The Merry Spinster
Tales of Everyday Horror
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The Merry Spinster
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Narrated by:
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Christina Traister
About this listen
From Daniel Mallory Ortberg comes a collection of darkly mischievous stories based on classic fairy tales. Adapted from his beloved Children's Stories Made Horrific series, The Merry Spinster takes up the trademark wit that endeared Ortberg to listeners of both The Toast and his best-selling debut Texts from Jane Eyre. The feature has become among the most popular on the site, with each entry bringing in tens of thousands of views, as the stories proved a perfect vehicle for Ortberg’s eye for deconstruction and destabilization. Sinister and inviting, familiar and alien all at the same time, The Merry Spinster updates traditional children's stories and fairy tales with elements of psychological horror, emotional clarity, and a keen sense of feminist mischief.
Listeners of The Toast will instantly recognize Ortberg's boisterous good humor and uber-nerd swagger: those new to Ortberg's oeuvre will delight in his unique spin on fiction, where something a bit mischievous and unsettling is always at work just beneath the surface.
Unfalteringly faithful to its beloved source material, The Merry Spinster also illuminates the unsuspected, and frequently, alarming emotional complexities at play in the stories we tell ourselves, and each other, as we tuck ourselves in for the night.
Bed time will never be the same.
©2018 Daniel Mallory Ortberg (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
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-
Story4 out of 5 stars 84
The Unreal and the Real is a major event not to be missed. In this two-volume selection of Ursula K. Le Guin's best short stories--as selected by the National Book Award winning author herself--the reader will be delighted, provoked, amused, and faced with the sharp, satirical voice of one of the best short story writers of the present day. Where on Earth explores Le Guin's earthbound stories which range around the world, from small town Oregon to middle Europe in the middle of revolution to summer camp.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Shame on you, Audible
- By Audrey McCombs on 07-03-20
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Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories
- By: Kelly Link - editor, Gavin J. Grant - editor
- Narrated by: Sarah Coomes, Nico Evers-Swindell, Shannon McManus, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 110
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 93
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Story4 out of 5 stars 94
Imagine an alternate universe where romance and technology reign. Where tinkerers and dreamers craft and recraft a world of automatons, ornate clockworks, calculating machines, and other marvels that. Where scientists and schoolgirls, fair folk and Romans, intergalactic bandits, and intrepid orphans - decked out in corsets, clockwerk suits, and tall black boots - solve dastardly crimes, escape from monstrous predicaments, consult oracles, and hover over volcanoes in steam-powered airships.
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4 out of 5 stars
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MMMM, Orca Bacon
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 09-14-13
By: Kelly Link - editor, and others
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The Passion
- By: Jeanette Winterson
- Narrated by: Tania Rodrigues, Daniel Pirrie
- Length: 5 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 84
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 71
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 71
Set during the tumultuous years of the Napoleonic Wars, The Passion intertwines the destinies of two remarkable people: Henri, a simple French soldier, who follows Napoleon from glory to Russian ruin; and Villanelle, the red-haired, web-footed daughter of a Venetian boatman, whose husband has gambled away her heart. In Venice’s compound of carnival, chance, and darkness, the pair meets their singular destiny.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellence.
- By Scottie V. on 10-07-19
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The Town House
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Juliet Prague, Martyn Read
- Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 72
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 65
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
"It was in the first week of October in the year 1391 that I first came face to face with the man who owned me… the man whose lightest word was to us, his villeins, weightier than the King’s law or the edicts of our Holy Father…” So began the story of Martin Reed - a serf whose resentment of the automatic rule of his feudal lord finally flared into open defiance.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Another winner by Norah Lofts
- By Bird Lady 147 on 10-03-17
By: Norah Lofts
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All the Murmuring Bones
- By: A.G. Slatter
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 283
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 251
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 250
Orphaned as a young child, Mirin O'Malley has been brought up by her grandparents on their isolated, rambling estate Hob's Hallow. Long ago her family prospered due to a deal struck with the mer, the terrifying creatures who live in the depths of the sea: safety for their merchant ships in return for a child of each generation. But for many years the family have been unable to keep their side of the bargain and their fortunes have suffered as a result. When Mirin's grandfather dies, her grandmother puts in train a plan to restore their glory - but at the price of Mirin's freedom.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Drags on and on.
