Word Child
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Narrated by:
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Simon Prebble
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By:
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Iris Murdoch
About this listen
A brilliant but deeply flawed man struggles to earn absolution
Hilary Burde was a rising star in academia until a tragic accident plunged him and his mentor and rival, Gunnar Jopling, into two decades of depression and guilt. Hilary, unable to overcome his pain, abandoned his promising career for an unfulfilling job as a civil servant. But at age 41, Hilary crosses paths again with Gunnar - initiating a series of events that will change their lives forever.
Set against a richly drawn backdrop of post-war London, A Word Child is a gripping story of passion and the redemptive power of love.
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The third volume of this gripping family saga, End of the Chapter, shifts to the Cherrells - cousins of the Forsytes by marriage. Young Dinny Cherrell in particular cherishes their ancestral home, Condaford Grange, which represents stability in a rapidly changing world. Through his depiction of the lives and loves of this family, Galsworthy throws a brilliant spotlight on the social and political upheavals of the 1930s.
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Very enjoyable
- By Jonathan Kalkstein on 11-28-22
By: John Galsworthy
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The Heart of the Matter
- By: Graham Greene
- Narrated by: Michael Kitchen
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Scobie, a police officer in a West African colony, is a good and honest man. But when he falls in love, he is forced into a betrayal of everything that he has ever believed in, and his struggle to maintain the happiness of two women destroys him.
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Starts Very Slowly then Boom!
- By Michael on 05-21-17
By: Graham Greene
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A Room with a View
- By: E. M. Forster
- Narrated by: Rebecca Hall
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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In this rich new audio production, acclaimed British American actress Rebecca Hall brings one of E. M. Forster's most admired works to life in this classic tale of human struggle. A charming young Englishwoman, Lucy Honeychurch, is wooed by both free-spirited George Emerson and wealthy Cecil Vyse while vacationing in Italy. Though attracted to George, Lucy becomes engaged to Cecil despite twice turning down his proposals. On hearing of the news, George confesses his love, leaving Lucy torn between marrying the more socially acceptable Cecil or George, the man she knows would bring her true happiness. Should Lucy choose social acceptance or true love?
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A lovely performance, and a wonderful story
- By Robert on 01-19-19
By: E. M. Forster
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The Last Summer
- By: Judith Kinghorn
- Narrated by: Jane Wymark
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Clarissa is almost 17 when the spell of her childhood is broken. It is 1914, the beginning of a blissful, golden summer - and the end of an era. Deyning Park is in its heyday, the large country house filled with the laughter and excitement of privileged youth preparing for a weekend party. When Clarissa meets Tom Cuthbert, home from university and staying with his mother, the housekeeper, she is dazzled.
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The Last Summer Delivers
- By Carmen dela Cruz on 05-22-16
By: Judith Kinghorn
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The Golden Notebook
- By: Doris Lessing
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 27 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Author Anna Wulf attempts to overcome writer’s block by writing a comprehensive "golden notebook" that draws together the preoccupations of her life, each of which is examined in a different notebook. Anna’s struggle to unify the various strands of her life – emotional, political, and professional – amasses into a fascinating encyclopaedia of female experience in the ‘50s.
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Transcendent narration of a masterpiece.
- By @vmarinelli on 07-03-12
By: Doris Lessing
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Celia's House
- By: D. E. Stevenson
- Narrated by: Lesley Mackie
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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In name and by birth, Celia was a Dunne. She had inherited the beautiful old family home by the Rydd Water – but was she bound to live her life by the principles of her predecessors? Was there some hidden restraint that compelled her to heed the past? Celia’s house is a moving and poignant story of the struggle between old and young: the older generation anxious to preserve the values they have helped create while their children are determined at all costs to make lives of their own.
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Boarder area of Scotland
- By Jerri C on 03-14-11
By: D. E. Stevenson
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Howards End
- By: E. M. Forster
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Howards End is a beautifully subtle tale of two very different families brought together by an unusual event. The Schlegels are intellectuals, devotees of art and literature. The Wilcoxes are practical and materialistic, leading lives of "telegrams and anger". When the elder Mrs. Wilcox dies and her family discovers she has left their country home - Howards End - to one of the Schlegel sisters, a crisis between the two families is precipitated that takes years to resolve.
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Fantastic Narration in Delightful Story
- By Wren on 05-05-18
By: E. M. Forster
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The Brimstone Wedding
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Unlike the other residents of Middleton Hall, Stella is elegant, smart and in control. Only Jenny, her care assistant, knows that she harbours a painful secret, and only she can prevent Stella from carrying it to the grave. As the women talk, Jenny pieces together the answers to many questions that arise: Why has she kept possession of a house that her family don’t know about? What happened there that holds the key to a distant tragedy?
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Amazing reader elevates book to a higher level
- By Doggy Bird on 10-04-14
By: Barbara Vine
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What listeners say about Word Child
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Rosemary Laberee
- 11-12-23
superb
Worthy of a second listen. The haunted Hillary is a gripping character- you want to smack him silly and grab a coffee with him, too. Murdoch at her best!
