Scan barcode
dr_evan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
sjruskin's review against another edition
3.0
It was OK. Some stories were good. Others were slightly random. I never really feel satisfied with a book of short stories. I just feel I don't get enough of the story to sink my teeth into.
pewterwolf's review against another edition
1.0
Review Taken From The Pewter Wolf
The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher is a collection of ten short stories: Sorry to Disturb, Comma, The Long QT, Winter Break, Harley Street, Offences Against the Person, How Shall I Know You?, The Heart Fails Without Warning, Terminus and The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher.
My thoughts of this collection... well... I'm disappointed and frustrated. Which is really sad as I really wanted to like this. I was really excited to start listening to this collection, but as each story went on, I found myself getting frustrated and, at times, quite angry at the stories.
I felt that, with each story, it had an interesting idea. However, the execution of each story always missed the mark. Plus, each story felt like it needed more pages or, in the case of The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, a page or two less.
Another problem I had was the audiobook read, Jane Carr. I never warmed to her voice. There were times, I felt the urge to turn the audiobook off because the way she read the story really annoyed me.
One huge problem I had was how certain issues were tackled. In one short story, The Heart Fails Without Warning, a sensitive issue was tackled but, in my opinion, it was tackled with the respect or care it deserved. Instead, it was tackled quite harshly and it felt to me that this story was written by the author, not because she wanted to raise awareness about it, but because she wanted to show that she could write a shocking moment in a extremely shocking way. It felt, dare I say it, as if she wrote it to boost her writing ego.
I have recorded a review of this on the Bookish Brits YouTube channel, which I hope will air in the near future, in which I try to understand my reactions and feelings towards this, but this wasn't for me. I know there are people out there who will love this collection of short stories but, sadly, this collection wasn't for me and I think I might not try Hilary Mantel again for quite a while...
EDIT (12th October 2014): This is my spoiler-filled review for the lovely people at Bookish Brits. If you want to watch it, it's at http://youtu.be/ZEyxnzNLqnQ
The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher is a collection of ten short stories: Sorry to Disturb, Comma, The Long QT, Winter Break, Harley Street, Offences Against the Person, How Shall I Know You?, The Heart Fails Without Warning, Terminus and The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher.
My thoughts of this collection... well... I'm disappointed and frustrated. Which is really sad as I really wanted to like this. I was really excited to start listening to this collection, but as each story went on, I found myself getting frustrated and, at times, quite angry at the stories.
I felt that, with each story, it had an interesting idea. However, the execution of each story always missed the mark. Plus, each story felt like it needed more pages or, in the case of The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, a page or two less.
Another problem I had was the audiobook read, Jane Carr. I never warmed to her voice. There were times, I felt the urge to turn the audiobook off because the way she read the story really annoyed me.
One huge problem I had was how certain issues were tackled. In one short story, The Heart Fails Without Warning, a sensitive issue was tackled but, in my opinion, it was tackled with the respect or care it deserved. Instead, it was tackled quite harshly and it felt to me that this story was written by the author, not because she wanted to raise awareness about it, but because she wanted to show that she could write a shocking moment in a extremely shocking way. It felt, dare I say it, as if she wrote it to boost her writing ego.
I have recorded a review of this on the Bookish Brits YouTube channel, which I hope will air in the near future, in which I try to understand my reactions and feelings towards this, but this wasn't for me. I know there are people out there who will love this collection of short stories but, sadly, this collection wasn't for me and I think I might not try Hilary Mantel again for quite a while...
EDIT (12th October 2014): This is my spoiler-filled review for the lovely people at Bookish Brits. If you want to watch it, it's at http://youtu.be/ZEyxnzNLqnQ
alisonjfields's review against another edition
5.0
A superb collection with a couple of serious high notes (the title story alone is nearly worth the price of admission), Hilary Mantel's latest compiles mostly (though not entirely) recent short fiction. I enjoyed some stories better than others. Such is the nature of story collections. At its best, this collection evoked the best parts of Daphne DuMaurier's "Don't Look Now" (one of my all-time favorite story collections) but with a fine dusting of grit, barely contained fury and gorgeous, gorgeous writing.
