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A God in Ruins
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings
- Length: 16 hrs and 24 mins
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Publisher's summary
The stunning companion to Kate Atkinson's number-one best seller Life After Life, "one of the best novels I've read this century" (Gillian Flynn).
"He had been reconciled to death during the war and then suddenly the war was over and there was a next day and a next day. Part of him never adjusted to having a future."
Kate Atkinson's dazzling Life After Life explored the possibility of infinite chances and the power of choices, following Ursula Todd as she lived through the turbulent events of the last century over and over again.
A God in Ruins tells the dramatic story of the 20th century through Ursula's beloved younger brother, Teddy - would-be poet, heroic pilot, husband, father, and grandfather - as he navigates the perils and progress of a rapidly changing world. After all that Teddy endures in battle, his greatest challenge is living in a future he never expected to have.
An ingenious and moving exploration of one ordinary man's path through extraordinary times, A God in Ruins proves once again that Kate Atkinson is one of the finest novelists of our age.
Critic reviews
"[N]arrator Alex Jennings is a master. From the opening lines, his impeccable British accent establishes the scene and captures the persona of the main character, Teddy, and the rest of the diverse cast. Jennings's clear diction and pace advance the action through richly detailed accounts of Teddy's adventures as a WWII bomber pilot as well as quieter dramas of his daily life and family relationships." (AudioFile)
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The Silence of Ghosts
- A Novel
- By: Jonathan Aycliffe
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Dominic Lancaster hoped to prove himself to his family by excelling in the Navy during World War II. Instead he is wounded while serving as a gunner, and loses his leg. Still recovering from his wounds and the trauma of his amputation when the Blitz begins, Dominic finds himself shuffled off to the countryside by his family, along with his partially deaf sister, Octavia.
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Spooky story. All it lacks is the campfire.
- By DarylP on 10-09-15
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The Lake House
- By: Kate Morton
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 21 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Living on her family’s gorgeous lakeside estate in Cornwall, England, Alice Edevane is a bright, clever, inquisitive, innocent, and precociously talented fourteen-year-old who loves to write stories. But the mysteries she pens are no match for the one her family is about to endure ...One midsummer’s eve, after a beautiful party drawing hundreds of guests to the estate has ended, the Edevanes discover that their youngest son, Theo, has vanished without a trace.
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Enjoyed the writing, but oy vey, this book
- By Jennifer S on 12-28-18
By: Kate Morton
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Sapphire Skies
- By: Belinda Alexandra
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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2000: The wreckage of a downed WWII fighter plane is discovered in the forests near Russia's Ukrainian border.The aircraft belonged to Natalya Azarova, ace pilot and pin-up girl for Soviet propaganda, but the question of her fate remains unanswered. Was she a German spy who faked her own death, as the Kremlin claims? Her lover, Valentin Orlov, now a highly-decorated general, refuses to believe it. Lily, a young Australian woman, has moved to Moscow to escape from tragedy.
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A Disturbing Disappointment
- By Sara on 08-07-14
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The Women in the Castle
- By: Jessica Shattuck
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Set at the end of World War II, in a crumbling Bavarian castle that once played host to all of German high society, a powerful and propulsive story of three widows whose lives and fates become intertwined - an affecting, shocking, and ultimately redemptive novel from the author of the New York Times notable book The Hazards of Good Breeding.
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Skating On The Thin Ice Of Life
- By Sara on 04-29-17
By: Jessica Shattuck
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The Bone Clocks
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: Jessica Ball, Leon Williams, Colin Mace, and others
- Length: 24 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Following a scalding row with her mother, 15-year-old Holly Sykes slams the door on her old life. But Holly is no typical teenage runaway: A sensitive child once contacted by voices she knew only as "the radio people," Holly is a lightning rod for psychic phenomena. Now, as she wanders deeper into the English countryside, visions and coincidences reorder her reality until they assume the aura of a nightmare brought to life.
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Not Short Listed, This Time
- By Mel on 09-23-14
By: David Mitchell
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Enemy Brothers (Living History Library)
- By: Constance Savery
- Narrated by: Paul L. Coffey
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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British airman Dym Ingleford is convinced that the young German prisoner, Max Eckermann, is his brother Anthony, who was kidnapped years before. Raised in the Nazi ideology, Tony has by chance tumbled into British hands. Dym has brought him back, at least temporarily, to the family he neither remembers nor will acknowledge as his own.
