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The Pole
- Narrated by: Colin Mace
- Length: 3 hrs and 31 mins
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Publisher's summary
An indelible tale of life, love, death, and Chopin—from the Novel Prize–winning author of Disgrace.
Renowned for his sparse yet powerful prose, J. M. Coetzee is unquestionably among the most influential—and provocative—authors of our time. With characteristic insight and a “brittle wit that forces our attention on the common terrors we don’t want to think about” (Ron Charles, Washington Post), Coetzee here challenges us to interrogate our preconceptions not only of love, but of truth itself.
Exacting yet unpredictable, pithy yet complex, Coetzee’s The Pole tells the story of Wittold Walccyzkiecz, a vigorous, extravagantly white-haired pianist and interpreter of Chopin who becomes infatuated with Beatriz, a stylish Spanish patron of the arts, after she helps organize his concert in Barcelona. Although Beatriz, a married woman, is initially unimpressed by Wittold and his “gleaming dentures,” she soon finds herself pursued and ineluctably swept into his world. As the journeyman performer sends her countless letters, extends invitations to travel, and even visits her husband’s summer home in Mallorca, their unlikely relationship blossoms, though only on Beatriz’s terms.
The power struggle between them intensifies, eventually escalating into a fullfledged battle of the sexes. But is it Beatriz who limits their passion by paralyzing her emotions? Or is it Wittold, the old man at his typewriter, trying to force intolife his dream of love? Reinventing the all-encompassing love of the poet Dante for his Beatrice, Coetzee exposes the fundamentally enigmatic nature of romance, showing how a chance meeting between strangers—even “a Pole, a man of seventy, a vigorous seventy,” and a stultified “banker’s wife who occupies her days in good works”—can suddenly change everything.
Reminiscent of James Joyce’s “The Dead” in its exploration of love and loss, The Pole, with lean prose and surprising feints, is a haunting work, evoking the “inexhaustible palette of sensations, from blind love to compassion” (Berna González Harbour, El País) typical of Coetzee’s finest novels.
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But Jason Asano is settling into his new life. Now, a contest draws young elites to the city of Greenstone to compete for a grand prize. Jason must gather a band of companions if he is to stand a chance against the best the world has to offer. While the young adventurers are caught up in competition, the city leaders deal with revelations of betrayal as a vast and terrible enemy is revealed. Although Jason seems uninvolved, he has unknowingly crossed the enemy’s path before.
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Contrary to common reviews
- By Karen on 05-21-21
By: Shirtaloon, and others
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The Shouts Beneath
- By: Paige Cowan-Hall
- Narrated by: Jade Anouka
- Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Emily has spent her life running away. She never speaks about what happened between her and her mother at her family home when she was a child. All anyone knows is that same night her father packed up the car and drove Emily away. For her safety, he said. She hasn’t been home since. When her mother dies on her 28th birthday, everything changes. She sees her mother everywhere. She catches glimpses at the corner of her eye. She haunts her dreams.
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Okay if you like supernatural occult fiction
- By TerriSweeta on 06-30-24
By: Paige Cowan-Hall
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Liar
- By: K. L. Slater
- Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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How far would you go to protect your family? Single dad Ben is doing his best to raise his children, with the help of his devoted mother, Judi. And then Ben meets Amber. Everyone thinks this is a perfect match for Ben, but Judi isn't so sure.... There's just something about Amber that doesn't add up. Ben can't see why his mother dislikes his new girlfriend. And Amber doesn't want Judi anywhere near her new family. Amber just wants Ben and the children.
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Loved It!
- By TC on 07-03-17
By: K. L. Slater
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The Dirty Ones
- By: JA Huss
- Narrated by: Savannah Peachwood, Teddy Hamilton
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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They said write what you know so that's what I did. I wrote dirty, I wrote erotic, I wrote the truth. And then they called me a liar. But it's not me who's lying, it's them. Our story isn't for everyone. It's not even for us. So if you're looking for the fairy tale and the stupid prince on his dumb white horse, move along. You've got a hold of the wrong book. This is not your story, this is not your life, and this is not your opportunity to dip your frightened little toe into the dark pool of water and "try new things" and then pull it out and decide... #NotForMe.
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The Truth, Best book I have read in years! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- By ♥️🎧♥️***M.R.S.***♥️🎧♥️ on 02-20-19
By: JA Huss
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Dracula [Audible Edition]
- By: Bram Stoker
- Narrated by: Alan Cumming, Tim Curry, Simon Vance, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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The modern audience hasn't had a chance to truly appreciate the unknowing dread that readers would have felt when reading Bram Stoker's original 1897 manuscript. Most modern productions employ campiness or sound effects to try to bring back that gothic tension, but we've tried something different. By returning to Stoker's original storytelling structure - a series of letters and journal entries voiced by Jonathan Harker, Dr. Van Helsing, and other characters - with an all-star cast of narrators, we've sought to recapture its originally intended horror and power.
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IS THAT NOT SO?
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 11-05-15
By: Bram Stoker
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The Jane Austen Collection
- An Audible Original Drama
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Claire Foy, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Billie Piper, and others
- Length: 45 hrs
- Unabridged
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Renowned as much for her wit and satirical social commentary as for her stories of love and romance, Jane Austen remains unfailingly relevant and one of Britain’s best loved authors. In this Audible Original collection, an all-star list of narrators (Billie Piper, Claire Foy, Emma Thompson, Florence Pugh and Gugu Mbatha-Raw) capture Austen’s pin-sharp humour and tone in these dramatisations of her six beloved novels accompanied by a full cast.
