Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Road Ends

By: Mary Lawson
Narrated by: Ishan Davé, Jess Salgueiro, John Fleming
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Long-listed, The Folio Prize, 2015

Brought to you by Penguin.

Discover this powerful novel about a family falling apart, from the Booker-longlisted author of A Town Called Solace.

Twenty-one-year-old Megan Cartwright has never been outside the small town she was born in, but one winter's day, in 1966, she leaves everything behind and sets out for London. Ahead of her is a glittering new life, just waiting for her to claim it.

But left behind, her family begins to unravel. Disturbing letters from home begin to arrive, and torn between her independence and family ties, Megan must make an impossible choice.

©2014 Mary Lawson (P)2022 Penguin Audio
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Paper Cup cover art
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter cover art
In the Dark cover art
The Echo of Old Books cover art
There's Something I Have to Tell You cover art
The Girl I Used to Know cover art
A Killer in King’s Cove cover art
Abide with Me cover art
A Winter to Remember cover art
The Trouble with Secrets cover art
Thursday's Child cover art
Backpack cover art
The Morning Star cover art
The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris cover art
One Summer cover art
Everyday Kindness cover art

Critic reviews

"Tender and surprising.... A vivid and evocative tale." (New York Times)

"Every bit as good as I expected. A heart-aching and beautifully written story of a family falling apart." (Woman and Home)

What listeners say about Road Ends

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    115
  • 4 Stars
    18
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    103
  • 4 Stars
    19
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    98
  • 4 Stars
    21
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant book

I found this book unputdownable, gripping and psychologically interesting. The only thing I found a little difficult was that Edwards voice reminded me very much of Principal Skinner in the Simpsons.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

wonderful

I did not want this book to finish. the characters were so real. beautifully read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Addictively calming

Lovely story covering lots of male & female perspectives on very different life choices. Well narrated.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A brilliant listen

I’m a great fan of Mary Lawson. Crow Lake was poignant, powerful. I couldn’t stop listening.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Worth it

My first Mary Lawson but will not be the last
Well narrated too!
Good portrayal of the undercurrent in families that I’m
Sure most of us recognise !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely wonderful

What a bolt from the blue! Never expected such a brilliant novel.
Such a moving storyline, very well acted/read. I’m going straight back to find a second book by Mary Lawson ..

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

Another excellent novel from Mary Lawson.
The characters and landscapes come to life and their stories are engaging .
I felt really sorry when the story ended. It almost felt sad to be unable to share the rest of their journey.
Well narrated . Am already halfway through Crowe Lake which is also extremely enjoyable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

I didn’t really get it

There have been rave reviews for this book but I didn’t really agree with the glowing reports. Whilst the story concentrates on a horribly disfunctional family and demonstrates the limitations of the male/female roles (as much as the only functioning female tries to escape) and is thoroughly depressing about it, I didn’t see the point of the book. It didn’t really challenge the patriarchy, it didn’t address child neglect, post natal changes, dementia, the wish to get away etc etc. it just reiterated the inevitability (in this case) of having experienced neglect and brutality as a child, you are destined to dish it out as an adult. Only Tom goes a very small way to break out of his potential behavioural inheritance. Poor Megan.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant novel . Excellent narration.

A family saga of love, heartache and doing the right thing. Set in Northern Canada and London , England. You will fall in love with Megan, the hero of the story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Gripping and heart wrenching

This tale is so well written. It’s characters are so well observed and the storyline so well crafted. I wish it had ended differently….

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!