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More people should read this wonderful story!!!
- By E.F.B. on 08-02-18
By: Constance Savery
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The Woman from Paris
- By: Santa Montefiore
- Narrated by: Tara Ward
- Length: 13 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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When Lord Frampton dies in a skiing accident, a beautiful young woman named Phaedra appears at his funeral - claiming to be the Lord’s illegitimate daughter. In his will, Lord Frampton has left the priceless Frampton suite of sapphires to this interloper, confirming her claim and outraging his three adult sons and widow. Eventually, however, Phaedra’s sweet nature thaws the frosty relationships. She becomes the daughter that Antoinette Frampton never had and a wise and compassionate granddaughter to the formidable Dowager Lady Frampton.
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Worth the time...
- By Esther Cunningham on 09-28-16
By: Santa Montefiore
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A Fatal Inversion
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: William Gaminara
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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In the long, hot summer of 1976, a group of young people is camping in Wyvis Hall. Adam, Rufus, Shiva, Vivien and Zosie hardly ask why they are there or how they are to live; they scavenge, steal and sell the family heirlooms. Ten years later, the bodies of a woman and child are discovered in the Hall’s animal cemetery. Which woman? And whose child?
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Oh my!
- By Jill on 06-15-14
By: Barbara Vine
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Goodnight from London
- A Novel
- By: Jennifer Robson
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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In the summer of 1940, ambitious young American journalist Ruby Sutton gets her big break: the chance to report on the European war as a staff writer for Picture Weekly newsmagazine in London. She jumps at the chance, for it's an opportunity not only to prove herself, but also to start fresh in a city and country that know nothing of her humble origins. But life in besieged Britain tests Ruby in ways she never imagined.
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Light story
- By Bev Holdgate on 08-10-17
By: Jennifer Robson
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Transcription
- A Novel
- By: Kate Atkinson
- Narrated by: Fenella Woolgar
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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In 1940, 18-year-old Juliet Armstrong is reluctantly recruited into the world of espionage. Sent to an obscure department of MI5 tasked with monitoring the comings and goings of British Fascist sympathizers, she discovers the work to be by turns both tedious and terrifying. But after the war has ended, she presumes the events of those years have been relegated to the past forever. Ten years later, now a radio producer at the BBC, Juliet is unexpectedly confronted by figures from her past. A different war is being fought now, but Juliet finds herself once more under threat.
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A very satisfying two days!
- By Frances on 09-30-18
By: Kate Atkinson
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Case Histories
- A Novel
- By: Kate Atkinson
- Narrated by: Susan Jameson
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Case One: A little girl goes missing in the night. Case Two: A beautiful young office worker falls victim to a maniac's apparently random attack. Case Three: A new mother finds herself trapped in a hell of her own making - with a very needy baby and a very demanding husband - until a fit of rage creates a grisly, bloody escape.
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Trippy book
- By mary on 01-20-09
By: Kate Atkinson
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Behind the Scenes at the Museum
- A Novel
- By: Kate Atkinson
- Narrated by: Pearl Hewitt
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Ruby Lennox begins narrating her life at the moment of conception, and from there takes us on a whirlwind tour of the 20th century as seen through the eyes of an English girl determined to learn about her family and its secrets.
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Another Kate Atkinson multi-generational story
- By Satisfied Customer on 11-08-18
By: Kate Atkinson
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Shrines of Gaiety
- A Novel
- By: Kate Atkinson
- Narrated by: Jason Watkins
- Length: 15 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
1926, and in a country still recovering from the Great War, London has become the focus for a delirious new nightlife. In the clubs of Soho, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters, and girls sell dances for a shilling a time. The notorious queen of this glittering world is Nellie Coker, ruthless but also ambitious to advance her six children, including the enigmatic eldest, Niven, whose character has been forged in the crucible of the Somme. But success breeds enemies, and Nellie’s empire faces threats from without and within.
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Rich characters of all stripes
- By Glorious Lorius on 11-09-22
By: Kate Atkinson
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Normal Rules Don't Apply
- Stories
- By: Kate Atkinson
- Narrated by: Paterson Joseph
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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A dazzling collection of eleven interconnected stories from the bestselling, award-winning author of Shrines of Gaiety and Life After Life, with everything that listeners love about her novels—the inventiveness, the verbal felicity, the sharp observations on human nature, and the deeply satisfying emotional wallop.