- By Amanda Turner on 04-10-21
By: A.G. Slatter
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Gone with the Wind
- By: Margaret Mitchell
- Narrated by: Linda Stephens
- Length: 49 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 14,953
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 12,808
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Story5 out of 5 stars 12,813
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, Margaret Mitchell's great novel of the South is one of the most popular books ever written. Within six months of its publication in 1936, Gone With the Wind had sold a million copies. To date, it has been translated into 25 languages, and more than 28 million copies have been sold. Here are the characters that have become symbols of passion and desire....
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5 out of 5 stars
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not to miss audible experience
- By dallas on 12-08-09
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The Essex Serpent
- A Novel
- By: Sarah Perry
- Narrated by: Juanita McMahon
- Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,136
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,030
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,030
When Cora Seaborne's brilliant, domineering husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness: her marriage was not a happy one. Wed at 19, this woman of exceptional intelligence and curiosity was ill-suited for the role of society wife. Seeking refuge in fresh air and open space in the wake of the funeral, Cora leaves London for a visit to coastal Essex, accompanied by her inquisitive and obsessive 11-year old son, Francis, and the boy's nanny, Martha.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Unbearable Narrator
- By ACB on 06-08-17
By: Sarah Perry
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Ember Island
- By: Kimberley Freeman
- Narrated by: Jennifer Vuletic
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 327
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 295
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 294
A compelling tale of two women separated by a century who discover long-buried secrets in an Australian manor house. In 1891, Tilly Kirkland is reeling with shock and guilt after her tempestuous marriage ends in horrific circumstances. Fleeing to the farthest place she knows, Tilly takes a job on Ember Island in Moreton Bay, Australia, where she becomes the governess to the prison superintendent's precocious young daughter, Nell.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Not her best book
- By Beth on 05-02-18
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The Taker
- By: Alma Katsu
- Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow
- Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 471
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 427
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Story4 out of 5 stars 427
On the midnight shift at a hospital in rural Maine, Dr. Luke Findley is expecting another quiet evening of frostbite and the occasional domestic dispute. But the minute Lanore McIlvrae—Lanny—walks into his ER, she changes his life forever. A mysterious woman with a past and plenty of dark secrets, Lanny is unlike anyone Luke has ever met. He is inexplicably drawn to her...despite the fact that she is a murder suspect with a police escort.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Too dark for my taste
- By Margaret on 05-04-14
By: Alma Katsu
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Tess of the Road
- By: Rachel Hartman
- Narrated by: Katharine Lee McEwan
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 557
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 509
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 510
In the medieval kingdom of Goredd, women are expected to be ladies, men are their protectors, and dragons can be whomever they choose. Tess is none of these things. Tess is...different. She speaks out of turn, has wild ideas, and can't seem to keep out of trouble. Then Tess goes too far. Tess's family decide the only path for her is a nunnery. But on the day she is to join the nuns, Tess chooses a different path for herself. She cuts her hair, pulls on her boots, and sets out on a journey. She's not running away, she's running towards something.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Beautiful and Boring, Both.
- By Ryan on 04-05-19
By: Rachel Hartman
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Florence Grace
- By: Tracy Rees
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,072
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,893
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,885
Florrie Buckley is an orphan living on the wind-blasted moors of Cornwall. It's a hard existence, but Florrie is content; she runs wild in the mysterious landscape. She thinks her destiny is set in stone. But when Florrie is 14, she inherits a never-imagined secret. She is related to a wealthy and notorious London family: the Graces.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Utterly brilliant!!!
