The Illness Lesson
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The Illness Lesson
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Narrated by:
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Ann Marie Lee
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By:
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Clare Beams
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
"Brilliant, suspenseful, beautifully-executed. With power, subtlety, and keen intelligence, Clare Beams has somehow crafted a tale that feels like both classical ghost story and like a modern (and very timely) scream of female outrage. A masterpiece."
Elizabeth Gilbert
It is 1871. At the farm of Samuel Hood and his daughter, Caroline, a mysterious flock of red birds has descended. Samuel, whose fame as a philosopher is waning, takes the birds’ appearance as an omen that the time is ripe for his newest venture. He will start a school for young women, guiding their intellectual development as he has so carefully guided his daughter’s. Despite Caroline’s misgivings, Samuel’s vision – revolutionary, as always; noble, as always; full of holes, as always – takes shape.
It’s not long before the students begin to manifest bizarre symptoms: rashes, seizures, verbal tics, night wanderings. In desperate, the school turns to the ministering of a sinister physician – just as Caroline’s body, too, begins its betrayal. As the girls’ condition worsens, Caroline must confront the all-male, all-knowing authorities of her world, the ones who insist the voices of the sufferers are unreliable.
Written in intensely vivid prose and brimming with insight, The Illness Lesson is a powerful exploration of women’s bodies, women’s minds and the time-honoured tradition of doubting both.
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Critic reviews
"Brilliant, suspenseful, beautifully-executed. With power, subtlety, and keen intelligence, Clare Beams has somehow crafted a tale that feels like both classical ghost story and like a modern (and very timely) scream of female outrage. A masterpiece." (Elizabeth Gilbert)
What listeners say about The Illness Lesson
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Mrs R.
- 17-02-20
Too long
This book is too long and the story could have been reduced by half. I don't like to write negative reviews because I feel sorry for the writer, but this was so repetitive I thought I'd scream if I ended up hearing the name Caroline any more. I stopped after two thirds as it was boring and the narrators voice was nagging my nerves.
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1 person found this helpful
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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
- elle
- 14-11-21
Gothic feminist
Interesting story covering themes of hysteria, womans intuition, medicine and family trauma. The narration was too breathless throughout, not enough variation in pace/tone
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 10-08-20
A Feminist ghost story
Set in an American girls school in the late 19th century where strange things start happening to both the pupils and the only female teacher.
I know we have a long way to go to achieve full equality but I am very grateful to be a woman living in the 21st century in a democratic nation.
I am also grateful to be living in a time and place where attitudes and treatments of mental illness are well developed.
Although very well written the story wasn't to my personal taste.
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