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seymone's review against another edition
3.0
2.75 stars
After reading some brilliant short stories, as of late. This collection of short stories missed the mark. From this collection, I liked maybe - two to three stories, at the most.
After reading some brilliant short stories, as of late. This collection of short stories missed the mark. From this collection, I liked maybe - two to three stories, at the most.
remigves's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
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/