Gifted and Talented
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Narrated by:
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Suzy Aitchison
About this listen
It's the new university term among the dreaming spires. The start of a whole new life.
Meet Isabel, beautiful, clever, shy - and leaving home for the first time. Meet Olly, recently graduated, idealistic and a little hopeless, a man whose heart leads his brain and for whom opportunity just hasn't come knocking - yet. Meet Amber, the It girl who is soon partying with the fast set - and no-one is faster than Jasper de Borchy, glamorous leader of the notorious Bullinger club.
Meet the grown-ups: Diana, recently divorced mother-of-one, newly arrived in town to take up a post as college gardener - and Richard, the new college head, a widower, a scientist, and as lonely as some of the specimens he captures in his science lab.
The rich, the poor, the shy, the extrovert, the givers, the takers. Meet the Gifted and Talented.
©2013 Wendy Holden (P)2014 Audible, Inc.Related to this topic
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By: Jane E. James
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Who is Audrey Hoedemaker? It's a question her sister Maureen has heard more times than she can count, and she doesn't know what the short answer would be. Little sister, troubled teen, backpacker, musical theatre coach, con artist, childcare worker. Murderer. A tragic, traumatic childhood casts a long shadow on the Hoedemaker sisters. Maureen has worked hard to move beyond the violence of the past and build a good, honest life for herself. Audrey, however, just can't seem to do the same, careening from one state of chaos to another.
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- By Katie A Scribner on 12-26-24
-
The Answer Is No
- A Short Story
- By: Fredrik Backman, Elizabeth DeNoma - translator
- Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez
- Length: 1 hr and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai. Peanuts are a must! Other people? Not so much. Why complicate things when he’s happy alone? Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.
-
-
Narrator doesn’t get Backman’s satire or rhythm
- By joey1603 on 12-01-24
By: Fredrik Backman, and others
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George Orwell’s 1984
- An Audible Original adaptation
- By: George Orwell, Joe White - adaptation
- Narrated by: Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.
-
-
A Revelation!
- By wotsallthisthen on 04-07-24
By: George Orwell, and others
-
The Art of War
- By: Sun Tzu
- Narrated by: Aidan Gillen
- Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
The 13 chapters of The Art of War, each devoted to one aspect of warfare, were compiled by the high-ranking Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun-Tzu. In spite of its battlefield specificity, The Art of War has found new life in the modern age, with leaders in fields as wide and far-reaching as world politics, human psychology, and corporate strategy finding valuable insight in its timeworn words.
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The actual book The Art of War, not a commentary
- By Nemo71 on 12-31-19
By: Sun Tzu
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Dead Med
- By: Freida McFadden
- Narrated by: Patricia Santomasso, Scott Merriman
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When Heather McKinley dreamed of becoming a doctor, she imagined curing sick kids and sporting pink stethoscopes. She never anticipated the sleepless nights, grueling exams, and endless labs. And she certainly never knew that her medical school earned the nickname Dead Med thanks to the tragic history of students overdosing on illegal drugs. But Heather would never consider doing anything like that. That is, until her longtime boyfriend dumps her, she finds herself failing anatomy, and her world starts to crumble.
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Hmm
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What listeners say about Gifted and Talented
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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- Toby
- 09-22-13
A mostly entertaining read
What made the experience of listening to Gifted and Talented the most enjoyable?
Clearly, the superb reading of Suzy Aitchinson. She is one of the very best readers out there. I could almost listen to anything by her. She keeps the tale going.
Would you recommend Gifted and Talented to your friends? Why or why not?
Yes, if that person is looking for a light read. I did not find this one as hilarious as Bad Heir Day and farm one. Those had more social satire and were deeper in terms of plot.
Which scene was your favorite?
I suppose when the scheming divorcee gets her comeuppance at the faculty party. I also liked the interactions between the two families on the council estate.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
I can't answer questions like this as I do not go to movies or read about movies.
Any additional comments?
I would welcome a sequel to Bad Heir Day.
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Overall
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- Julie
- 09-25-14
Loved it!
Any additional comments?
This book grabbed me right from the beginning, I couldn't "put it down". I really felt invested in the plights of all of the characters. 4 main characters: Isabelle, college freshman, Diana, recently divorced, with new job, new neighborhood, new school for her daughter, Richard, recently widowed American, relocated to UK for a fresh start, Ollie, recent college grad, struggling to find his first "real" job in a depressed job market. There is an element of starting over for all the characters, but none turn out exactly as they expect. There are several other minor characters I fell in love with as well.
The only reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is that the antagonist characters are a little over the top, unrealistically pure bad. If you get to the middle and find yourself irritated with how bad the "bad guys" are, stick with it, as the actual plot stays good till the end!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 06-06-15
I wanted to like this
I've really enjoyed many Wendy Holden titles over the years, but her books are definitely up and down. (eg I liked "Wives of Bath"; disliked "Marrying Up") and this story falls in the dislike pile. The satire in this outing feels tired and the story itself does not hold together very well. Something Holden usually does well is that even in an outrageous plot situation the characters motivations seem believable. In this book, Isabelle -- who is a central character -- creates very little tension in the choices she makes; she's an automaton. If she had been a more believable university student the entire book would have been more enjoyable.
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