Quinn
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The Heart Goes Last
- A Novel
- By: Margaret Atwood
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Mark Deakins
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,174
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,950
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,952
Stan and Charmaine are a married couple trying to stay afloat in the midst of an economic and social collapse. Job loss has forced them to live in their car, leaving them vulnerable to roving gangs. They desperately need to turn their situation around—and fast. The Positron Project in the town of Consilience seems to be the answer to their prayers. No one is unemployed and everyone gets a comfortable, clean house to live in . . . for six months out of the year. On alternating months, residents of Consilience must leave their homes and function as inmates in the Positron prison system.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Thoughtful and intriguing
- By Stephanie on 10-01-15
- The Heart Goes Last
- A Novel
- By: Margaret Atwood
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Mark Deakins
Very Disappointing
Reviewed: 03-31-23
As a long-time fan of Margaret Atwood, this was the first time I've ever been disappointed.
I feel like the prison plot could have originated as a companion to the brilliant Oryx and Crake series. Perhaps published in a graphic novel style.
Unfortunately, the contrast of 1950s era Puritanical mores set amist current socioeconomic crises and the morality of emerging technologies takes on a distinctly sophomoric quality when paired with (boring) graphic sexual scenarios, Marilyn and Elvis Impersonators, an. a z za x d sexbots.
It's just a bit Heinlein-esque, without the not-so-subtle Parable or likeable characters. Virtually ALL of the characters in this book are annoying assholes, except possibly the Elvis impersonators.
I'm sincerely perplexed and saddened by this departure from Ms. Atwood's usually brilliant, cerebral style, in favor of the farcical.
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Astonishing the Gods
- By: Ben Okri
- Narrated by: Adrian Lester
- Length: 3 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 27
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
From Booker Prize winner Ben Okri: a deceptively simple modern fable with an ancient origin. A young man finds himself living among invisible beings who have built a utopia based on one principle: that we must repeat or suffer every experience until we experience it properly and fully for the first time.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Astonishing as the story!
- By Verena on 03-26-25
- Astonishing the Gods
- By: Ben Okri
- Narrated by: Adrian Lester
Ethereal, Lyrical Storytelling!
Reviewed: 03-01-23
Ben Okri astonishes The Gods and mortal readers with his poetic storytelling. Reading Okri is like falling in love...with his talent, his effortless use of vivid metaphor, philosophical questioning, and mystical allusion.
You don't just read or listen to Okri. You live more fully in the moments and realities you never could have imagined. And yet, you'll yearn for more even as he gifts the reader with new understanding, wonder, and love for humanity.
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Our Missing Hearts
- A Novel
- By: Celeste Ng
- Narrated by: Lucy Liu, Celeste Ng
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,512
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,046
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,034
Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. His mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet, left without a trace when he was nine years old. He doesn’t know what happened to her—only that her books have been banned—and he resents that she cared more about her work than about him.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Listen to the sample
- By Sunny White on 10-11-22
- Our Missing Hearts
- A Novel
- By: Celeste Ng
- Narrated by: Lucy Liu, Celeste Ng
A Beautifully Written Dystopian Tale
Reviewed: 12-17-22
Like Margaret Atwood, Ng builds her dystopian story from the whole cloth of historical and current socio-political events and the creeping authoritarianism that poses a very real threat to American freedoms long taken for granted. Ng's culture-based storytelling illustrates her characters' innovative acts of resistance as art, imagery, and the persistent power of familial sense-memory to overcome fear, loss and despair.
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Roar
- By: Cecelia Ahern
- Narrated by: Aisling Bea, Lara Sawalha, Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 54
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Story5 out of 5 stars 54
In this singular and imaginative story collection, Cecelia Ahern explores the endless ways in which women blaze through adversity with wit, resourcefulness, and compassion. Ahern takes the familiar aspects of women's lives—the routines, the embarrassments, the desires—and elevates these moments to the outlandish and hilarious with her astute blend of magical realism and social insight.
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5 out of 5 stars
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loved it
- By Linda Patin on 03-26-24
- Roar
- By: Cecelia Ahern
- Narrated by: Aisling Bea, Lara Sawalha, Adjoa Andoh
Brilliant Feminist Allegories
Reviewed: 11-08-22
Ahern writes with wry humor, revealing a spectrum of feminist viewpoints that explore an expansive diversity of lived experiences. This collection explores issues of empowerment and fullfillment through cleverly crafted allegorical tales that both entertain and provoke.
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How High We Go in the Dark
- A Novel
- By: Sequoia Nagamatsu
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Brian Nishii, Keisuke Hoashi, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,827
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,605
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,604
In 2030, a grieving archeologist arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue the work of his recently deceased daughter at the Batagaika Crater, where researchers are studying long-buried secrets now revealed in melting permafrost, including the perfectly preserved remains of a girl who appears to have died of an ancient virus. Once unleashed, the Arctic plague will reshape life on Earth for generations to come, quickly traversing the globe, forcing humanity to devise a myriad of moving and inventive ways to embrace possibility in the face of tragedy.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Should come with a sadness warning
- By KJH on 03-16-22
Atwoodian. Homeric.
Reviewed: 09-22-22
Urgently, heartbreakingly current. Yet, timeless and ultimately hopeful. Best read of 2022 and bound to become an instant classic. Nagamatsu lays bare all the frailties of humanity, while
celebrating the tenacity of human existence across time and space. Nagamatsu deftly examines the fragility of cultural belief systems about creation, death, love, wealth/power, memory and history.
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In-Depth Market Research Interviews with Dead People: Bounty
- A Short Story
- By: Alison Espach
- Narrated by: Carol Monda, Neil Hellegers, Mark Sanderlin
- Length: 57 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 693
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 641
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 639
Was there any particular reason that, near the end of your lives, you suddenly stopped buying Bounty paper towels? So begins the first question from Bounty’s market research representative to Paul and Maggie. In this unique short story, a couple who died suddenly in their 50s recounts their use of Bounty paper towels and their sudden switch to a bargain brand near the end of their lives. What appears to be a run-of-the-mill spat between spouses at the Stop & Shop is revealed to be a defining moment of a marriage years in decline.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Loved the story. Great narration.
- By Kristy Kinnamon on 11-09-21
- In-Depth Market Research Interviews with Dead People: Bounty
- A Short Story
- By: Alison Espach
- Narrated by: Carol Monda, Neil Hellegers, Mark Sanderlin
Hilarious, Witty, Poignant
Reviewed: 08-26-22
I literally laughed out loud, nodded in agreement, and empathized with both of the aggrieved parties. Very clever, and it left me wanting more from this author.
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Then She Was Gone
- A Novel
- By: Lisa Jewell
- Narrated by: Helen Duff
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 82,991
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73,892
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 73,664
Fifteen-year-old Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She was beloved by her parents, friends, and teachers. She and her boyfriend made a teenage golden couple. She was days away from an idyllic summer vacation, with her whole life ahead of her. And then she was gone. Now her mother, Laurel Mack, is trying to put her life back together.
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5 out of 5 stars
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SO GOOD
- By Ashleigh on 05-24-18
- Then She Was Gone
- A Novel
- By: Lisa Jewell
- Narrated by: Helen Duff
Perfectlt paced narration
Reviewed: 07-13-22
Helen Duff is the perfect narrator for Lisa Jewell's smart, slow burn of plot via intricate character development. Jewell delivers the psychological profiles of her characters and weaves them carefully into a tapestry of complex emotion and suspense.
Good, fun reading.
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1 person found this helpful