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Playful jigsaw puzzle of stories
- By ReallyNelie on 02-24-24
By: Kate Atkinson
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Death at the Sign of the Rook
- A Jackson Brodie Book
- By: Kate Atkinson
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
In his sleepy Yorkshire town, ex-detective Jackson Brodie is staving off boredom and malaise. His only case is the seemingly tedious matter of a stolen painting. But Jackson soon uncovers a string of unsolved art thefts that lead him down a dizzying spiral of disguise and deceit to Burton Makepeace, a formerly magnificent estate now partially converted into a hotel hosting Murder Mystery weekends.
By: Kate Atkinson
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Transcription
- A Novel
- By: Kate Atkinson
- Narrated by: Fenella Woolgar
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In 1940, 18-year-old Juliet Armstrong is reluctantly recruited into the world of espionage. Sent to an obscure department of MI5 tasked with monitoring the comings and goings of British Fascist sympathizers, she discovers the work to be by turns both tedious and terrifying. But after the war has ended, she presumes the events of those years have been relegated to the past forever. Ten years later, now a radio producer at the BBC, Juliet is unexpectedly confronted by figures from her past. A different war is being fought now, but Juliet finds herself once more under threat.
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A very satisfying two days!
- By Frances on 09-30-18
By: Kate Atkinson
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Case Histories
- A Novel
- By: Kate Atkinson
- Narrated by: Susan Jameson
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Case One: A little girl goes missing in the night. Case Two: A beautiful young office worker falls victim to a maniac's apparently random attack. Case Three: A new mother finds herself trapped in a hell of her own making - with a very needy baby and a very demanding husband - until a fit of rage creates a grisly, bloody escape.
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Trippy book
- By mary on 01-20-09
By: Kate Atkinson
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Behind the Scenes at the Museum
- A Novel
- By: Kate Atkinson
- Narrated by: Pearl Hewitt
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Ruby Lennox begins narrating her life at the moment of conception, and from there takes us on a whirlwind tour of the 20th century as seen through the eyes of an English girl determined to learn about her family and its secrets.
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Another Kate Atkinson multi-generational story
- By Satisfied Customer on 11-08-18
By: Kate Atkinson
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Shrines of Gaiety
- A Novel
- By: Kate Atkinson
- Narrated by: Jason Watkins
- Length: 15 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
1926, and in a country still recovering from the Great War, London has become the focus for a delirious new nightlife. In the clubs of Soho, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters, and girls sell dances for a shilling a time. The notorious queen of this glittering world is Nellie Coker, ruthless but also ambitious to advance her six children, including the enigmatic eldest, Niven, whose character has been forged in the crucible of the Somme. But success breeds enemies, and Nellie’s empire faces threats from without and within.
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Rich characters of all stripes
- By Glorious Lorius on 11-09-22
By: Kate Atkinson
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Normal Rules Don't Apply
- Stories
- By: Kate Atkinson
- Narrated by: Paterson Joseph
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A dazzling collection of eleven interconnected stories from the bestselling, award-winning author of Shrines of Gaiety and Life After Life, with everything that listeners love about her novels—the inventiveness, the verbal felicity, the sharp observations on human nature, and the deeply satisfying emotional wallop.
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Playful jigsaw puzzle of stories
- By ReallyNelie on 02-24-24
By: Kate Atkinson
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Death at the Sign of the Rook
- A Jackson Brodie Book
- By: Kate Atkinson
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In his sleepy Yorkshire town, ex-detective Jackson Brodie is staving off boredom and malaise. His only case is the seemingly tedious matter of a stolen painting. But Jackson soon uncovers a string of unsolved art thefts that lead him down a dizzying spiral of disguise and deceit to Burton Makepeace, a formerly magnificent estate now partially converted into a hotel hosting Murder Mystery weekends.
By: Kate Atkinson
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Shine, Pamela! Shine!
- Out of Line collection
- By: Kate Atkinson
- Narrated by: Gwendoline Christie
- Length: 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Pamela is a newly retired teacher with time on her hands. She’s finding it hard to muster enthusiasm for what’s ahead: exhausting postdivorce dating rituals and an uneasy relationship with her emotionally stunted, live-at-home son. But for Pamela, there’s a surprise in store that could challenge the status quo and, against all expectations, make life interesting again.
