Dinner at the Center of the Earth
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Mark Bramhall
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By:
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Nathan Englander
About this listen
The best work yet from the Pulitzer finalist and best-selling author of For the Relief of Unbearable Urges - a political thriller that unfolds in the highly charged territory of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and pivots on the complex relationship between a secret prisoner and his guard.
A prisoner in a secret cell. The guard who has watched over him a dozen years. An American waitress in Paris. A young Palestinian man in Berlin who strikes up an odd friendship with a wealthy Canadian businessman. And The General, Israel's most controversial leader, who lies dying in a hospital, the only man who knows of the prisoner's existence.
From these vastly different lives, Nathan Englander has woven a powerful, intensely suspenseful portrait of a nation riven by insoluble conflict, even as the lives of its citizens become fatefully and inextricably entwined - a political thriller of the highest order that interrogates the anguished, violent division between Israelis and Palestinians and dramatizes the immense moral ambiguities haunting both sides. Who is right, who is wrong - who is the guard, who is truly the prisoner?
A tour de force from one of America's most acclaimed voices in contemporary fiction.
©2017 Nathan Englander (P)2017 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Born in the Old City of Sana’a, Yemen, to a pair of middle-class doctors, Mohammed Al Samawi was a devout Muslim raised to think of Christians and Jews as his enemy. But when Mohammed was 23, he secretly received a copy of the Bible, and what he read cast doubt on everything he’d previously believed. After connecting with Jews and Christians on social media, and at various international interfaith conferences, Mohammed became an activist, making it his mission to promote dialogue and cooperation in Yemen. Then came the death threats....
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Engaging and informative memoir
- By Mark on 08-02-18
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Down Cemetery Road
- By: Mick Herron
- Narrated by: Julia Franklin
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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When a house explodes in a quiet Oxford suburb and a young girl disappears in the aftermath, Sarah Tucker becomes obsessed with finding her. Accustomed to dull chores in a childless household and hosting her husband’s wearisome business clients for dinner, Sarah suddenly finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew, as her investigation reveals that people long believed dead are still among the living, while the living are fast joining the dead.
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A bit of a slog....
- By rhl60 on 01-26-24
By: Mick Herron
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The Moonlit Earth
- By: Christopher Rice
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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From award-winning New York Times bestselling author Christopher Rice comes an evocative psychological thriller about a woman who must try to save her brother’s reputation and life when he is accused of being involved in a terrorist act.
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Over-analyzed characters and their actions.
- By Artur on 09-07-10
By: Christopher Rice
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Lifted by the Great Nothing
- By: Karim Dimechkie
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Max doesn't remember his mother, who was murdered by burglars before they emigrated from Beirut to New Jersey. He lives with his father, Rasheed, who is enamored of his concept of American culture - baseball and barbeques - and tries to shed his Lebanese heritage completely.
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Excellent
- By Cheyenne on 06-13-15
By: Karim Dimechkie
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The Hummingbird
- A Novel
- By: Stephen P. Kiernan
- Narrated by: Elyse Mirto, John H. Mayer
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Deborah Birch is a seasoned hospice nurse whose daily work requires courage and compassion. But her skills and experience are tested in new and dramatic ways when her easygoing husband, Michael, returns from his third deployment to Iraq haunted by nightmares, anxiety, and rage. She is determined to help him heal and to restore the tender, loving marriage they once had.
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A MUST READ or LISTEN
- By Taryn on 01-23-16
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Triple
- A Novel
- By: Ken Follett
- Narrated by: Raza Jaffrey
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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As Egypt comes closer and closer to developing a nuclear bomb, the Mossad’s number one Israeli agent is given an impossible mission: to beat the Arabs in the nuclear arms race by finding and stealing two hundred tons of uranium. The world’s balance of power will shift. And the Mossad, the KGB, the Egyptians, and Fedayeen terrorists will play out the final, violent moves in this devastating game where the price of failure is a nuclear holocaust....
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Triple poorly performed
- By Jpop on 03-13-21
By: Ken Follett
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Taking Morgan
- A Political Thriller
- By: David Rose
- Narrated by: Eva Kaminsky
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Morgan Cooper has always found it difficult to balance her home life - mother of two young children and wife of a workaholic civil rights lawyer - with her work life as an undercover CIA officer. When Morgan gets stressed, anxious, or scared, whether at home or in the field, she tends to talk to herself until she can clear her head. This habit, though, puts her life in danger during an assignment in the strife-torn Gaza Strip.
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unrealistic
- By Coverdale on 08-09-22
By: David Rose
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American Gods [TV Tie-In]
- By: Neil Gaiman
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 20 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Locked behind bars for three years, Shadow did his time, quietly waiting for the day when he could return to Eagle Point, Indiana. A man no longer scared of what tomorrow might bring, all he wanted was to be with Laura, the wife he deeply loved, and start a new life. But just days before his release, Laura and Shadow's best friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday.
