The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher: Stories

By: Hilary Mantel

Narrated by: Jane Carr

One of the most accomplished, acclaimed, and garlanded writers, Hilary Mantel delivers a brilliant collection of contemporary stories

In The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, Hilary Mantel's trademark gifts of penetrating characterization, unsparing eye, and rascally intelligence are once again fully on display.

Stories of dislocation and family fracture, of whimsical infidelities and sudden deaths with sinister causes, brilliantly unsettle the reader in that unmistakably Mantel way.

Cutting to the core of human experience, Mantel brutally and acutely writes about marriage, class, family, and sex. Unpredictable, diverse, and sometimes shocking, The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher displays a magnificent writer at the peak of her powers.

©2014 Hilary Mantel (P)2014 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Mantel's stories have their own special tang and quidditas. Even as one appreciates the suave authorial style-light pared-down, technically scintillating, like the Olympic gymnast who nails her landing every time-one has the sense too that Mantel is working with some fairly edgy and complex private material in these contemporary fables.... One gets the feeling she wants both to frighten us (at times more than a little) and make us laugh. She's like an old-fashioned spirit -medium of sorts: a brusque, mischievous, Madame Arcati-like purveyor of uncanny moments. She transports us somewhere else. And she seems to be having great fun with it too.... Mantel is such a funny and intelligent and generously untethered writer that part of what one's praise must mean is that if you're intelligent and quirky enough to take the book up at all...she's got quirks enough of her own to match you, if not raise you 10.” —New York Times Book Review

“A new Hilary Mantel book is an Event with a capital 'E'.... Heads always tend to roll - figuratively and otherwise - in Mantel's writing. Hers is a brusque and brutal world leavened with humor - humor that's available in one shade only: black.... makes a permanent dent in a reader's consciousness because of Mantel's striking language and plots twists, as well as the Twilight Zone-type mood she summons up...breathtaking.” —Maureen Corrigan, NPR

“Mantel] evokes a shadowy region where boundaries blur and what might have happened has equal weight with what actually occurred…. Despite the plethora of sharply observed social detail, her short stories always recognize other potential realities…. Even the most straightforward of Mantel's tales retain a faintly otherworldly air.” —Washington Post

Some great, others good, all worth the time

I'm not usually one for short stories, but numerous people recommended this set of stories and I'm so glad that I finally picked them up. Mantel writes in a variety of genres (well known for her novels ranging from historical fiction to more modern tales with some supernatural or fantastical flair), and this collection shows her range. Some stories feel like brief vignettes or a slice of life, others have a definite story arc. Some are awash in the mundane, others the absurd, and still others the gruesome or enchanted. Most of the voices heard are female, and the stories are all marked by Mantel's sharp observations, tart and dry humor, and erudition that has just the right blend of elite snobbishness and self-deprecation. Some of the stories were utterly satisfying in length, though others I was left wondering what happened next. Mantel, as is typical of an author of her talent, surely left me wishing that this volume was not quite so slim.

How do I love thee, Hilary-Let me County the Ways!

I hate short stories. I'm just a long story person. I want to be given a chance to care about every aspect of the story. I want something to think about. I want a chance to laugh, cry, be curious, be surprised, and be swept away. I want something profound.

How does she do it? I was completely swept up in these stories in all of the above ways. I want to study them and figured out their myriad meanings. I want to study Mantel's writing techniques. I want a bit of her brilliant zanyness. I'm a true fan.

Creepy Crawly Good Time

A side, or, to be more accurate, facets of Ms Mantel's work that are new to me. Her exemplary lyricism is no surprise, but its application to such a panorama of the macabre as is found in this collection of short pieces is exhilarating. It isn't unusual to read, in commentary of her work, that she never seems to strike a false note, but I hope no one minds if I choose to celebrate the fact and repraise the glory of her uncanny ear. Jane Carr is perfect.

A slow burner

At first I was put off by the multiplicity of stories.,however, over time I appreciate them more and more. What a storyteller Hilary is with insight and humor. Enjoying this audio over and over

Superhuman Prose that Defies Gravity

Seriously, anytime I fantasize about writing a book I read a Hilary Mantel novel and become discouraged. Reading Mantel is like watching Michael Jordan play basketball or Federer play tennis (or back in the day watching Tiger Woods play golf). Unless you are born blind or stupid you realize that these people just don't exist on the same field or plane as the rest of humanity. No matter how many swings, shots, or hits I practiced, I could never play at the level of those masters.

No matter how many books I read or words I write, my brain recognizes that Mantel's skill with a sentence is almost superhuman. She is elegant and strong. She doesn't waste a word. Her prose seems to float with a bold efficiency and beauty that is hard to balance. It is like watching a ballerina kick Mike Tyson's a$$. And I haven't even got to the fact that she can choke you with emotion and knock you out with a surprise twist and well-played verbal throw down. The normal laws of gravity and axioms of art do not apply to Mantel's prose. Her words float. Her sentences run forever. Mantel DOES not f#c% around with the English language. She owns it. Read her novels (or her stories) and she will sit on your chest and own you too.

Some great short stories

Here is a female, more modern Roald Dahl - some stories with a great twist at the end. Well written. Some stories more interesting than others.

Nowhere near her best work

There are many great short story authors. Try Conrad, Tolstoy, Chekov,
Fitzgerald, Kipling....

My favorite story is in Saudi Arabia which is haunting.

Boring, disjointed, waste of time

Reader is great and of course H M is incredibly talented, but it is not fun or enlightening in any way. Wish I could get my money back

The narrator was aweful....

Would you try another book from Hilary Mantel and/or Jane Carr?

From Hilary Mantel sure but never by Jane Carr

Would you ever listen to anything by Hilary Mantel again?

Possibly but not my first choice

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator added unnatural emotions that I am sure were never intended....very school maarmish rendering of the book....quite destroyed it for me

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment

Any additional comments?

To be fair to Hilary Mantel, I will read her books again without the awful narration....I am sure she is good...

Boring lives rendered in excruciating detail

The assassination of Margaret thatcher is by far the best story here. Didn't care for the characters or plots in this collection. I'm going to try and listen again to see if I'm wrong. Mercifully, this book is short.