Manu
- 9
- reviews
- 4
- helpful votes
- 81
- ratings
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The Masquerades of Spring
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 4 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 490
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 467
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 467
New York City, New York. Meet Augustus Berrycloth-Young - fop, flaneur, and Englishman abroad - as he chronicles the Jazz Age from his perch atop the city that never sleeps. That is, until his old friend Thomas Nightingale arrives, pursuing a rather mysterious affair concerning an old saxophone - which will take Gussie from his warm bed, to the cold shores of Long Island, and down to the jazz clubs where music, magic, and madness haunt the shadows.
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4 out of 5 stars
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always an interesting tale from Ben
- By JF on 06-09-24
- The Masquerades of Spring
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
Joyous
Reviewed: 26-09-24
The Nightingale dressing up -in more ways than one- is worth it on its own. The Harlem Renaissance comes to life in a joyous tale that demonstrates how homophobia and institutional racism impact on individual lives, and how solidarity and community may work their own magic
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The Cut
- By: Richard Armitage
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage, Jacob Dudman
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,376
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,349
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,349
Welcome to Barton Mallet, a remote village in the Midlands that has been chosen as the unlikely location for a new feature film from Hollywood producer Max Crow. Teenagers from the local drama group are encouraged to audition for a story about the trials and tribulations of growing up. Benjamin Knot, the CEO of a well-known architecture firm, discovers that his children, Lily and Nathan, have each been offered a role. But Barton Mallet has a deep wound that has never truly healed.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A masterpiece in feelings
- By Valentina Ancilotti on 24-08-24
- The Cut
- By: Richard Armitage
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage, Jacob Dudman
The Voice
Reviewed: 29-08-24
Love: RA’s performance is, as ever, faultless
Like: Max’s convincing development and expertise
Lack: female characters’ depth
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A Memoir of My Former Self Part 2
- A Life in Writing
- By: Hilary Mantel
- Narrated by: Anne Enright, Aurora Dawson Hunte, Ben Miles, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1
From her unique childhood to her all-consuming fascination with Thomas Cromwell that grew into the Wolf Hall Trilogy, Hilary Mantel had a celebrated career as a novelist. Alongside this, she long contributed to newspapers and journals, unspooling stories from her own life and illuminating the world as she found it. This strand of Hilary's writing was an integral part of how she thought of herself. 'Ink is a generative fluid,' she explains. 'If you don't mean your words to breed consequences, don't write at all.' A Memoir of My Former Self collects the finest of this writing over four decades.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Her wit shines through
- By Manu on 17-04-24
- A Memoir of My Former Self Part 2
- A Life in Writing
- By: Hilary Mantel
- Narrated by: Anne Enright, Aurora Dawson Hunte, Ben Miles, Bill Hamilton, Jane Wymark, Lydia Leonard, Nicholas Pearson, Sarah Waters
Her wit shines through
Reviewed: 17-04-24
This collection proves that, in the right hands, storytelling has a place in criticism, reviews, social commentary and teaching, as much as it has in novels. She was a master of all genres. Some observations made me laugh out loud
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Lessons Part 2
- By: Ian McEwan
- Narrated by: Simon McBurney
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 3
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 3
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Story5 out of 5 stars 3
While the world is still counting the cost of the Second World War and the Iron Curtain has descended, young Roland Baines's life is turned upside down. Stranded at boarding school, his vulnerability attracts his piano teacher, Miriam Cornell, leaving scars as well as a memory of love that will never fade. Twenty-five years later, as the radiation from the Chernobyl disaster spreads across Europe, Roland's wife mysteriously vanishes and he is forced to confront the reality of his rootless existence and look for answers in his family history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A portrait of a man, an age, and ageing
- By Manu on 12-03-24
- Lessons Part 2
- By: Ian McEwan
- Narrated by: Simon McBurney
A portrait of a man, an age, and ageing
Reviewed: 12-03-24
Beautifully written and narrated. German pronunciation glitches matter very little in the great scheme of things
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Geneva
- By: Richard Armitage
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage, Nicola Walker, Jane Perry
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 8,393
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 8,037
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8,024
Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sarah Collier has taken a step back from work to spend more time with her family. Movie nights with her husband Daniel and their daughter Maddie are a welcome respite from the scrutiny of the world’s press. As much as it hurts, it’s good to be able to see her father more too. He’s suffering from Alzheimer’s and needs special care. Sarah has started to show tell-tale signs of the disease too. She’s been experiencing blackouts and memory loss. It’s early days but she must face the possibility that she won’t be there to see her daughter grow up.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Stunning Debut Novel
- By Sarah on 21-10-22
- Geneva
- By: Richard Armitage
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage, Nicola Walker, Jane Perry
Excellent narration
Reviewed: 26-01-24
Plot twists felt somewhat contrived. I’m no Mark Twain, but there is also a limit to the number of adjectives one can deal with without developing a brain fog of one’s own.
