Out of Darkness, Shining Light
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Nyasha Hatendi
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Sibongile Mlambo
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By:
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Petina Gappah
About this listen
WINNER OF THE 2020 CHAUTAUQUA PRIZE
ONE OF NPR’S BEST BOOKS OF 2019
“Engrossing, beautiful, and deeply imaginative, Out of Darkness, Shining Light is a novel that lends voice to those who appeared only as footnotes in history, yet whose final, brave act of loyalty and respect changed the course of it. An incredible and important book by a masterful writer.” (Yaa Gyasi, author of Homegoing)
“This is how we carried out of Africa the poor broken body of Bwana Daudi, the Doctor, David Livingstone, so that he could be borne across the sea and buried in his own land.” So begins Petina Gappah's powerful novel of exploration and adventure in 19th-century Africa - the captivating story of the loyal men and women who carried explorer and missionary Dr. Livingstone's body, his papers and maps, 1,500 miles across the continent of Africa, so his remains could be returned home to England and his work preserved there. Narrated by Halima, the doctor's sharp-tongued cook, and Jacob Wainwright, a rigidly pious freed slave, this is a story that encompasses all of the hypocrisy of slavery and colonization - the hypocrisy at the core of the human heart - while celebrating resilience, loyalty, and love.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2019 Petina Gappah (P)2019 Simon & SchusterListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
This is the most distinguished novel that has come out of South Africa in the 20th century, and it is one of the most important novels of the modern era. Cry, the Beloved Country is in some ways a sad book; it is an indictment of a social system that drives native races into resentment and crime; it is a story of Fate, as inevitable, as relentless, as anything of Thomas Hardy's. Beautifully wrought with high poetic compassion, Cry, the Beloved Country is more than just a story, it is a profound experience of the human spirit.
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A word painting: gripping, breathtaking & moving
- By Jacobus on 10-04-12
By: Alan Paton
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Dragon Seed
- By: Pearl S. Buck
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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To the Chinese the dragon is not an evil creature, but is a god and the friend of men who worship him. He "holds in his power prosperity and peace." Ruling the waters and the winds, he sends the good rain, is hence the symbol of fecundity. In the Hsia dynasty two dragons fought a great duel until both disappeared, leaving only a fertile foam from which were born the descendants of the Hsia. Thus, the dragons came to be looked upon as the ancestors of a race of heroes. This is the story of China at War.
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More Relevant Today than Ever
- By Robert on 07-29-13
By: Pearl S. Buck
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Siddhartha
- By: Hermann Hesse
- Narrated by: Derek Jacobi
- Length: 2 hrs and 59 mins
- Abridged
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This compelling spiritual quest by Hermann Hesse, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946, is considered one of the most important works of 20th century fiction. Siddhartha's search for enlightenment leads him to the river of life itself. On his journey he learns from many teachers: the ascetic Samanas, the all-knowing Gotama the Buddha, Kamala the lovely courtesan, and Vasudeva the simple ferryman.
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Choosing an audio version of Siddhartha
- By Scott on 02-08-10
By: Hermann Hesse
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Twelve Years a Slave
- By: Solomon Northup
- Narrated by: Stephen L. Vernon
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Twelve Years a Slave is an account of actual events that took place in the life of Solomon Northup, during the pre-Civil War era of the 1840s. It follows the trials and tribulations of an educated African American man that was born into freedom and later kidnapped, taken away from his family, and forced into slavery.
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What a great book!!!
- By Andrew Robbin on 09-07-14
By: Solomon Northup
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What Men Live By
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Max Highstein
- Length: 1 hr
- Unabridged
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One winter evening a shoemaker finds a mysterious stranger naked and freezing by a shrine in his small village. The shoemaker rescues the man, and takes him home. Though the stranger won’t say where he came from, Simon invites him to work beside him, and stay with his family. As the story unfolds, the stranger transforms, and ultimately reveals an astonishing and deeply moving secret. Late in Tolstoy’s life, after he had written his great masterpieces War and Peace, and Anna Karenina, he underwent a spiritual transformation.
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Short but powerful story from Leo Tolstoy
- By Anonymous User on 09-19-21
By: Leo Tolstoy
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Becoming Elisabeth Elliot
- By: Ellen Vaughn
- Narrated by: Connie Shabshab
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Elisabeth Elliot was a young missionary in Ecuador when members of a violent Amazonian tribe savagely speared her husband, Jim, and his four colleagues. Incredibly, prayerfully, Elisabeth took her toddler daughter, snakebite kit, Bible, and journal...and lived in the jungle with the stone-age people who killed her husband. In this authorized biography, Ellen Vaughn uses Elisabeth’s private, unpublished journals, and candid interviews with her family and friends, to paint the adventures and misadventures God used to shape one of the most influential women in modern church history.
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Great book!
- By Dove on 09-27-20
By: Ellen Vaughn
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Siddhartha
- By: Herman Hesse, Paul Ansdell - translator
- Narrated by: Paul Ansdell
- Length: 4 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Siddhartha, the ninth book written by Herman Hesse, is about a young Indian boy who leaves his home in hopes of finding enlightenment with the wise "Goutama", which in this story is the Buddha. After learning what he can from Goutama, he decides to go off into the busy city, and leads a life of greed and lust. When he realizes that the lifestyle is not fulfilling, and he reflects on his life, he goes to a river and contemplates suicide.
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Beautiful writing and narration.
