heard all this you will never again stumble over divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded survived!