- By Maria on 07-04-16
By: Tracy Rees
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The Star Side of Bird Hill
- By: Naomi Jackson
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 90
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 82
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Story4 out of 5 stars 82
Two sisters, ages 10 and 16, are exiled from Brooklyn to Bird Hill in Barbados, after their mother can no longer care for them. The young Phaedra and her older sister, Dionne, live, for the summer of 1989, with their grandmother, Hyacinth, a midwife and practitioner of the local spiritual practice of obeah. Dionne spends the summer in search of love, testing her grandmother's limits, and wanting to go home. Phaedra explores Bird Hill, where her family has lived for generations.
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5 out of 5 stars
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My absolute favorite book of all time
- By Eme on 07-16-15
By: Naomi Jackson
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Honor
- By: Elif Shafak
- Narrated by: Mozhan Marno, Piter Marik
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 117
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 101
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 98
An honor killing shatters and transforms the lives of Turkish immigrants in 1970s London. Internationally best-selling Turkish author Elif Shafak’s new novel is a dramatic tale of families, love, and misunderstandings that follows the destinies of twin sisters born in a Kurdish village. While Jamila stays to become a midwife, Pembe follows her Turkish husband, Adem, to London, where they hope to make new lives for themselves and their children. In London, they face a choice: stay loyal to the old traditions or try their best to fit in.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Complex but Compelling
- By Cariola on 04-14-13
By: Elif Shafak
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Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
- By: Gregory Maguire
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 338
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 294
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Story4 out of 5 stars 294
Gregory Maguire proves himself to be “one of contemporary fiction’s most assured myth-makers” (Kirkus Reviews) with Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, his ingenious and provocative retelling of the timeless Cinderella fairy tale. Perhaps best known for his dark and breathtaking Oz series The Wicked Years—including the novel Wicked, which inspired the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical—Maguire is a master at upending the ordinary to help us see the familiar in a brilliant new light.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Very Human Story!
- By SamiJo McQuiston on 05-02-18
By: Gregory Maguire
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Archangel
- Samaria, Book 1
- By: Sharon Shinn
- Narrated by: Tamara Marston
- Length: 17 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 476
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 338
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 341
A tale of the distant future by the author of The Shape-Changer's Wife brings listeners to a world in which the fate of all life rests on the voice of an angel.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An All-TIme Favorite
- By Carol on 02-27-11
By: Sharon Shinn
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Secrets of the Lighthouse
- By: Santa Montefiore
- Narrated by: Susan Riddell
- Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 233
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 219
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 214
Ellen Trawton is running away from it all. She hates her job, she doesn't love the aristocratic man to whom she is engaged, and her relationship with her controlling mother is becoming increasingly strained. So Ellen leaves London, fleeing to her aunt's cottage in Connemara. Cutting ties with London society, Ellen gives in to Ireland's charm and warmth, thinking her future may lie where so much of her past has been hidden.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Secrets of the Lighthouse-not so secret
- By brandiejean on 10-15-15
By: Santa Montefiore
What listeners say about The Merry Spinster
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tessla
- 08-08-21
You either love it or you don’t get it
Danny Lavery is incredible. He is so educated, and he draws upon all of his literature knowledge to spin this marvelous little collection of winning little tales. I love how many references and literary devices are tucked into the stories, and I’m so glad that Danny keeps gracing the world with his wit. If you love literature and also have a sardonic nature, I think this book will delight you.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- VikingRob
- 02-25-19
not scary at all, but well told. Reader great!
This book was not scary, but is well written. Retelling of classic fairy tales. That said the reader performance was terrific.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- therightway
- 10-23-18
Worst load of tripe I've ever had to swallow, are these supposed to be RIP offs of Disney storylines?
Or the first horrible drafts of such stories? Worthless, don't waste your time. I'm 35 I ended up ushering it to put myself to sleep when the melatonin wasn't working.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Elise
- 07-04-21
Total garbage
I will usually push through a book to finish it. Life is too short to endure such drivel. There is nothing original here. And, if the most creative thing you can do is call women “husbands” and men “wives,” you really need to find a different career.
I will say that the narrator is not to blame.
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