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Not a faithful rendition
- By Anne McClain on 12-13-20
By: Jane Austen
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Dietrich
- By: Don Winslow
- Narrated by: Ed Harris
- Length: 1 hr and 11 mins
- Original Recording
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It’s the summer of ’77 in New York City, and the only thing more unnerving than the scorching heatwave is the rampant murder, leaving washed-up homicide detective Richard Dietrich on edge. When Dietrich investigates a brutal mob hit the brass doesn’t want him to solve, he goes from phoning it in to getting in over his head. Caught up in a mysterious second homicide with an even more perplexing perpetrator, Dietrich starts to second guess his instincts—and his memory—as he searches for answers at the bottom of a bottle.
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Very good!
- By Kathleen on 04-17-24
By: Don Winslow
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All the Ugly and Wonderful Things
- A Novel
- By: Bryn Greenwood
- Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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As the daughter of a drug dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. It's safer to keep her mouth shut and stay out of sight. Struggling to raise her little brother, Donal, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible adult around. Obsessed with the constellations, she finds peace in the starry night sky above the fields behind her house until one night her stargazing causes an accident. After witnessing his motorcycle wreck, she forms an unusual friendship with one of her father's thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold.
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So many 'hard to listen to' moments
- By jksullycats on 12-27-16
By: Bryn Greenwood
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Gergo Danka and Eva Magyar are excellent narrators
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Spring Snow is set in Tokyo in 1912, when the hermetic world of the ancient aristocracy is being breached for the first time by outsiders -- rich provincial families unburdened by tradition, whose money and vitality make them formidable contenders for social and political power. Among this rising new elite are the ambitious Matsugae, whose son has been raised in a family of the waning aristocracy, the elegant and attenuated Ayakura.
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An extraordinary work.......
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Beyond the Door of No Return
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Paris, 1806. The renowned botanist Michel Adanson lies on his deathbed, the masterwork to which he dedicated his life still incomplete. As he expires, the last word to escape his lips is a woman’s name: Maram. The key to this mysterious woman’s identity is Adanson’s unpublished memoir of the years he spent in Senegal, concealed in a secret compartment in a chest of drawers. Therein lies a story as fantastical as it is tragic: Maram, it turns out, is none other than the fabled revenant.
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A lovely love story
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Day
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April 5, 2019: In a cozy brownstone in Brooklyn, the veneer of domestic bliss is beginning to crack. Dan and Isabel, husband and wife, are slowly drifting apart—and both, it seems, are a little bit in love with Isabel’s younger brother, Robbie. Robbie, wayward soul of the family, who still lives in the attic loft; Robbie, who, trying to get over his most recent boyfriend, is living vicariously through a glamorous avatar online; Robbie, who now has to move out of the house—and whose departure threatens to break the family apart.
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The writing is lovely.
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Until August
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Sitting alone beside the languorous blue waters of the lagoon, Ana Magdalena Bach contemplates the men at the hotel bar. She has been happily married for twenty-seven years and has no reason to escape the life she has made with her husband and children. And yet, every August, she travels by ferry here to the island where her mother is buried, and for one night takes a new lover.
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Gabo's Last Work
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By: Gabriel García Márquez, and others
What listeners say about The Pole
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jeannie Newstadt
- 02-07-24
A simple yet complex story about lov
In this book Coetzee writes about the enigmatic nature of love,the battle between the sexes,between a vigorous 72 year old man and a younger woman.like all of Coetzee books it is beautifully written and difficult to put down
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- Simon Alexander Kennedy
- 10-25-23
Well-read and like most of Coetze’s work hard to put aside
Not sure I really liked the “staccato” presentation, meant to connect us to the music. At times it seemed artificial, almost irritating.
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- federico
- 05-28-24
Sad but beautiful
I think Coetzee has a real knowledge of the human saul
He’s approche to maturity is sad bur thoughtful intimate poetic and sincere great book. Sad though
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- romuald
- 01-12-24
The discrepancies in details spoil the story
It is indeed disheartening when a celebrated author like J.M. Coetzee falls short in accurately portraying a foreign culture,
Creating a character with a name like Wittold Walccyzkiecz does seem like an oversight, reflecting a lack of sensitivity to the linguistic and cultural nuances of Poland. The discrepancies in details such as Chopin's burial place, languages spoken in Poland, and living conditions of word-class pianists can indeed detract from the overall enjoyment of the story. It's surprising that Coetzee did not take the time to cross-check these facts, as a brief consultation with readily available sources like Wikipedia could have provided the necessary accuracy.
Given Coetzee's background as a South African living in Australia, it becomes even more essential for him to approach a narrative set in Poland with thorough research and cultural sensitivity. It's unfortunate that, in this case, such efforts seem lacking.
While Coetzee's imaginative storytelling may have its merits, the frustration stemming from factual inaccuracies and cultural misrepresentations is certainly justified. It serves as a reminder that even acclaimed authors should approach diverse subjects with the diligence and respect they deserve, ensuring a more authentic and enriching reading experience for their audience.
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