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Read other Neil Gaiman first
- By Robert on 04-16-11
By: Neil Gaiman
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Spycatcher
- By: Matthew Dunn
- Narrated by: Rich Orlow
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Matthew Dunn spent years as an MI6 field operative working on some of the West’s most clandestine missions. He recruited and ran agents, planned and participated in special operations, and operated deep undercover throughout the world. In Spycatcher he draws on this fascinating experience to breathe urgent, dynamic new life into the contemporary spy novel. Featuring deft and daring superspy Will Cochrane, Dunn paints a nerve-jangling, bracingly authentic picture of today’s secret world. It is a place where trust is precious and betrayal is cheap....
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Juvenile and just bad
- By R. L. Ketcham on 08-30-11
By: Matthew Dunn
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I, Who Did Not Die
- A Sweeping Story of Loss, Redemption, and Fate
- By: Zahed Haftlang, Najah Aboud
- Narrated by: Mikael Naramore
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Khorramshahr, Iran, May 1982 - It was the bloodiest battle of one of the most brutal wars of the twentieth century, and Najah, a 29-year-old wounded Iraqi conscript, was face to face with a 13-year-old Iranian child soldier who was ordered to kill him. Instead, the boy committed an astonishing act of mercy. It was an act that decades later would save his own life.
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- By jennie on 04-10-24
By: Zahed Haftlang, and others
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Eating with the Enemy
- How I Waged Peace with North Korea from My BBQ Shack in Hackensack
- By: Robert Egan, Kurt Pitzer
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Robert Egan could have been a roofing contractor, like his father. Instead, he opened a barbecue restaurant. His interest in the search for Vietnam-era POWs led to an introduction to North Korean officials desperate to improve relations with the United States. So Egan turned his restaurant into Camp David, with pork ribs.
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One in a million book
- By Cody on 05-15-16
By: Robert Egan, and others
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Weekend Warriors
- Sisterhood, Book 1
- By: Fern Michaels
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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On the surface, these seven women are as different as can be - but each has had her share of bad luck, from cheating husbands to sexist colleagues to a legal system that often doesn't do its job. Now, drawn together by tragedy, they're forging a bond that will help them right the wrongs committed against them and discover an inner strength they didn't know they had. The Sisterhood is learning that when bad things happen, you can roll over and play dead...or you can get up fighting...
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Weekend Warriors
- By Ms Mare on 04-04-09
By: Fern Michaels
What listeners say about Dinner at the Center of the Earth
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- David
- 11-17-17
A Challenging Political Thriller
Nathan Englander is a favorite writer. His plots mix current world politics with challenging questions of right and wrong, and they are always well written. His last novel, The Ministry of Special Cases, was absorbing but deeply troubling in its story of the treatment of college students in Argentina during the days of political oppression and murder.
Dinner at the Center of the Earth focuses on the middle east and terrorism. The central character, Prisoner Z, made an almost off-hand decision that has resulted in his solitary imprisonment in an underground cell in Israel. The characters on both sides of the conflict are well-drawn, and there are some wonderful scenes. Action moves between Paris, Berlin and Jerusalem. But while the action raises questions of honesty, loyalty and punishment, I did not always find it compelling. Some of the plot twists were predictable. The scenes between Prisoner Z and his guard would have been better with sharper back-and-forth between them.
Overall I enjoyed the book. Englander continues to be a deeply creative and thoughtful writer.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-08-17
excellent realistic spy novel
liked it very much. well researched with relevant cultural references. highly recommended for espionage enthusiasts
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- ilya ginzburg
- 01-10-18
reinvanting headlines back
the best is kept for the end although you feel like it comes at the turn of itch page
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- Anonymous User
- 01-12-18
Very good
Great, enjoyed the reading very much. Excellent story. Lessons of history. Thank you very much!
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- carolaird
- 10-02-17
Expect Book Hangover
I loved this book despite a problem with the reader, who could not do accents. Arab and Israeli characters ended up sounding like Russians. The Jewish mothers were a complete disaster. I wish Mr. Bramhall would have just read it straight and let the listener imagine the accents, because otherwise his voice is very pleasant. Life in Israel is described accurately. I know. I'm from there.
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- Cheryl
- 03-01-18
Beautifully written
Stick with this. The beginning might seem a little confusing as you peek into the lives of several characters, however, it all eventually comes into focus. Dinner at the Center of the Earth perfectly illustrates the ambiguous frustration of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
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- Joe Kraus
- 09-15-17
So Many Roads to Peace, Blocked
What does Mark Bramhall bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
I've loved many of his performances. This is one of his weakest, I think, since he doesn't seem to know Israeli pronunciations for some of what he's reading in character.
