The Inheritors
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The Inheritors
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Narrated by:
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David Dawson
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By:
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William Golding
About this listen
Hunt, trek, and feast among Neanderthals in this stunning vision of prehistory on the cusp of a new age, from the radical Nobel Laureate and author of Lord of the Flies, introduced by Ben Okri.
This was a different voice; not the voice of the people. It was the voice of other.
When spring comes, the people leave their winter cave, foraging for honey and shoots, bulbs and grubs, the hot richness of a deer's brain. They awaken the fire to heat their naked bodies, lay down their thorn bushes, and share pictures in their minds.
But strange things are happening - inexplicable scents, sounds, and violence - and, suddenly, unimaginable creatures are half-glimpsed in the forest; an upright new people of bone-faces and deerskins. What the early people don't know is that their season is already over ...
'An earthquake in the petrified forests of the English novel.' Arthur Koestler
'A tour de force ... Genius.' Daily Telegraph
'Alarming, eye-opening, desolating, mind-invading and unique.' New Statesman
'Powerful and provocative ... Each time I revisit The Inheritors I find something new.' Penelope Lively
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What listeners say about The Inheritors
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
- Pontylad
- 31-07-23
Masterful
I also read this 40 years ago .I recalled that it was a powerful book with a pessimistic view of Homo Sapiens .That attitude did not necessarily suit the optimism of my youth but it certainly fit in with that shown by Golding in Lord of the Flies a novel foisted upon many a 70s school student .Having revisited it now it's clear that the use of language to convey another form of consciousness in the Neanderthals is extraordinary. It's not entirely perfect as using language to describe a non lingual culture from the inside is perhaps an impossible task but Golding gets as near to damn it in doing this .There are so many parallels that could be drawn from this book that it would bear a number of readings ( listenings) .It was the authors favourite book and it may well be the best that he wrote .The reader gets the narration spot on .
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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
- Pilgrim Soul
- 20-06-23
An extraordinary story.
I first read this about 40 years ago, but I come back again and again. Now I can listen to it too, which is great, as I can’t jump ahead. It is a story of origins and in light of modern archeological finds, very prescient.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nuttyflip
- 15-10-22
Absorbing depiction of neanderthal extinction
A fascinating imagining of the world of our prehistoric ancestors. Golding describes the life and customs of a small neanderthal tribe, and their destructive encounter with another homo species. The special quality of the book is in the way Golding uses language to depict the senses, perceptions and relationships of the neanderthal people, a race without complex language or power of imagination. We really feel we enter their world, and sympathetically experience their astonishment and bewilderment when confronted with the creativity - and destructiveness - of the new order. The novel is also an allegory for the loss of happiness and innocence in our race, as in the biblical account in Genesis of the Fall of Man, written as it was by a man with conflicted emotions about his active service in the second World War.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jeremy Critchlow
- 15-10-21
Astonishing! Stupendous! Unique!
There is no wonder that William Golding was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. This novel is unique.
It is is the story of a band of Neanderthals and their encounter with 'the new ones', an advanced breed of humans (homo sapiens) who arrive at the island near to the cave where the Neanderthals live. But this is so much more than just a story - it is the exploration of a mindscape very different from our own. Every action, every idea and every emotion is related from the point of view of a Neanderthal's mindset - more rudimentary, more visual, more natural and more innocent. As Lok and his companions struggle to find meaning in the strange events occurring around them so the story unfolds until, with a sudden twist of perspective, the nature of the two groups of people is subtly revealed.
David Dawson's narration is beautifully measured, drawing you into a journey of perceptions quite unlike anything written before or since. Astonishing! Stupendous! An imaginative tour de force! Unique!
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4 people found this helpful
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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
- Brian
- 04-11-22
Moving and original
I found this a very moving book - the Neanderthals naive pastoral lives being invaded by Homo Sapiens. It draws you into a different mind - slower, sensuous and immediate. It can be a little confusing at times but is worth sticking with. No spoilers but the last two chapters pack a punch.
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