The Book of Ebenezer le Page

By: G. B. Edwards

Narrated by: Roy Dotrice

Length: 21 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Ebenezer Le Page, cantankerous, opinionated and charming, is one of the most compelling literary creations of the late 20th century. Eighty years old, Ebenezer has lived his whole life on the Channel Island of Guernsey, a stony speck of a place caught between England and France yet a world away from either. Ebenezer himself is fiercely independent, but as he reaches the end of his life he is determined to tell his own story and the story of those he has known. He writes of family secrets and feuds, unforgettable friendships and friendships betrayed, love glimpsed and lost.

The Book of Ebenezer Le Page is a beautifully detailed chronicle of a life, but it is equally an oblique reckoning with the traumas of the 20th century, as Ebenezer recalls both the men lost to the Great War and the German Occupation of Guernsey during World War II, and looks with despair at the encroachments of commerce and tourism on his beloved island.

©1981 Edward P. de G. Chaney (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Do not miss this gem.

I’m trying to put into words why this book is a treasure. The narrator, Roy Dotrice, brings alive the story so you feel every emotion.

Wonderful narration!

The story was perfect for an audiobook as it was recounted in the first person by a wonderful actor. As Ebenezer describes his life in Guersey the characters spring to life. I knew nothing about Guersey before listening to this book and loved learning about Ebenezer's community and the island's history.

WOW!

A book to be savored and treasured by little and by little. A journey into the life of an extraordinary man telling us his life story because he hopes to find in the telling its deepest meaning.

A brave and successful reading.

Takes a while to get into this book. One fears at first this may become a sentimental or overly nostalgic view of a lost way of life. After a while you realize you're in good hands with this author. I highly recommend the book, in audio or print.

Roy Dotrice, the reader, performs a great service to the book, I think. I certainly don't know the subtleties of accent and intonation he's dealing with here. But he has made decisions about how he will read it and carries it out over a long span with perfect integrity. His reading turns the entire book into poetry, or even music. Here again you may feel at first that the voice will wear on you, but his skill is such that it carries the story along without fail.

A perfect match of reader and text.

Pierced My Heart and Left an Aching Void

This book pierced my heart and left an aching void. It covers the scale of human nature from wondrous to pure meanness, the depth and range of our emotions, and recalls the importance to a life of the few true connections one really makes in a lifetime.

I didn't see Ebenezer Le Page as the "cantankerous" old man the publisher describes, a description that held me back from reading this for a couple of years.

Some people have a problem with the narrator's accent. I enjoyed it, as authentic-sounding. This is the same guy who narrated the Game of Thrones books, if that makes a difference to you.

My favorite audiobook of all!

If you sample this book first, don't be put off by the "codger" voice. I have never listened to a more astonishingly beautiful narration. Roy Dotrice, who incidentally is from Guernsey, has performed an amazing feat in his narration this book and in "becoming" the main character of the story.
As Ebenezer talks about his family history and his life on the island of Guernsey, he draws you in to his story little by little. This is a book that continues to get better as it goes on until you start fretting about what you will do when it is over. Myself, I started it over immediately to clear up some information I didn't get clear in the beginning, when perhaps I wasn't listening as carefully as I could. I had no idea how much I would hang on every word as the book progressed. This book is warm and quite funny (many laugh out loud moments) and sometimes sad. This is a book that I full-heartedly recommend. Don't miss it by having preconceived notions.

Well worth it

I was a bit intimidated by the length of this book, but I enjoyed every minute of it, and looked forward to long car rides to visit with Ebeneezer la Page. He will tell you about life in Guernsey, love, work, death, nature, war, and gossip, too. He will make you smile and laugh, tear up, and listen intently. You can see what he describes and feel what he feels. You’ll miss him and all of the other characters you get to know and care for when the story ends.

I have read this book three times in 30 years!

Unsurpassed as a way to live inside another's soul and experience a very different kind of place than I have known...a close-bound community living surrounded by he sea, on an ancient piece of the world. Ebenezer is straightforward as a person, with a keen sense of intimate details of the ives of others...and it is full of heart, and love, and memories of a lot of people through 3 generations....Many,many passages I'vel istened to over and over as then are perfect statements of a kind of human experience. The last chapter is one I would hope to have read to me on my deathbed. I read this in my 30s,then my 50 and now my 70s. The only other book I've read as much is "War and Peace"...It is poetic, world, a fable and the truest truth of people I know.

By the end, I loved this old fellow

This book -- first published in 1981 -- is critically acclaimed and has overwhelmingly glowing reader reviews. There seems to be just one refrain from reviewers: Give it time, because it starts out slowly. Thus, I looked forward to this more than any book in quite some time.

It did indeed start off slowly for me. The story is a memoir written down in three books by crusty 80-something Ebenezer Le Page about his long life on the island of Guernsey, located in the English Channel. His life encompassed both world wars, including the Nazi occupation during WWII (the only British territory with that distinction). I wouldn't exactly call it stream-of-consciousness writing, but Ebenezer jumps around from story to story, and many were entirely dull.

And yet... we find all those anecdotes are necessary. Roughly three-quarters through, it finally became great for me. By the end, I loved this old fellow. His thoughts on old age and dying and "progress" on his beloved island are especially poignant.

I'd say if you like long reads and delayed gratification, you'd do well to consider letting old Ebenezer take you for a tour of his island.

One of the Best

I am so grateful I stumbled upon this story. Roy Dotrice narrating could not be improved and I prefer his voice to reading. The way the tale unfolds slowly but poignantly is a masterpiece in my estimation. I put it on par with Patrick Tull narrating the Master and Commander series. I was moved to tears several times by the simple and in it's own way elegant story. It seemed so genuine and I feel a better person for having shared it.