Hikikomori and the Rental Sister
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Narrated by:
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Stephen Bowlby
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By:
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Jeff Backhaus
About this listen
Thomas Tessler, devastated by a tragedy, has cloistered himself in his bedroom and shut out the world for the past three years. His wife, Silke, lives in the next room, but Thomas no longer shares his life with her, leaving his hideout only in the wee hours of the night to buy food at the store around the corner from their Manhattan apartment. Isolated, withdrawn, damaged, Thomas is hikikomori.
Desperate to salvage their life together, Silke hires Megumi, a young Japanese woman attuned to the hikikomori phenomenon, to lure Thomas back into the world. In Japan Megumi is called a "rental sister", though her job may involve much more than familial comforts. As Thomas grows to trust Megumi, a deepening and sensual relationship unfolds. But what are the risks of such intimacy? And what must these three broken people surrender in order to find hope?
Revelatory and provocative, Hikikomori and the Rental Sister tears through the emotional walls of grief and delves into the power of human connection to break through to the waiting world outside.
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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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Funerals for Horses
- By: Catherine Ryan Hyde
- Narrated by: Carly Robins
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Ella Ginsberg's brother, Simon, has disappeared. His clothing, shoes, and watch were found abandoned near a freight line track in Central California. His jockey shorts and wallet were never found. The police have no clue, and Simon's wife had no warning that anything was wrong. Ella takes off on foot across much of California and Arizona, thinking she can find Simon using nothing but her knowledge of the way he might think. Her search leads her to the Navajo Nation in Arizona.
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Funerals for Horses
- By Carolyn Ferrell on 03-26-18
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The Invisible Circus
- By: Jennifer Egan
- Narrated by: Madeleine Lambert
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In Pulitzer Prize-winner Jennifer Egan's highly acclaimed first novel, set in 1978, the political drama and familial tensions of the 1960s form a backdrop for the world of Phoebe O'Connor, age eighteen. Phoebe is obsessed with the memory and death of her sister Faith, a beautiful idealistic hippie who died in Italy in 1970. In order to find out the truth about Faith's life and death, Phoebe retraces her steps from San Francisco across Europe, a quest which yields both complex and disturbing revelations about family, love, and Faith's lost generation.
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Too bad zero was not a choice...
- By IVAL on 04-28-13
By: Jennifer Egan
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Fruit of the Drunken Tree
- A Novel
- By: Ingrid Rojas Contreras
- Narrated by: Marisol Ramirez, Almarie Guerra, Ingrid Rojas Contreras
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Seven-year-old Chula and her older sister, Cassandra, enjoy carefree lives thanks to their gated community in Bogotá, but the threat of kidnappings, car bombs, and assassinations hover just outside the neighborhood walls, where the godlike drug lord Pablo Escobar continues to elude authorities and capture the attention of the nation. When their mother hires Petrona, a live-in-maid from the city's guerrilla-occupied slum, Chula makes it her mission to understand Petrona's mysterious ways.
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Maybe better to read this book than listen???
- By Amazon Customer on 12-12-18
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The Vine of Desire
- By: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Anju and Sudha formed an astounding, almost psychic connection during their childhood in India. When Anju invites Sudha, a single mother in Calcutta, to come live with her and her husband, Sunil, in California, Sudha foolishly accepts, knowing full well that Sunil has long desired her. As Sunil's attraction rises to the surface, the trio must struggle to make sense of the freedoms of America - and of the ties that bind them to India and to one another.
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Vine of desire
- By Mz Shantay on 03-27-21
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Stories
- All-New Tales
- By: Neil Gaiman - author/editor, Al Sarrantonio - editor, Joe Hill, and others
- Narrated by: Anne Bobby, Jonathan Davis, Katherine Kellgren, and others
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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The best stories pull readers in and keep them turning the pages, eager to discover more—to find the answer to the question: "And then what happened?" The true hallmark of great literature is great imagination, and as Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio prove with this outstanding collection, when it comes to great fiction, all genres are equal.
