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Narrated by:
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David Shih
About this listen
The long-awaited translation of the novel behind the cult classic Japanese movie.
In this gloriously over-the-top tale, Aoyama, a widower who has lived alone with his son ever since his wife died seven years before, finally decides it is time to remarry. Since Aoyama is a bit rusty when it comes to dating, a filmmaker friend proposes that, in order to attract the perfect wife, they do a casting call for a movie they don't intend to produce. As the resumes pile up, only one of the applicants catches Aoyama's attention - Yamasaki Asami - a striking young former ballerina with a mysterious past. Blinded by his instant and total infatuation, Aoyama is too late in discovering that she is a far cry from the innocent young woman he imagines her to be. The novel's fast-paced, thriller conclusion doesn't spare the listener as Yamasaki takes off her angelic mask and reveals what lies beneath.
Contains mature themes.
©1997 Ryu Murakami; translation copyright 2009 by Ralph McCarthy (P)2019 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
Experience the blazing, surreal sensation of a fever dream...A young woman named Amanda lies dying in a rural hospital clinic. A boy named David sits beside her. She’s not his mother. He's not her child. Together, they tell a haunting story of broken souls, toxins, and the power and desperation of family. Fever Dream is a nightmare come to life, a ghost story for the real world, a love story and a cautionary tale.
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Ghastly tale, brilliantly told.
- By Kat - Audible on 03-22-18
By: Samanta Schweblin, and others
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The Monster of Elendhaven
- By: Jennifer Giesbrecht
- Narrated by: Daniel Henning
- Length: 3 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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The city of Elendhaven sulks on the edge of the ocean. Wracked by plague, abandoned by the South, stripped of industry and left to die. But not everything dies so easily. A thing without a name stalks the city, a thing shaped like a man, with a dark heart and long pale fingers yearning to wrap around throats. A monster who cannot die.
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Gothic, disturbed, and even a little fun
- By Cogliostro on 12-19-19
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Sister, Maiden, Monster
- By: Lucy A. Snyder
- Narrated by: Arielle DeLisle, Katherine Littrell, Lindsey Dorcus
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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A virus tears across the globe, transforming its victims in nightmarish ways. As the world collapses, dark forces pull a small group of women together. Erin, once quiet and closeted, acquires an appetite for a woman and her brain. Why does forbidden fruit taste so good? Savannah, a professional BDSM switch, discovers a new turn-on: committing brutal murders for her eldritch masters. Mareva, plagued with chronic tumors, is too horrified to acknowledge her divine role in the coming apocalypse, and as her growths multiply, so too does her desperation.
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Not for me
- By Leah Bernie on 03-22-23
By: Lucy A. Snyder
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The Miracles of the Namiya General Store
- By: Keigo Higashino
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii, Sura Siu, Kyle Omori
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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“From exactly midnight until daybreak, the Namiya General Store advice box will be reopening for one night only.” When three delinquents hole up in an abandoned general store after their most recent robbery, to their great surprise, a letter drops through the mail slot in the store’s shutter. This seemingly simple request for advice sets the trio on a journey of discovery as, over the course of a single night, they step into the role of the kindhearted former shopkeeper who devoted his waning years to offering thoughtful counsel to his correspondents.
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One of my favorite books now
- By Anonymous User on 01-15-23
By: Keigo Higashino
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The Eyes Are the Best Part
- By: Monika Kim
- Narrated by: Jaine Ye
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Ji-won’s life tumbles into disarray in the wake of her Appa’s extramarital affair and subsequent departure. Her mother, distraught. Her younger sister, hurt and confused. Her college freshman grades, failing. Her dreams, horrifying… yet enticing. In them, Ji-won walks through bloody rooms full of eyes. Succulent blue eyes. Salivatingly blue eyes. Eyes the same shape and shade as George’s, who is Umma’s obnoxious new boyfriend. George has already overstayed his welcome in her family’s claustrophobic apartment.
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slow burn, but well worth it
- By Michael Matos on 10-23-24
By: Monika Kim
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1Q84
- By: Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin - translator, Philip Gabriel - translator
- Narrated by: Allison Hiroto, Marc Vietor, Mark Boyett
- Length: 46 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo.
