assassination of margaret thatcher

I assume that because Margaret Thatcher has been dead for some time, the title of this post, and the title of the book--The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher--won't get me put on an FBI (or MI6) watchlist. Here's hoping! I picked this book up at the library book sale. I'm pretty sure it was in Littleton, because I purchased some books at the book sale at my local library as well, and they label their books with a rubber stamp; this one doesn't have that, and its definitely a library book that has been withdrawn, or weeded, from the library's collection. yep, just did a search for the on the interwebs, definitely on a watchlist

This collection of short stories is from the author of Wolf Hall, and its follow-up; Bring Up the Bodies. I haven't read either of them, but it says so right on the cover. Wolf Hall won the Man Booker Prize in 2009, and is apparently based on Thomas Cromwell, as is the follow-up,* and I understand that the third in a trilogy is forthcoming. The reason I mention this is that I presume that is why this collection was published: to take advantage of the acclaim Hilary Mantel has garnered with her two popular historical novels. That isn't to say these short stories aren't any good, on the contrary they were very good.

If this collection had a theme I'd say that they reflect the darker side of human feelings. These stories are filled with anguish, fear, anxiety, hatred, loss, sadness, sickness, politics and racism. There are also comedic breaks, that are both funny and in some cases awkward, or a bit sad, such as in the first story: "Sorry to Disturb," a young British woman living in Saudi who spends her time at home while her husband works, allows a Pakistani man into her apartment to use the telephone in an emergency, who then returns to thank her and strikes up a friendship she doesn't want but is somehow unable to extract herself from. According to one review I read, this story was originally part of a memoir, and is based on the author's own time in Saudi Arabia.

Mantel's writing is beautiful, almost to a fault. Take a look at this example from the last story, from which the book takes its title: 

"Once more I am reminded of something priestly. A wasp dawdles over the sill. The scent of the garden is watery, green. The tepid sunshine wobbles in, polishes his shabby brogues, moves shyly across the surface of the dressing table."

Things are dawdling and wobbling all over. And I'm hoping the brogues metaphor is intentional and isn't something that just popped into her head while writing about an IRA assassination plot. 

The Wikipedia article about Mantel indicates that this short story title also got her into a bit of trouble, when she said in an 2014 interview with The Guardian that she fantasized about the assassination of Thatcher, which Thatcher supporters responded to by calling for a police investigation. Guess we're both on the watchlist. and so are the 6 people who will ever read this I enjoyed this collection, even if some of it was horrifying. 

That's the last book for 2021 folks! Lets hope 2022 is better than this year. Happy New Year!

* The follow-up: Bring Up the Bodies won the Man Booker prize as well, in 2012.