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Something for Everyone
- By Nicole on 05-24-17
By: Neil Gaiman - author/editor, and others
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Breaking Night
- A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard
- By: Liz Murray
- Narrated by: Liz Murray
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Liz Murray was born to loving but drug-addicted parents in the Bronx. In school she was taunted for her dirty clothing and lice-infested hair, eventually skipping so many classes that she was put into a girls' home. At age 15, Liz found herself on the streets when her family finally unraveled. She learned to scrape by, foraging for food and riding subways all night to have a warm place to sleep. Then, when Liz's mother died of AIDS, she decided to take control of her own destiny.
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unbelievably inspiring
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-12
By: Liz Murray
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The Red Address Book
- By: Sofia Lundberg, Alice Menzies - translator
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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The global fiction sensation - published in 32 countries around the world: Meet Doris, a 96-year-old woman living alone in her Stockholm apartment. She has few visitors, but her weekly Skype calls with Jenny - her American grandniece, and her only relative - give her great joy and remind her of her own youth. In writing down the stories of her colorful past - working as a maid in Sweden, modelling in Paris during the '30s, fleeing to Manhattan at the dawn of the Second World War - she may help Jenny, haunted by a difficult childhood, unlock the secrets of their family....
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narrator was overwrought
- By Janet L. Hamilton on 02-22-19
By: Sofia Lundberg, and others
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Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See
- By: Juliann Garey
- Narrated by: Dan Butler
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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In her tour-de-force first novel, Juliann Garey takes us inside the restless mind, ravaged heart, and anguished soul of Greyson Todd, a successful Hollywood studio executive who leaves his wife and young daughter and for a decade travels the world giving free reign to the bipolar disorder he's been forced to keep hidden for almost 20 years.
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Psychosis or Syphilis?
- By Vira on 04-02-13
By: Juliann Garey
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Future Home of the Living God
- A Novel
- By: Louise Erdrich
- Narrated by: Louise Erdrich
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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The world as we know it is ending. Evolution has reversed itself, affecting every living creature on earth. Science cannot stop the world from running backward, as woman after woman gives birth to infants that appear to be primitive species of humans. Thirty-two-year-old Cedar Hawk Songmaker, adopted daughter of a pair of big-hearted, open-minded Minneapolis liberals, is as disturbed and uncertain as the rest of America around her. But for Cedar, this change is profound and deeply personal. She is four months pregnant.
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“Nolite te bastardes carborundorum”
- By Mel on 11-27-17
By: Louise Erdrich
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The Hollow Ground
- By: Natalie S. Harnett
- Narrated by: Luci Christian
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The underground mine fires ravaging Pennsylvania coal country have forced 11-year-old Brigid Howley and her family to seek refuge with her estranged grandparents, the formidable Gram and the black lung-stricken Gramp. Tragedy is no stranger to the Howleys, a proud Irish-American clan who takes strange pleasure in the "curse" laid upon them generations earlier by a priest who ran afoul of the Molly Maguires. The weight of this legacy rests heavily on a new generation, when Brigid, already struggling to keep her family together, makes a grisly discovery in a long-abandoned bootleg mine shaft.
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Disfunction makes a good read
- By NHull on 05-30-14
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Mud Vein
- By: Tarryn Fisher
- Narrated by: Simone Lewis
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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When reclusive novelist Senna Richards wakes up on her 33rd birthday, everything has changed. Caged behind an electrical fence, locked in a house in the middle of the snow, Senna is left to decode the clues to find out why she was taken. If she wants her freedom, she has to take a close look at her past. But, her past has a heartbeat... and her kidnapper is nowhere to be found. With her survival hanging by a thread, Senna soon realizes this is a game. A dangerous one. Only the truth can set her free.
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Raw
- By Cynthia on 09-13-15
By: Tarryn Fisher
What listeners say about Hikikomori and the Rental Sister
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Mark
- 01-12-13
Provocative
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, its a one of a kind book that should be listened to by everyone.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Silke, Mugumi and Toe masss. They all brought human elements to the story that are rarely discussed or thought about but bleneded together very well.
What about Stephen Bowlby’s performance did you like?
Sometimes he nailed the Japanese/American accent (sometimes not)
If you could take any character from Hikikomori and the Rental Sister out to dinner, who would it be and why?
That would have to be Silke, I would love to understand her more.
Any additional comments?