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Really terrible
- By Teatime2 on 09-13-20
By: Kate Atkinson
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The Bone Clocks
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: Jessica Ball, Leon Williams, Colin Mace, and others
- Length: 24 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Following a scalding row with her mother, 15-year-old Holly Sykes slams the door on her old life. But Holly is no typical teenage runaway: A sensitive child once contacted by voices she knew only as "the radio people," Holly is a lightning rod for psychic phenomena. Now, as she wanders deeper into the English countryside, visions and coincidences reorder her reality until they assume the aura of a nightmare brought to life.
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Not Short Listed, This Time
- By Mel on 09-23-14
By: David Mitchell
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Lessons
- By: Ian McEwan
- Narrated by: Simon McBurney
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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When the world is still counting the cost of the Second World War and the Iron Curtain has closed, eleven-year-old Roland Baines's life is turned upside down. 2,000 miles from his mother's protective love, stranded at an unusual boarding school, his vulnerability attracts piano teacher Miss Miriam Cornell, leaving scars as well as a memory of love that will never fade.
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Narrator Simon McBurney gets my 100% rating
- By Peggy M on 09-26-22
By: Ian McEwan
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Homecoming
- By: Kate Morton
- Narrated by: Claire Foy
- Length: 17 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Adelaide Hills, Christmas Eve, 1959. At the end of a scorching hot day, a local deliveryman makes a terrible discovery. A police investigation is called, and the small town of Tambilla becomes embroiled in one of the most shocking and perplexing murder cases in the history of South Australia. Many years later and thousands of miles away, Jess is a journalist in search of a story. Having lived and worked in London for nearly two decades, she now finds herself laid off from her full-time job and struggling to make ends meet. Until a phone call out of nowhere summons her back to Sydney.
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Loved the compelling audiobook version!
- By Melissas Bookshelf on 04-07-23
By: Kate Morton
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Godwin
- A Novel
- By: Joseph O'Neill
- Narrated by: Karen Chilton, Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Mark Wolfe, a brilliant if self-thwarting technical writer, lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Sushila, and their toddler daughter. His half-brother Geoff, born and raised in the United Kingdom, is a desperate young soccer agent. He pulls Mark across the ocean into a scheme to track down an elusive prospect known only as “Godwin”—an African teenager Geoff believes could be the next Lionel Messi.
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A literary experiment gone wrong
- By Amy on 06-19-24
By: Joseph O'Neill
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Enlightenment
- A Novel
- By: Sarah Perry
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Thomas Hart and Grace Macaulay have lived all their lives in the small Essex town of Aldleigh. Though separated in age by three decades, the pair are kindred spirits—torn between their commitment to religion and their desire to explore the world beyond their small Baptist community. It is two romantic relationships that will rend their friendship, and in the wake of this rupture, Thomas develops an obsession with a vanished nineteenth-century astronomer said to haunt a nearby manor, and Grace flees Aldleigh entirely for London.
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So lost
- By Kindle Customer on 07-13-24
By: Sarah Perry
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Secondhand Time
- The Last of the Soviets
- By: Svetlana Alexievich, Bela Shayevich - translator
- Narrated by: Amanda Carlin, Mark Bramhall, Cassandra Campbell, and others
- Length: 22 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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When the Swedish Academy awarded Svetlana Alexievich the Nobel Prize, it cited her for inventing "a new kind of literary genre", describing her work as "a history of emotions - a history of the soul". Alexievich's distinctive documentary style, combining extended individual monologues with a collage of voices, records the stories of ordinary women and men who are rarely given the opportunity to speak, whose experiences are often lost in the official histories of the nation.
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The Heart, Soul & Iron Fist Of Russia
- By Sara on 02-22-17
By: Svetlana Alexievich, and others
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The Corrections
- A Novel
- By: Jonathan Franzen
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 21 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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The Corrections is a grandly entertaining novel for the new century--a comic, tragic masterpiece about a family breaking down in an age of easy fixes. After almost 50 years as a wife and mother, Enid Lambert is ready to have some fun. Unfortunately, her husband, Alfred, is losing his sanity to Parkinson's disease, and their children have long since flown the family nest to the catastrophes of their own lives. Enid has set her heart on an elusive goal: bringing her family together for one last Christmas at home.
