The Comfort of Strangers Audiobook By Ian McEwan cover art

The Comfort of Strangers

Preview

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

The Comfort of Strangers

By: Ian McEwan
Narrated by: Simon Prebble
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

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

New York Times best-selling author Ian McEwan has won the Booker Prize, Whitbread Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award for his masterfully accomplished fiction. The Comfort of Strangers is an exquisitely crafted gothic novella. On holiday, Colin and Maria wander the ancient streets of Venice and frequently lose their way. When they are accosted by a man with a strange and alluring story to tell, they soon become entwined in a fantasy of violence and erotic obsession.©1996 Ian McEwan (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC Family Life Fiction Horror Literary Fiction Psychological Scary
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"Haunting and compelling. (The Times)
"A masterful performance..." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about The Comfort of Strangers

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    41
  • 4 Stars
    65
  • 3 Stars
    59
  • 2 Stars
    25
  • 1 Stars
    16
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    45
  • 4 Stars
    34
  • 3 Stars
    19
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    5
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    26
  • 4 Stars
    29
  • 3 Stars
    31
  • 2 Stars
    15
  • 1 Stars
    10

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

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

Disappointed

Bummer of a story. It was like one of my most favorite and respected writers had taken a debased journey through some circle of hell that Dante neglected to catalog. Lacking was any mythical quality that even a circle of hell might offer. Don’t look for anything allegorical.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

All Writers Have to Learn Somewhere


An unbelievable story that was pretty much a waste of time. "Atonement" was a true triumph, but this story written going up the mountain is as disappointing as the ones written going down.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Mysterious, bizarre

A couple visits a famous tourist city (unnamed in the novel) and become victims of a deranged man's fantasies. Much of the novel is written with oblique descriptions, but there is nevertheless a sense of dark suspense that builds. I would not say this is one of McEwan's finest novels. If you're a fan, it's definitely worth the read!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Very Odd

I'm really not sure what to make of this one. If I hadn't known from the reviews and description that something dreadful happens, I would have thought the first three-fourths of the book to be dull and pointless. Since I did know, it did have a kind of creepy suspense, waiting for the axe to fall.

However, when it did finally fall, it was kind of anticlimactic. The whole book has a surreal and detached feel-- good for building suspense, not so good for really feeling the horror when it happens. That same detachment made it hard to really get involved with the characters, which also lessened the impact of the climax. At the end, I blinked, scratched my head, and said "Hunh. Well... I guess it's time for the next selection!"

It's short, so if you like odd stories and subtle horror it might be worth the risk. Just don't expect too much.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

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

Wow. Just... wow!

As the title of this review suggests, wow! The narration of this story was incredible, and the story itself was... wow. McEwan's mastery of narration was a thing of beauty!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Weird

Very bizarre story, l’m sorry I listen to this book, because now I will be afraid to wonder around Venice and getting lost, as I normally love to do.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Weird and pointless - almost

I tried listening to this book when I first got it, but for some reason I didn't remember, couldn't get into it. I went back through my library and realized I still had not read it. "It's only 4 hours, no big deal!" Yeah, wow. This book takes forever to get to any point. Nothing leading up to the end is important (not really). I kept waiting for something to happen. I thought it would be more... erotic or sexual, but it's really not. It makes no sense. Maybe it's the genre and I'm just missing something or not interested, but my rating is a 1 star and that's only because a. it's the lowest I could give, and b. the narrator would probably be good in another book whose writing doesn't put you to sleep.

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

Macabre story

I read all but the last 10 minutes, and then began skipping ahead 15 seconds at a time to the completion. It was just one of those stories where you think it’s gonna get better, but no it got worse. You may like it, I did not.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Vile and perverse nonsense

I hated the gratuitos violence and perversion. This was a slow then shocking, nonsensical plot. I like McEwan usually and this was awful I recommend not to get this one.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!