- By John Kurtz on 06-13-17
By: Herman Hesse, and others
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Japanese Ghost Stories
- Penguin Classics
- By: Lafcadio Hearn
- Narrated by: Eleanor Matsuura
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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In this collection of classic ghost stories from Japan, beautiful princesses turn out to be frogs, paintings come alive, deadly spectral brides haunt the living and a samurai delivers the baby of a Shinto goddess with mystical help. Here are all the phantoms and ghouls of Japanese folklore: 'rokuro-kubi', whose heads separate from their bodies at night; 'jikininki', or flesh-eating goblins; and terrifying faceless 'mujina' who haunt lonely neighbourhoods.
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Japanese pronunciation a problem
- By CT on 01-20-21
By: Lafcadio Hearn
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Siddhartha
- By: Hermann Hesse, Gunther Olesch - translator, Anke Dreher - translator, and others
- Narrated by: David Cross
- Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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In Siddhartha, Herman Hesse conveys a very profound message for all those who seek meaning in their lives. Though set in India, the concerns of Siddhartha are universal, expressing Hesse's general interest in the conflict between mind, body, and spirit. It is a story of a Brahmin boy who follows his heart and ventures out into the world to experience life as a pious Brahmin, a Samana, a rich merchant, a lover, and ordinary ferryman to a father - each life bringing a new awakening, bringing him closer to the truth until he is finally one with Buddha.
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Not THAT David Cross
- By OrangeCounty on 02-09-18
By: Hermann Hesse, and others
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Kim
- By: Rudyard Kipling
- Narrated by: Sam Dastor
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Kipling's masterpiece Kim is his final and most famous work and one of the first and greatest espionage stories ever written. It explores the life of Kimball O'Hara, an Irish orphan who spends his childhood as a vagrant in Lahore. When he befriends an aged Tibetan lama his life is transformed as he is requested to accompany him on a mysterious quest to find the legendary River of the Arrow and achieve Enlightenment.
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A Stunning Experience
- By Jeanie on 09-19-12
By: Rudyard Kipling
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A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
- By: Mark Twain
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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With his trademark mirth and boundless charisma, actor Nick Offerman brought the loveable shenanigans of Twain's adolescent hero to life in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Now, in yet another virtuosic performance, the actor proves that despite being separated by a span of over a century, his connection to the author and his work is undeniable and that theirs is a timeless collaboration that should not be missed.
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Mark Twain and Nick Offerman are a perfect match
- By Philip M. Chute on 10-23-17
By: Mark Twain
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The Book of Longings
- A Novel
- By: Sue Monk Kidd
- Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò, Sue Monk Kidd
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with 18-year-old Jesus changes everything.
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Made me cringe
- By Joan on 05-08-20
By: Sue Monk Kidd
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Sumerian Mythology: Fascinating Myths and Legends of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes and Monster from the Ancient Mesopotamian Sumerian Mythology
- By: Simon Lopez
- Narrated by: Neil Hamilton
- Length: 5 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Do you know that the Sumerians believed that: The moon was actually a god child conceived unintentionally by the God Enlil and a maid? Or that humans were first created to do the chores on earth for the Gods and Goddesses? The ancient Sumerians lived a difficult life, and this is reflected in their myths. However, also reflected in their stories is their love for justice and the values which they most supported, among them beauty, honor, and truthfulness.
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Not a True Mythology
- By Glenda Nichols on 05-21-19
By: Simon Lopez
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The Diary of a Country Priest
- By: Georges Bernanos
- Narrated by: Kris Dyer
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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A young, shy, sickly priest is assigned to his first parish, a sleepy village in Northern France. Though his faith is devout, he finds nothing but indifference and mockery. The children laugh at his teachings, his parishioners are consumed by boredom, rumours are spread about him and he is tormented by stomach pains. Even his attempts to clarify his thoughts in a diary fail to deliver him from worldly concerns. Yet somehow, despite his suffering, he tries to find love for his fellow humans and even a state of grace.
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A "Bucket List" Book to Read
- By S. Cremona on 05-11-22
By: Georges Bernanos
What listeners say about Out of Darkness, Shining Light
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-18-19
Real and Beautiful
I loved that it was written from the perspective of the persons who were there. For it gave a picture of the environment and its mixture of culture and greed, poverty, personalities and the feelings and frustrations of that everyday life. it was purely real and I could see it and feel it and identify with it.
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5 people found this helpful
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- amanda
- 10-08-19
When does it start
I'm stuck about an hour or two in. I keep wanting the adventure to start and instead we're on character development and back story. It got good reviews and it's probably powerful literature, I just can't seem to get into it.
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2 people found this helpful
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- sino
- 06-08-22
Slow paced
Extremely slow paced, I understand it was a view from the African perspective. But what it really showed as what the Muslim slave traders did a real number of those Africans.
Without accepting, and living by the words of Christianity entire continent will remain in the 16th century.
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- natalie lynn krebs
- 06-15-22
It’s a hard one to listen to-read the book
I’m embarrassed to say that I struggled to understand fully what the narrators said. My ear isn’t trained or familiar with many of the place names (which are all differently called now) or the switching between Arabic, Swahili and other languages for objects and people’s names/titles. There is a glossary provided but it’s difficult to pause the narration and try to remember exactly how the word was pronounced to look it up. For these reasons, I believe reading this book would have been easier. The story is interesting though. It got me thinking and learning more outside of this book about Dr. Livingstone and his interesting life.
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- Mercy Wambui
- 04-27-21
Brilliantly written story
The story telling style and writing is brilliant. However, it would have been easier for Kiswahili speakers to perform this brilliant piece of work. The performers obviously did their best, but the intonation was off and it impacted on the flow of the story telling.
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1 person found this helpful