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"Grandly Entertaining"? Really?
- By Georgia Burns on 10-08-13
By: Jonathan Franzen
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The Crow Trap
- A Vera Stanhope Mystery
- By: Ann Cleeves
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Three very different women come together to complete an environmental survey on the Northumberland countryside. Three women who, in some way or another, know the meaning of betrayal....For team leader Rachael Lambert the project is the perfect opportunity to rebuild her confidence after a double-betrayal by her lover and boss, Peter Kemp. Botanist Anne Preece, on the other hand, sees it as a chance to indulge in a little deception of her own. And then there is Grace Fulwell, a strange, uncommunicative young woman with plenty of her own secrets to hide.
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Different but loved it
- By Audrey L Reader on 08-06-17
By: Ann Cleeves
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The Grey Wolf
- A Novel (Chief Inspector Gamache Novel, Book 19)
- By: Louise Penny
- Narrated by: Jean Brassard
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Relentless phone calls interrupt the peace of a warm August morning in Three Pines. Though the tiny Québec village is impossible to find on any map, someone has managed to track down Armand Gamache, head of homicide at the Sûreté, as he sits with his wife in their back garden. Reine-Marie watches with increasing unease as her husband refuses to pick up, though he clearly knows who is on the other end. When he finally answers, his rage shatters the calm of their quiet Sunday morning.
By: Louise Penny
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North Woods
- A Novel
- By: Daniel Mason
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall, Michael Crouch, Jason Culp, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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When two young lovers abscond from a Puritan colony, little do they know that their humble cabin in the woods will become the home of an extraordinary succession of human and nonhuman characters alike. An English soldier, destined for glory, abandons the battlefields of the New World to devote himself to growing apples. A pair of spinster twins navigate war and famine, envy and desire. A crime reporter unearths an ancient mass grave—only to discover that the earth refuse to give up their secrets.
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An American Masterpiece
- By Psumissyh on 09-21-23
By: Daniel Mason
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Trust (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
- By: Hernan Diaz
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Jonathan Davis, Mozhan Marnò, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Even through the roar and effervescence of the 1920s, everyone in New York has heard of Benjamin and Helen Rask. He is a legendary Wall Street tycoon; she is the daughter of eccentric aristocrats. Together, they have risen to the very top of a world of seemingly endless wealth—all as a decade of excess and speculation draws to an end. But at what cost have they acquired their immense fortune? This is the mystery at the center of Bonds, a successful 1937 novel that all of New York seems to have read. Yet there are other versions of this tale of privilege and deceit.
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Before Purchasing
- By JLDLOfficial on 08-13-22
By: Hernan Diaz
What listeners say about A God in Ruins
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Bonny
- 05-20-15
Beautiful writing, but . . .
I love Kate Atkinson, have read everything she's published, and will continue to do so. This is beautifully written, and sections of it are extremely engaging and moving. I think I would have done better with this book had I read it instead of listened to it.
I wasn't thrilled with Alex Jennings' narration for two reasons: (a) his voicing of women, particularly Teddy's daughter Viola, and (b) his reading of quotations in the voice of the characters who said them. As in, when Teddy is thinking of something his wife or daughter said, it is spoken in his wife or daughter's voice. I understand the intent but found that it kept jarring me out of Teddy's thoughts. It gave the quotes an affected, somewhat sarcastic tone.
The book jumps around in time, particularly at the beginning, and that made it difficult for me to feel a strong connection to Teddy. I never really did, which is one of my problems with the book. He's a kind, sweet, moral man, but I didn't find him very interesting. His daughter Viola is such a pill that it's hard to believe anybody could be this unpleasant, and I found the voicing of her difficult to listen to. There's only so much time one wants to spend listening to this kind of person! The sections dealing with Teddy's war and his bombing raids are marvelous, as is the section about Teddy's grandson Sunny's childhood.
Some of the book's characters resemble archetypes more than people; their actions and personalities are so extreme and without redeeming factors. Viola, her husband Dominic, and Dominic's mother are difficult to swallow as real people.
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- Cheryl
- 06-25-17
Great author but Not this author's best
We all loved Life After Life in my book group. Several of the members suggested Atkinson's mysteries. I listened to Case Histories by her. It was fantastic. This one however was not interesting. None of the characters were likable.