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- Anonymous User
- 09-16-21
Couldn't wait to listen again
Wonderful narrator. He changed his voices so well that it sounded as if there were several readers. The story had so many surprises. I can see why the author received awards.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-11-23
Iris Murdoch is Iris Murdoch
Narrator hit it out the park with his performances. Look..this is Iris Murdoch..if you’ve read some of her books then you already know what’s going to happen in this story. So yeah when the “I love you, I love you, I love you” cycles begin it’s almost laughable because you knew it was coming and no it’s not believable just like they weren’t believable in her other books. But just like her other books..in spite of all the contrived things she does…well dammit..you know what I’m about to say..the damn book works. It is satisfying. It finally imbues real gravitas as it approaches the ending. I’m going to listen again and I’ve already bought the hardcopy.
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- Montcalm
- 01-31-17
A vortex
Murdochs story takes guilt to the highest level of psychological and moral consideration. The reading by Prebble captures the voices beautifully, and this is a novel of voices, told mainly through dialogue.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Barbara B.
- 01-03-15
Gifted writing about an unredeemable soul
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
I listened to all 14 hrs. of this audio book because of its glittering prose and insight into the complexities of humanhood, but mostly I hoped that something redeemable might surface in the central character. But alas, there was something so inherently "off" in Hilary Burde's very being that neither deprived childhood nor tragic accident could excuse the lens of cruel distain through which his relationships with others are filtered. His unbridled narcissism is that of the sociopath. He reels through his life in a toxic cloud of self-pity, poised to smash and destroy with clenched fists or poison tongue. This unattractive protagonist left me with a bad taste in my mouth at the first line but Murdoch is such an intuitive and gifted writer that I persevered in the withering hope of some sort of epiphany rising like a Phoenix in the final pages. Indeed there was a small glimmer of such but it was too little, too late. I no longer cared. Having spent 14 hours with a bully I was just glad it was over.
What about Simon Prebble’s performance did you like?
I listen to a lot of audiobooks and Simon Prebble is one of the most gifted readers I have encountered. His performance kept me engaged long after I lost interest in the central character.
Could you see Word Child being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
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5 people found this helpful
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- WANDA
- 06-23-16
Ugh!!!
Unpleasant story about mostly unpleasant people; wasted 15 hours of my time. Beautiful prose; minimal substance!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Julia T.
- 06-22-22
Unforgivable Character & Circumstances
*Spoilers*
I typically don’t mind detestable main characters… I oftentimes will seek out stories where the central character is faced with general dislike from the readership. In the case of Hilary Burde, however, I am engulfed with such an overwhelming sense of pure, undiluted hatred and disgust that I’m not sure I am physically or emotionally able to see this story to its end. His behavior towards others is despicable, yet I could tolerate reading about it, mainly because I’m familiar with the author and the many shades with which she paints her characters, and the level of awareness in which she writes. Yet, when the details of Hilary’s Oxford tragedy were revealed, i was incensed at the minimal amount of attention given to the surviving victims of Hilary’s crimes. I understand that Hilary is psychotically selfish, so maybe he’s not particularly bothered enough to worried allow much or adequate headspace to Gunnar and his son… but I assume all those around him are not psychos in disguise, and fully understand that what took place was not just an unfortunate accident, but the direct results of a man who committed a large number of crimes (despite the “passions” involved, the scene leading up to the accident essentially describe a kidnapping, and barreling down a road at 100+ mph, ending in a wreckage which involved multiple vehicles and the death of a woman and her unborn child). In a logical world, he would have spent the rest of his days, or a few decades at the very least, in prison. For him to eventually conclude that his own presence in the world is not one which is much considered by Gunnar years later, especially following the later demise of his surviving son (I MEAN, HELLO, ARE WE REALLY NOT GOING TO DISCUSS THIS?) is either the clockwork of the utterly insane or just evidence of lazy writing. I feel like the son’s fate was thrown in the mix simply to add a brick to Hilary’s alleged suffering (ha.), and if that’s the case, if we’re not going to shed light where light is due, then please just leave it out of the story altogether.
Let us also consider “Biscuit” (ugh)… the fact that she turned out to be a plant is so illogical bc she was following Hilary from the very beginning, which means Gunnar clearly knew of Hilary’s place of employment long before Hilary was aware that Gunnar was in proximity… and which further muddies the waters on “Lady Kitty’s” motives in “helping” Gunnar move on with his life… it’s all so implausible! Implausible in a way which further tells me it’s just not a well thought out story, not that I’m expected to suspend belief of any kind. I expect so, so much more from Iris Murdoch.
Last note on Biscuit… grabbing her wrists and forcing her onto a train from which she slips out (ESCAPES) at the last minute… echoes the circumstances leading up to the Oxford “accident”, and I’m not entirely sure the author even intended this. Normally, with Murdoch, I would think it was intentional… my personal opinion is this just a badly written story which suspends all logic, and I’m fascinated by the positivity surrounding it.
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