Running in the Family Audiobook By Michael Ondaatje cover art

Running in the Family

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.

Running in the Family

By: Michael Ondaatje
Narrated by: Michael Ondaatje
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.95

Buy for $14.95

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

In the late 1970s Ondaatje returned to his native island of Sri Lanka. As he records his journey through the drug-like heat and intoxicating fragrances of that "pendant off the ear of India", Ondaatje simultaneously retraces the baroque mythology of his Dutch-Ceylonese family. An inspired travel narrative and family memoir by an exceptional writer.

©1982 Michael Ondaatje (P)2017 Audible, Inc.
Authors Biographical Fiction Fiction Magical Realism Travel Writing & Commentary Fantasy
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Featured Article: Best Travel Audiobooks to Inspire Your Next Adventure


Travel stories are some of the easiest ways to escape: vibrant descriptions of faraway places, adventurous plot lines, and offbeat characters make it possible to journey without leaving home. Whether you’re a frequent traveler who wants inspiration for your next expedition, or you simply want to immerse yourself in an unfamiliar environment, we think you’ll love these stories. Discover a captivating listen the next time you’re craving an adventure.

What listeners say about Running in the Family

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    46
  • 4 Stars
    22
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    40
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    43
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    3

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

Amazing!!

Literally the best in EVERY WAY. The authors voice and nuance, the poetic turn of the prose and the really interesting underlying stories in this personal history- make this my favorite audiobook I’ve ever listened to. A beautiful powerhouse.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

Perfect

Poetry meets prose. Canada enfolds Ceylon in her arms. Narrated by the author. This work is an entry drug into the sublime works of Ondaatje.

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

Childhood and memories of Ceylon

A beautifully written and read book by Ondaatje. Interesting about the history, complicated family, poetic.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

A deep stream...

I read this book in print many years ago, and never forgot it. When it became available on Audible, read by Ondaatje himself, I jumped on it. His reading opens quite another dimension of the book - I feel that now I can hear the voice at its heart. I remembered many images from my earlier reading - strange, ironic, often amusing - and not so amusing - vignettes from his family's story. Now I hear them again in a fresh - and in a sense a truer - light, as the author is reading.
Listening to this book is like drinking from a deep spring - something I find with all of Ondaatje's books and poems. Nourishing, inspiring, and something to keep close at hand for the duration.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

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

Wanted to like it

I really wanted to like this book. I wanted to learn what life is/was like in Sri Lanka. But I could never catch hold of the narrative or follow a plot line. The book was made up of disjointed stories or snippets of memory of not just the author but his parents and grandparents too. It was so disjointed I only finished it when I gave up trying to make any sense of it and used the soothing voice of the author/narrator as background noise.

In case you're still interested, I would suggest a Sri Lanka map. The author assumes some geographic knowledge of the country and the little I did get out of some of the stories was helped greatly by my travel book for my trip to Sri Lanka in a few months.

I am sure an English professor somewhere or a more sophisticated reader would get a lot out of this book. I wish that was me, but it is not.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful