Assembly
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Narrated by:
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Pippa Bennett-Warner
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By:
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Natasha Brown
About this listen
This blistering, fearless, and unforgettable literary novel finds a woman with everything on the line and a life-or-death decision waiting for her—perfect for fans of Claudia Rankine and Jenny Offill.
Come of age in the credit crunch. Be civil in a hostile environment. Go to college, get an education, start a career. Do all the right things. Buy an apartment. Buy art. Buy a sort of happiness. But above all, keep your head down. Keep quiet. And keep going.
The narrator of Assembly is a black British woman. She is preparing to attend a lavish garden party at her boyfriend’s family estate, set deep in the English countryside. At the same time, she is considering the carefully assembled pieces of herself. As the minutes tick down and the future beckons, she can’t escape the question: is it time to take it all apart?
Assembly is a story about the stories we live within—those of race and class, safety and freedom, winners and losers. And it is about one woman daring to take control of her own story, even at the cost of her life. With a steely, unfaltering gaze, Natasha Brown dismantles the mythology of whiteness, lining up the debris in a neat row and walking away.
"Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway meets Claudia Rankine's Citizen...as breathtakingly graceful as it is mercilessly true.”—Olivia Sudjic, author of Sympathy and Asylum Road
A woman confronts the most important question of her life in this blistering, fearless, and unforgettable literary debut from "a stunning new writer." (Bernardine Evaristo)
“A quiet, measured call to revolution…This is the kind of book that doesn’t just mark the moment things change, but also makes that change possible.”—Ali Smith, author of Summer
"Brilliant. Brown's gaze is piercing."—Avni Doshi, author of Burnt Sugar
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“Natasha Brown’s exquisite prose, daring structure and understated elegance are utterly captivating. She is a stunning new writer.”—BERNARDINE EVARISTO, Booker Prize-winning author of GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER
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For six dreadful months, David Corstorphine has tried to come to terms with his young wife's death while caring for his three motherless children. Try as he may, David is unable to return to work, and his only form of solace comes from working in the garden of his parents' estate in the Scottish countryside. Dispatched unexpectedly to New York, David's family hopes that the impromptu business trip will help him get back on his feet. But the journey proves both disastrous and heartening.
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This book had such heart
- By Lesley Harrison on 07-19-24
By: Robin Pilcher
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The UnAmericans
- Stories
- By: Molly Antopol
- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Again and again, Molly Antopol’s deeply sympathetic characters struggle for footing in an uncertain world, hounded by forces beyond their control. Their voices are intimate and powerful and they resonate with searing beauty. Antopol is a superb young talent, and The UnAmericans will long be remembered for its wit, humanity, and heart.
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Sensational stories! Brilliant new author.
- By MidwestGeek on 05-04-14
By: Molly Antopol
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Us: A Novel
- By: David Nicholls
- Narrated by: David Haig
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Douglas Petersen may be mild-mannered, but behind his reserve lies a sense of humor that seduces beautiful Connie into a second date...and eventually into marriage. Now, almost three decades later, they live more or less happily in the London suburbs with their moody seventeen year-old son, Albie. Then Connie tells him she thinks she wants a divorce. The timing couldn’t be worse. Connie has planned a month-long tour of European capitals, a chance to experience the world’s greatest works of art as a family, and she can’t bring herself to cancel. And maybe going ahead is for the best anyway? Douglas is privately convinced that this landmark trip will rekindle the romance in the marriage, and might even help him to bond with Albie. Narrated from Douglas’s endearingly honest, slyly witty, and at times achingly optimistic point of view, Us is the story of a man trying to rescue his relationship with the woman he loves, and learning how to get closer to a son who’s always felt like a stranger.
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Great novel - my favorite in years
- By Mark on 07-21-15
By: David Nicholls
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Bad Habits
- By: Amy Gentry
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Claire "Mac" Woods—a professor enjoying her newfound hotshot status at an academic conference—finally has the acceptance and admiration she has long craved. But at the conference's hotel bar, Mac is surprised to run into a face from a past she'd rather forget: the moneyed, effortlessly perfect Gwendolyn Whitney, Mac's foil, rival, and former best friend.
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Outstanding!
- By SLuzaz on 02-15-21
By: Amy Gentry
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Deep underground, 39 women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only a vague recollection of their lives before. As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl—the 40th prisoner—sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others’ escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground.
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Women are angry, and it isn’t hard to figure out why. We are underpaid and overworked. Too sensitive or not sensitive enough. Too dowdy or too made-up. Too big or too thin. Sluts or prudes. We are harassed, told we are asking for it, and asked if it would kill us to smile. Yes, yes it would. Contrary to the rhetoric of popular “self-help” and an entire lifetime of being told otherwise, our rage is one of the most important resources we have, our sharpest tool against both personal and political oppression.
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What listeners say about Assembly
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Carol
- 04-09-22
You gotta read it more than once
This book is a wow. One of the few about race and sex, where every word counts. And the bitter truth of our paradigm is raw and exposed.
