Of a Boy Audiobook By Sonya Hartnett cover art

Of a Boy

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Of a Boy

By: Sonya Hartnett
Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
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About this listen

The year is 1977, and Adrian is nine. He lives with his gran and his uncle Rory; his best friend is Clinton Tull. He loves to draw and he wants a dog; he's afraid of quicksand, shopping centres and self-combustion.

Adrian watches his suburban world, but there is much he cannot understand. He does not, for instance, know why three neighbourhood children might set out to buy ice-cream and never come back home.

©2002 Sonya Hartnett (P)2002 Bolinda Publishing Pyt Ltd by arrangement with Penguin Group (Australia) Family Life Romance
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Editorial reviews

This award-winning audiobook from Sonya Hartnett begins with the tragic disappearance of three children and doesn’t slow down until the unforgettable end. Of a Boy follows young Adrian as he spends his days worrying about everything from sea monsters to quicksand, but mostly he thinks about the three children who went for ice cream and never came back. When a young girl, Nicole, moves in across the street, Adrian’s life takes on a new trajectory. That is, until their curiosity leads them down a sinister path. Performed with a masterful empathy and vigor from veteran narrator Humphrey Bower, Of a Boy is an audiobook not quickly forgotten.

Critic reviews

"As sharp and as tender as a suspenseful novel can be." (Robert Drewe)
"Sonya Harnett's latest work has been compared with that of Steinbeck and Faulkner." (The Age)

What listeners say about Of a Boy

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Keep your children close at hand

Would you listen to Of A Boy again? Why?

Not likely. While the story read much like a made for television

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Written with a detail for realism, the outcome was unsatisfactory. I needed someone in this story to root for.

What about Humphrey Bower’s performance did you like?

The inflection; the tension in the voice. This was well-done.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The tenuous nature of childhood attachments to things, and to people.

Any additional comments?

I was depressed for a week.

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