augustoalvapas's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Está es una interesante colección de cuentos y una gran colección a mi parecer. Siendo Vacaciones de invierno, El QT largo, La calle Harley y Escuela de inglés los que más me gustaron. Pero como siempre es una delicia poder leer a Hilary Mantel.
krobart's review against another edition
4.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2015/04/30/day-695-the-assassination-of-margaret-thatcher/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2015/04/30/day-695-the-assassination-of-margaret-thatcher/
greybeard49's review against another edition
3.0
A varied batch of stories in terms of subject matter and quality. However despite the first 'Sorry To Disturb', which I found to be meandering and frustrating, I persevered, mainly because I really like Hilary Mantel. All the stories were well written and constructed. In some the subject matter and often the ending let them down - 'Winter Break', 'Harley Street' and 'Offences Against The Person' all had major shortcomings. The title story and the finale was excellent.
Overall disappointing.
Overall disappointing.
numbat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The collection is eclectic. It ranges in subject from the existential to the political but always has a bit of a sinister edge.
bluestarfish's review against another edition
4.0
This is a collection of short stories from over a number of years. I liked the first one in the collection the best, Sorry to Disturb, but there is a lot to enjoy in Hilary Mantel's style and wit and general ability to make things really atmospheric/creepy...
jacki_f's review against another edition
3.0
This is a collection of ten short stories written by Hilary Mantel between 1993-2014. They have all been previously published in newspapers or magazines and some have appeared in short story collections. They are extremely diverse in setting and nature. All but two are written in the first person and most (but not all) centre on women.
I should preface this review by saying that I have an inherent prejudice against short stories. Reading them always feels to me like speed dating - you put all this effort into wrapping your head around someone new and then they are yanked away from you and you have to do it all over again. They also highlight - to me - what a lazy reader I am. I kept finishing a story, realising that I simply hadn't been paying enough attention and having to backtrack to look for the clue about what was going to happen.
What I did like, very much, about this collection is the wonderfully descriptive way that Mantel immerses you wherever she wants you. There is one story about a writer arriving at an unpleasant hotel late at night and you can just feel how sordid and grubby the rooms are. Another story, Comma, is about two girls who roam the countryside around their homes and spy on their neighbours and once again you absolutely feel the heat, the tickly grass, hear flies buzzing lazily past. The Margaret Thatcher story is set in a genteel street in Windsor and I could see it in my mind, so beautifully was it described to me.
However to me this book felt like a triumph of style over substance. Again and again - ref description of myself above as a lazy reader and take note - unreliable narrator here! - I would finish a story and go "huh". Either "huh, didn't get it" or "huh, was that it? " There were a couple of exceptions - oddly enough, generally the shortest in the book - but for the most part they felt like slices of lives that went nowhere. And I kept wondering "what was the point of that story?".
Smarter and more intellectual people than me have raved about this collection, and I am sure that they are quite correct and the failing is mine. Speed dating is clearly not my thing.
I should preface this review by saying that I have an inherent prejudice against short stories. Reading them always feels to me like speed dating - you put all this effort into wrapping your head around someone new and then they are yanked away from you and you have to do it all over again. They also highlight - to me - what a lazy reader I am. I kept finishing a story, realising that I simply hadn't been paying enough attention and having to backtrack to look for the clue about what was going to happen.
What I did like, very much, about this collection is the wonderfully descriptive way that Mantel immerses you wherever she wants you. There is one story about a writer arriving at an unpleasant hotel late at night and you can just feel how sordid and grubby the rooms are. Another story, Comma, is about two girls who roam the countryside around their homes and spy on their neighbours and once again you absolutely feel the heat, the tickly grass, hear flies buzzing lazily past. The Margaret Thatcher story is set in a genteel street in Windsor and I could see it in my mind, so beautifully was it described to me.
However to me this book felt like a triumph of style over substance. Again and again - ref description of myself above as a lazy reader and take note - unreliable narrator here! - I would finish a story and go "huh". Either "huh, didn't get it" or "huh, was that it? " There were a couple of exceptions - oddly enough, generally the shortest in the book - but for the most part they felt like slices of lives that went nowhere. And I kept wondering "what was the point of that story?".
Smarter and more intellectual people than me have raved about this collection, and I am sure that they are quite correct and the failing is mine. Speed dating is clearly not my thing.