You want to know how people of color and female people, in a place which reeks of the stench of institutionalized hatred, feel. Wanna know what goes on inside a brilliant mind when you are being stupid? Well, read this book! If you’d rather stay unconsciously ignorant, don’t come near this book.
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- Stargazerb
- 07-06-24
Wow! So much to discuss
This is a perfect book club read- it seems made for discussions that could go on for as long as the narrative itself.
The narrator is a first generation child of immigrants in the UK, and she is DONE with the way the world reacts to her.
The narrative style reminds me of ‘Wit’. There isn’t a wasted moment in the story. It is short enough to easily start over when you finish.
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- Amelia G.
- 09-30-23
Dark and inconvenient truths
A must read to glimpse the perspective of a black woman living in modern England. An important read. Especially for an English white person.
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- Lynette K. Ackman
- 04-12-22
Amazing
It’s rare a book touches me as deeply as this one did. Beautiful work. I hope the author writes more in the future.
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- Catie Hannah
- 10-16-21
Excellent eye opening read
I was not expecting to walk away with a greater understanding of the daily, hourly, sometimes minute by minute racism faced by black Americans. This writer describes it so well you experience what this woman is going through. And it’s a great story well written and well read.
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19 people found this helpful
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- Taco Beans
- 08-30-22
Uncomfortable and riveting
Clever and exquisite prose, exceptional narration. A sobering glimpse into otherness. Those who've given this book poor reviews seem to have missed the point entirely.
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- Nyala A. Dupree-Walker
- 10-17-21
CLIFFHANGER!!
My father recommended this book! Said it was BRILLIANT! Best he’d read in ages! Will read again soon! On and ON! Gave it a chance because I adored my last Black Brit Book “Girl Woman Other”
It took me a while to warm up to it because I was a bit put off by her time jumping style, however it picked up when she started talking about the colonial history of Britain (I am a history teacher so this spoke to me) and got more into the complicated and performative dynamics with her Wealthy White Political boyfriend!! Just as I was hooked and committed to the characters it ended ABRUPTLY!!
Superbly written and Wonderfully narrated!!
I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment!!
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22 people found this helpful
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- Benny Profane
- 04-06-22
Inspires contradictory reactions
This is an interesting, quick listen, written by a talented and erudite writer.
And as a liberal, middle-aged white male I... well... wonder if my voice is even allowed to critique aspects of this short story/novel, particularly realizing some of my other reviews have dwelled on similar issues.
But... I get hung up on parts of this novel and parts of the bio of the writer.
Here is her description in "Assembly" of a white male co-worker who takes pride in his elevating himself from a working class background:
“He rarely shows up before 11. As if each morning, fresh mediocrity slides out of the ocean, slimes its way over mossy rocks and sand, then sprouts skittering appendages that stretch and morph and twist into limbs as it forges on inland until finally, fully formed.”
First, it's mean and funny and well-done.
Second, however, there exist no mid-level person of any gender or race who "rarely shows up before 11" who works in banking/finance. Period. It's an entirely false character, created only to cast scorn upon a type -- entitled white male.
Here's a quote from Brown about this book:
"Nothing bad happens to any of the characters, none are subjected to harsh criticism or even unkind dialogue. Instead, the narrator emphasizes how much she understands the people around her. "
Hmm.
The central idea of the narrative is the narrator/main character has followed the rules, excelled, overcome overt and subtle institutional racism that slams into her daily and now stands at the brink -- an upperclass white collar, just promoted worker who is apparently about to be invited by marriage into the gentry of English society. (There's a existential twist I'll not spoil).
And she's incredibly ambivalent about it. She doesn't like her work. Assimilation into a culture she finds ugly and duplicitous vexes her. She feels like all she sees is hypocrisy, though one might argue she's using racism as a blanket term to describe her depressive solipsism.
What is she to do?
Well... she could break up with a boyfriend she doesn't seem to like or even respect, quit her job and pursue something more fulfilling, knowing she has a great nest egg to sustain her during the transition.
Or ... she could do as the author, who worked 10 years in finance before taking a break, winning a significant writing grant without having published anything previously and then earned six figure advances for this very book.
She's 31. Rich. Celebrated. And, please forgive me, really, really good looking.
I know. Just because she's on top of the world in every respect doesn't eliminate the racial aggressions -- micro and macro, which are vividly shown in the novel -- that do damage, even to the strong.
I guess what I always seem to want is us to fight racism, celebrate incremental societal improvement and not go off the rails with the "tear it all down" "math is racist" "punctuality is racist" "capitalism is racist" super-left woke stuff.
But, hey, what do I know.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Booreiss
- 07-17-22
At first I Thought This Was Not Best in Audio
but, once I got the rhythm I cannot imagine it any other way...the reader is perfect.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer CM
- 08-13-23
Portrays Uncomfortable Truths
This is beautifully written. Interwoven between multiple stories are the uncomfortable Truths that some will be unwilling to accept. As an Afro-Caribbean immigrant to the US, it's an uncomfortable reminder that these issues occur throughout the world, not just in the USA.
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