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- Louise T Jones
- 07-04-15
Interesting twist at the end.
I wasn't expecting that. The flight imagery was beautiful. Actually all the imagery was intense.
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- Susan
- 05-21-20
Kate Atkinson is one of my favorite authors.
This book, along with its companion piece, Life After Life, is a splendid study of Britain just before, during, and in the years after WWII. I recommend it to anyone interested in this period.
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- Kathryn Coffman
- 03-21-18
Outstanding!!!
This is an extraordinary book! It really should be read with it’s companion book - Life After Life , although it can stand on own. The narration in both is exceptionally good. I am so sorry to have come to the end! Give it a try - Ursula and Teddy will stay with you for a very long time.
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- Kdmd
- 01-24-20
Perfection!
Listening to both “Life after life” and “A god in ruins” has been such a transforming experience. I have loved Ms Atkinson’s other books, but these companion books just blew me away! There aren’t enough words ( or, it would take pages ) to describe how they made me feel, think and expand after listening to them. My recommendation - listen to them one after another! Fantastic story, writing and narration!
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- Annie M.
- 05-13-15
Masterful follow-up to "Life After Life"
What made the experience of listening to A God in Ruins the most enjoyable?
Atkinson is a literary writer of the highest caliber, a magician with words and story. When I heard there was a follow-up to her supremely artful and wondrous "Life After Life," I RAN to Audible. A GOD IN RUINS is yet another feast for lovers of carefully culled words, and deeply developed characters. My only complaint is that, at 16 hours, it STILL wasn't long enough for me.
What other book might you compare A God in Ruins to and why?
Obviously, it is Atkinson's LIFE AFTER LIFE, where we first fell in love with Teddy Todd, now the protagonist of A GOD IN RUINS. But I also put this book in a the same category as Anthony Doer's ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE, as well as any of Pat Barker's brilliant WWI books, and also Louisa Young's MY DEAR, I WANTED TO TELL YOU, and LOVE AND TREASURE. I might even add to that UNBROKEN.
What does Alex Jennings bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
You can tell that Kate Atkinson puts great and careful thought into each word she chooses to put on the page. Alex Jennings does honor to the author by beautifully voicing each character--and not getting in the way.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I did. I listened in a two-day period. All the while thinking, "Don't listen. Stay away. Let it last."I'm taking a week off and then starting it over. Unlike a fine wine that is gone once it's been consumed, I can thankfully listen to A GOD IN RUINS over and over.
Any additional comments?
I really loved the fact that at the end of this book, Atkinson actually discusses how she came to do a follow-up to LIFE AFTER LIFE, and then why she put it into the format she did. She explained her desire to write a book specifically about the British bombing raids of WWII. If you have not read LIFE AFTER LIFE, you might still enjoy this book. But if you read this book first, I am almost positive you'll want to then go back and read LIFE AFTER LIFE.I am so grateful to have read this touching, introspective, thought provoking look at the moral dilemmas of those fighting "the good war." I wish I could give it ten stars.
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36 people found this helpful
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- Susanne Sytsma
- 06-08-18
Good but sad
I almost stopped the book because it made me so sad. Teddy was such a great character that was going through the motions of life not necessarily enjoying any part of it
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-03-20
Well-written, but annoying storyline
I loved the first book, LIFE AFTER LIFE, and the diction in both books, but the characters in this book were mostly depressing and with few redeeming qualities. Teddy, who seemed so charming, hopeful and... touched by goodness... was pathetic and weak in this book. Maybe that's the point. Maybe it's the reality of life as one grows up, that things aren't always so pretty or gifted or "touched". I found his marriage, his children and his entire post-war life so... sad. I want to give this book 3 ☆ because I didn't like the people, but that's probably not fair. Any book that elicits a strong reaction to characters and plot is a good book with good writing, no? Everything about this book, subject matter, research, word choice, flow, structure, diction, everything is very good. I just didn't like the people as I thought I would. Though the ending was almost a relief, in response. So 4☆.
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- Dione Anderson
- 05-26-15
Another Atkinson home-run.
Be prepared to cry your eyes out during the last hour of this book. I have listened to "Life after Life" over and over again since it came out and I imagine I will do the same with "A God in Ruins". Both readers were excellent and Kate Atkinson has become my very favorite writer in the last decade. In particular, these two books prove to me that Atkinson is a magical thinker.
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