This is not an action packed thriller, its a book that you need to listen to closely, with plenty of time to contemplate its meaning. Dont let that scare you, If i had heard someone say that about a book I may not have picked it up, but this is a one of a kind book that really grabbed me and you should not miss it.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Jon
- 02-21-13
Not As Good As I Had Hoped
Any additional comments?
I thought the synopsis of this book sounded really interesting, but I was very disappointed. I felt like the overall story lacked depth. I didn't really like any of the characters very much which made it very hard for me. I kept listening because I hoped it would get better but it didn't.
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2 people found this helpful
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- M. Patterson
- 02-24-16
great book but person reading is a bit flat
This was a great, short, book. I have the hardcover but it's so difficult to find the time to sit and read. Glad to have finished this wonderful book. Not crazy about the narrator as he sounds as if he's just monotoned but it's not bad enough to stop you from enjoying the book.
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- Mel
- 01-29-13
Paradoxical Challenge
A debut novel that deserves attention. It is a bold original concept, and the author's writing style, with the essence of a haiku--sparse, beautiful, conflicting, has moments of poetic magic. The story is quick-paced, almost urgent, and immediately draws in the reader. Backhaus takes control of the emotional thermostat by creating an immediately intense storyline that challenges our iron constructs of love, relationships, forgiveness--and forces the reader to look beyond their comfort zones. There is an overwhelming feeling of sadness and loneliness that permeates the story--even in the sounds--Silke's (the wife) heels click across the wood floor and echo through the house, Thomas's (the husband) voice is muffled behind the bolted door where he has been cloistered for 3 yrs., the conversations are statements that no longer get or expect responses.
hikikomori: (Japanese) the act or state of severe social withdrawl; predominantly by males
Rental Sister: an outreach counselor hired to draw out those suffering with hikikomori
The characters are intriguing, striped bare by the years of overwhelming loneliness and grief, they are almost transparent and feel fragile and exposed. Megumi (the rental sister) is a fascinating creature; gentle, graceful, and childlike, her movements are like a dance choreographed to lure Thomas out of his soulful retreat. Backhaus orchestrates such an intimate connection to these characters that the reader becomes emotional engaged--when Silke hires the rental sister, with the desperate hope for an unconventional *cure* for Thomas, we want to disregard what we know of life, and grasp that last hope for her. It is almost painful to read about the process. As the relationship between Thomas and Silke develops the story switches from a psychological drama to more of an errotic psych. drama. When the two step outside the parameters of what is accepted as therapeutic (to say the least), the story became disturbing and uncomfortable. The hypnotic spell Backhaus had created broke, and I suddenly felt like I was being manipulated. I couldn't go with Backhaus on the stretch to accepting this--uh--sexual healing; it turned into a menage a trois of sorts. Megumi's innocence turned exotic and sensual--she became like a roll playing naughty geisha. Thomas was less a poor wretched soul, and more a self-indulgent, narcissistic opportunist. His actions disrespected the union that produced the son he grieved for; he took gross advantage of both his wife's devotion and compassion, and to some degree, the already damaged Megumi. Thomas was more in need of some good Gestalt therapy than Call-Girl therapy. His *condition* finally seemed more a personal *style*, that greedily consummed everyone he was involved with, and I saw no possibility for any redeeming value coming out of this black hole.
There is an audience that will really appreciate this book because it IS provocative, well written, and original, but I could not give more than 3 stars in the end. I liked most of it very much, and Bowlby did a good job tackling a female voice with a Japanese/Korean accent with his narration.
It definitely will make the reader think: I think this was a good read but the logic flawed, and the manipulation heavy-handed.......I think it would make a lovely Japanese soft-porn film.....I think most women that read this book will be dreaming of a good strong hammer and a big bag of nails...
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15 people found this helpful
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- Jami
- 03-21-16
Common Story with a Slight Twist
The book was interesting from the standpoint of hikikomori, as I had never heard of that concept. That being said, the story was pretty much your basic tragic event causing marital problems, husband cheats, and decisions are made. I also found it hard to like the main character, as he treated others poorly and everything seemed to be about him. I most likely would not have finished the book if it didn't have the added dimension of hikikomori.
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-08-19
kinda offensive
fantasizing Hikikomori, a white guy doing a Japanese girls voice was offputting as well.
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