A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver's enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 - "Q" is for "question mark". A world that bears a question....
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WOW, WOW, WOW.
- By Amanda on 11-06-11
By: Haruki Murakami, and others
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Breasts and Eggs
- By: Mieko Kawakami
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, Jeena Yi
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Breasts & Eggs paints a portrait of contemporary womanhood in Japan and recounts the intimate journeys of three women as they confront oppressive mores and their own uncertainties on the road to finding peace and futures they can truly call their own. It tells the story of three women: the 30-year-old Natsu, her older sister, Makiko, and Makiko’s daughter, Midoriko. Makiko has traveled to Tokyo in search of an affordable breast enhancement procedure. She is accompanied by Midoriko, who has recently grown silent.
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Masterful Writing and Performance
- By Noelle on 03-01-21
By: Mieko Kawakami
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Confessions
- By: Kanae Minato, Stephen Snyder - translator
- Narrated by: Elaina Erika Davis, Noah Galvin
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Her pupils murdered her daughter. Now she will have her revenge. After calling off her engagement in the wake of a tragic revelation, Yuko Moriguchi had nothing to live for except her only child, four-year-old child, Manami. Now, following an accident on the grounds of the middle school where she teaches, Yuko has given up and tendered her resignation. But first she has one last lecture to deliver.
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Great book and performance. Watch the movie too.
- By Joshuatly Tee on 03-12-16
By: Kanae Minato, and others
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Our Share of Night
- A Novel
- By: Mariana Enriquez, Megan McDowell
- Narrated by: Frankie Corzo
- Length: 27 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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A young father and son set out on a road trip, devastated by the death of the wife and mother they both loved. United in grief, the pair travel to her ancestral home, where they must confront the terrifying legacy she has bequeathed: a family called the Order that commits unspeakable acts in search of immortality.
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This Story Grew on Me
- By Nikki on 02-17-23
By: Mariana Enriquez, and others
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I'm Thinking of Ending Things
- By: Iain Reid
- Narrated by: Candace Thaxton
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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In this deeply scary and intensely unnerving debut novel, Jake and a woman known only as "The Girlfriend" are on a drive to visit his parents at their secluded farm. But when Jake leaves "The Girlfriend" stranded at an abandoned high school, what follows is a twisted unraveling of the darkest unease, an exploration into psychological frailty, and an ending as suspenseful as The Usual Suspects and as haunting as Misery.
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What a ride! This is a must read!
- By Elizabeth on 06-15-16
By: Iain Reid
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No Longer Human
- By: Osamu Dazai
- Narrated by: David Shih
- Length: 4 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Portraying himself as a failure, the protagonist of Osamu Dazai’s NO LONGER HUMAN narrates a seemingly normal life even while he feels himself incapable of understanding human beings. His attempts to reconcile himself to the world around him begin in early childhood, continue through high school, where he becomes a “clown” to mask his alienation, and eventually lead to a failed suicide attempt as an adult. Without sentimentality, he records the casual cruelties of life and its fleeting moments of human connection and tenderness.
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Great Short Novel
- By Patrick James Thomas on 02-26-25
By: Osamu Dazai
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Dead Silence
- By: S.A. Barnes
- Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Claire Kovalik is days away from being unemployed—made obsolete—when her beacon repair crew picks up a strange distress signal. With nothing to lose and no desire to return to Earth, Claire and her team decide to investigate.
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Couldn’t finish
- By Donald Klaczko on 03-12-22
By: S.A. Barnes
This gripping Japanese thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat. The story is masterfully crafted, with twists and turns that will leave you guessing until the very end. The author's exceptional writing style makes the characters come alive, and the suspense builds with every page.
Captivating Japanese Thriller
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Powerful tale
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Ok thriller
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Grisly
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Liked it
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Great October listen
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What starts as a long wooing session, turns into a quick horror show
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Very very slow moving
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Very good narration.
darkly humorous
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Not the best, not the worst.
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