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Clouds of Witness
- Lord Peter Wimsey, Book 2
- By: Dorothy L. Sayers
- Narrated by: Robert Bathurst
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 19
The Duke of Denver, accused of murder, stands trial for his life in the House of Lords. Naturally, his brother Lord Peter Wimsey is investigating the crime - this is a family affair. The murder took place at the duke's shooting lodge and Lord Peter's sister was engaged to marry the dead man. But why does the duke refuse to co-operate with the investigation? Can he really be guilty, or is he covering up for someone?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Robert Bathhurst's Reading brings this golden age mystery to sparkling life
- By L. Fuchs on 24-11-23
- Clouds of Witness
- Lord Peter Wimsey, Book 2
- By: Dorothy L. Sayers
- Narrated by: Robert Bathurst
Thoroughly enjoyable
Reviewed: 18-12-23
With both RB and DLS masters of their craft, this timeless story combines friendship and sleuthing into a fun escape from unsettling current affairs
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The Bone Clocks
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: Jessica Ball, Leon Williams, Colin Mace, and others
- Length: 24 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,542
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,333
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Story4 out of 5 stars 2,330
One summer's day in 1984, teenage runaway Holly Sykes encounters a strange woman who offers a small kindness in exchange for 'asylum'. Decades will pass before Holly understands what sort of asylum the woman was seeking.… The Bone Clocks follows Holly's life: not so far out of the ordinary, yet punctuated by flashes of precognition, visits from people who emerge from thin air, and brief lapses in the laws of reality.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Sodding marvellous
- By Andy Parsons on 24-09-14
- The Bone Clocks
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: Jessica Ball, Leon Williams, Colin Mace, Steven Crossley, Laurel Lefkow, Anna Bentinck
Riveting Radio People
Reviewed: 30-04-15
A perfect example of the added value of audio. The book is great already, but this production gives voice to the many -layered story and makes for a riveting experience.
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The Child
- An Audible Drama
- By: Sebastian Fitzek
- Narrated by: Rupert Penry-Jones, Jack Boulter, Emilia Fox, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 3,616
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,327
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Story4 out of 5 stars 3,327
My name is Simon. I’m 10 years old. I’m a serial killer. Robert Stern (Rupert Penry-Jones), a successful defense attorney, doesn’t know what lies in store for him when he agrees to meet a new client in a derelict estate on the outskirts of Berlin. Stern is more than surprised, when his old love interest and professional nurse Carina (Emilia Fox) presents him a ten year old boy as his new client. Simon (Jack Boulter), a terminally ill child, who is convinced he has murdered many men in a previous life.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Like watching a great thriller on TV...
- By jo on 14-08-14
- The Child
- An Audible Drama
- By: Sebastian Fitzek
- Narrated by: Rupert Penry-Jones, Jack Boulter, Emilia Fox, Stephen Marcus, Robert Glenister, Andy Serkis
Some hope in the darkness
Reviewed: 20-04-15
Excellent narration and acting by all in this chilling tale. Not easy listen by any means, but not entirely devoid of hope, which is remarkable seeing its dark subject matter.
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The Thrill of It All
- By: Joseph O'Connor
- Narrated by: Ciarán Hinds
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 36
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story4 out of 5 stars 32
At college in 1980s, Robbie Goulding, an Irish-born teenager, meets Fran Mulvey, a Vietnamese refugee. Together they form a band. Joined by cellist Sarah-Thérèse Sherlock and her brother Seán on drums, they set out to chase fame. Spanning 25 years, we fast-forward through an evocative soundtrack of struggle and laughter. Infused with blues, New Wave and punk, the tale stretches from the Glastonbury Festival to Long Island, culminating in July 2012, a night that changes everything.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A witty, moving song
- By Manu on 17-02-15
- The Thrill of It All
- By: Joseph O'Connor
- Narrated by: Ciarán Hinds
A witty, moving song
Reviewed: 17-02-15
Would you consider the audio edition of The Thrill of It All to be better than the print version?
Being an admirer of O'Connor as well as Hinds, I alternated between the two versions, catching up or reading along whenever I felt like it. The transition was seamless every time. The whole (audio) book is a joy, a personal exploration of the defining forces in life: love, friendship and music - in no particular order. Hinds' mastery as a narrator sets a standard of its own. With a voice famed for its expressive depths, he invests every character with a vulnerability perfectly matching O'Connor's work. There's not a note to be heard in this audio production and yet I feel his performance has never been closer to a song.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Even when you're not usually inclined to like a curly-haired, alcoholic pop guitarist of a certain age, you can't help being attracted to Rob. His observations and self- deprecating wit are very appealing. His story is utterly believable as he and his co-characters were written with great humanity.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It was impossible not to burst out laughing on more than one occasion while walking, to the consternation of both passers-by and my canine companion. The skilful build-up toward the final performance makes for a cathartic experience and I dare any listener (or reader) not to well up at that point.
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4 people found this helpful