Any additional comments?
So, nu, how do we find peace in the Middle East?
One answer, at least as Nathan Englander imagines it in this generally masterful novel, is Ariel Sharon’s. “The General,” as we meet him here, never backed down. With him it was always about killing a dozen of them for every one of ours. When the PLO killed a mother and her children in a cross-border raid, he leveled an entire village.
With him, it is always go forward, but there is an end – at least as Ruth, his long-time aide, believes. She sees him readying a “peace bomb,” a plan to produce a lasting peace that would grow out of the military mercilessness to which he gave his life.
But, as is the case for most of the present-tense of this novel, he has given only half his life to that strategy. As in real life, the General suffers a debilitating stroke and remains barely alive. In his half-life, he relives much of the always-attacking nature of his life. At times, Englander’s prose is incandescent here. The scene where the General relives a moment when he and a radioman were blown into the air by a bomb is worth the whole of the novel. It’s horrible, gorgeous, and mystical. And unforgettable.
As it turns out, then, there’s no way to unleash anything like a peace bomb, no way to redeem the violence of the last generation. The most evocative sign of that stasis – aside from the General’s own “limbo” – is Ruth’s son, a guard assigned to look after Prisoner Z. If there’s a point-of-view character who earns my sympathy, it’s the guard. He spends his life pursuing the “request,” really an order, the General made of him. He looks after a man who is no longer a real person, waiting for an end that cannot come. (SPOILER: For me at least, his giving Z the means to kill himself is a hugely satisfying end point. It suggests a middle ground more appealing than the dinner of the title.) The guard simply waits, smoking his life away in the service of the never finished plans of his parents’ generation.
The other significant answer for how to find peace in this novel comes from Prisoner Z, whom, we learn, exceeded the parameters of his secret mission in an attempt to make peace with a Palestinian. The details get a bit blurry, but they turn on his being willing to trust someone, to try to make a human rather than a military connection.
That road fails as well, and he spends the rest of his life as a non-person, underground. It’s one more dimension in which the failures of the last generation limit the prospects of peace in this one.
There is a third approach to something like peace, and it’s where the title comes from. Shira and her Architect love each other across battle lines, and they are willing to seek a middle ground, a theoretically impossible one.
[SPOILER:] As beautiful as the final scene is, where the two of them enjoy a white-cloth meal in a tunnel beneath the battlefield, it comes without quite the build-up of the other possibilities. For most of the novel, Englander is brilliant in the way he bounces backward and forward in time, creating a welcome thriller feel in the way the different chapters of Z’s plot eventually come together.
Shira is a part of that story – though we don’t know it for a long time – but her romance seems to come to the fore too late for full satisfaction. I wish Englander had given us more glimpses of her early so that her love wouldn’t seem quite so out-of-the-blue at the end. I suspect there are scenes I didn’t recognize as hers early on, but it’s the one place I wish Englander had given more. (I’m also not a fan of Z’s Jewish mother – she’s stereotyped in ways that feel a bit lazy for such a gifted writer.)
All in all, this is a powerful look at the grip the last generation still has on today’s Israel. Englander is one of our absolute best short story writers. Here – after a good but not great first novel in The Ministry of Special Cases (also about a prisoner lost in the bureaucracy of a state) – he’s taken another step toward writing the great novel that seems like it’s coming from him.
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6 people found this helpful
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- chetyarbrough.blog
- 06-30-21
SPIES
“Dinner at the Center of the Earth” is a story of spies. It is a short novel illustrating the intransigent and complex conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The context is in the last years of Ariel Sharon’s life before, during, and after his death from an 8-year coma.
A spy for Israel is recruited by “The General” (Ariel Sharon) through a connection with an American Jewish mother who persuades her son to become a spy for the Israeli government. The son reports only to “The General”, without any direct connection with the State of Israel. The plan is liberally financed by Israel.
The meat of the story is in how the recruit is caught. This is where the story becomes maudlin and unbelievable. In a non-sequitur reveal, a listener is introduced to a Palestinian peace maker. He is called the map maker because he suggests the creation of two states. The female Jewish spy who led to the capture of the recruit has a deep and committed relationship with this Palestinian.
This female spy and “peace maker” plan a dinner for two in an underground tunnel between Israel and Gaza. It is a “Dinner at the Center of the Earth”. The female spy and “peace maker” seem to represent the only hope for comity between Israelis and Palestinians. The moral seems death of human innocents is what matters, not land. If there is a saving grace to Hammond’s story, there are both Palestinians and Jews who wish for peace. Peace is only conceivable with a growing recognition that death of innocent children is too high a price to pay for land that only belongs to nature.
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