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Cleanness
- Narrated by: Garth Greenwell
- Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins
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Cleanness
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Summary
Cleanness revisits and expands the world of Garth Greenwell’s beloved debut, What Belongs to You, declared ‘an instant classic’ by the New York Times Book Review. In exacting, elegant prose, Greenwell transcribes the strange dialects of desire, cementing his stature as one of our most vital living writers.
‘This is an exceptional work of fiction, which places Greenwell among the very best contemporary novelists.’ – Independent
Sofia, Bulgaria, a landlocked city in southern Europe, stirs with hope and impending upheaval. Soviet buildings crumble, wind scatters sand from the far south, and political protesters flood the streets with song.
In this atmosphere of disquiet, an American teacher navigates a life transformed by the discovery and loss of love. As he prepares to leave the place he’s come to call home, he grapples with the intimate encounters that have marked his years abroad, each bearing uncanny reminders of his past. A queer student’s confession recalls his own first love, a stranger’s seduction devolves into paternal sadism, and a romance with a younger man opens, and heals, old wounds. Each echo reveals startling insights about what it means to seek connection: with those we love, with the places we inhabit, and with our own fugitive selves.
Chosen as a book of the year in the New Yorker, Daily Telegraph, Observer and Irish Times.
Critic reviews
What listeners say about Cleanness
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
- Waggy From Derby
- 18-06-20
written from experience
being young and gay today, you're so lucky. a beautiful told tale, enough to turn any man's head. he could turn me any time
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- rebell50
- 30-01-24
Very sexual
Not a fan of the narrator's voice and found this novel just basically a porn novel without much character development or captivating life story. Very little emotion but monotone descriptive sex activities. Not at all what I expected.
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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
- Soraki
- 03-02-23
great literature
full of humanity, a true story of its own *would love to listen more from Garth, but there are only 2 books available at audible * I recommend both, it's worth - written super and narrated perfectly, I know these East European guys * their ways, truely presented. However, a lot has changed since EU brought its "blessings" * anyway, enjoy this great book
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Alias Grace
- 30-03-22
Narration ruins an otherwise good story
The author sounds like an Emo kid reading his poetry on prize day, or a priest reading a litany, or someone in great pain
At some points it takes on an incredibly grating, sing-song quality as if he is about to cry with the sheer epic gravitas of his words.
This somehow has the opposite effect, of making them feel less profound and performative in nature - somehow unreal, almost fake. Like he is performing a poem to a class of students
It's like an Anthony and the Johnsons song extended over a 7 hour period.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- AM
- 27-05-21
Shouldn't Have Read His Own Stories
He can write but he really, really can't read. He sounds bored, unwell, half dead. It's impossible to listen to his voice for more than two minutes without passing out and joining him in his coma. I think the descriptions of Sofia (is it Sofia even?) and the struggles with sexuality might be quite interesting, but it's hard to get it to that past the reading. A bit too much American abroad self-satisfaction about being somewhere he thinks nobody's heard of (absurd), but I think this is probably really good. Just not an audiobook. Or not one read by Greenwell.
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1 person found this helpful