One Day I Shall Astonish the World Audiobook By Nina Stibbe cover art

One Day I Shall Astonish the World

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

One Day I Shall Astonish the World

By: Nina Stibbe
Narrated by: Joanna Scanlan
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.83

Buy for $21.83

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

From the beloved author of Love, Nina, a frank, tender, and poignantly funny story about the ebb and flow of female friendship over half a lifetime.

Susan and Norma have been best friends for years, at first thrust together by force of circumstance (a job at The Pin Cushion, a haberdashery shop in 1990s Leicestershire) and then by force of character (neither being particularly inclined to make friends with anyone else). But now, 30 years later, faced with a husband seeking immortality and Norma out of reach on a wave of professional glory, Susan begins to wonder whether she has made the right choices about life, love, work, and, most importantly, friendship.

Nina Stibbe's new novel is the story of the wonderful and sometimes surprising path of friendship: from its conspiratorial beginnings, along its irritating wrong turns, to its final gratifying destination.

©2022 Nina Stibbe (P)2022 Little, Brown & Company
Coming of Age Fiction Friendship Women's Fiction Funny
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

“Another wonderful, funny slice of fiction from the author of best-seller, Love Nina. Her latest novel explores a decades-long friendship between two women and what happens when your paths diverge.” (Good Housekeeping)

"For beautifully funny and well-observed comic writing, Nina Stibbe is your go-to author. In her latest release, a tale of lifelong friendship between Susan and Norma, she explores the mistakes, rivalries and love we all experience in life." (Stylist)

What listeners say about One Day I Shall Astonish the World

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    21
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    25
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    15
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So funny, a treat!

Nina Stibbe’s books literally make me snort with laughter. God she’s funny. This one is also a very satisfying and relatable story about giving too much time and energy to people who you eventually realize, often on the late side, weren’t worth the effort.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Just the best!

Nina Stibbe is such a gifted novelist! Her comic gift combined with her well honed writing skills are second to none. Can't be beat and I look forward to her next book coming out soon!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The Conundrum of the Friend Who Hurts You

I want to draw a weird Venn diagram of this book in which it overlaps with other piercing stories about friendships that have spikes in them. The two other examples that come to mind are My Brilliant Friend and The Banshees of Inisherin. I might also add A Separate Peace. The Banshees is more violent and much sadder, but I kept thinking about it when Norma did yet another frighteningly mean thing to Susan and Susan went on being friends with her, unable, it seemed, to help herself. The friendship is something inescapable, and as many times as I thought that I myself would never tolerate being treated the way Norma treats Susan, I admitted to myself that as an artistic choice and plot element it had a strange psychological resonance. Friendships with people you meet in your teens are deeply entwined with your own coming of age and your identity. A friend can hurt you more than almost anyone. To say that, and to also say that this is a truly comic book, seems paradoxical, and yet it’s true.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Wow. Boring.

Apparently rated high due to the last hour being about a universe handling Coronavirus. No story, boring characters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!