Wow best book I have listen to in ages.

This is a fantastic book performed brilliantly by all the narrators. The character are interesting. Funny, thought provoking, emotional and sad.

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1 person found this helpful

not exciting

the book is all about characters not so much story. for some people this is great. for me I am dyslexic so need a riveting tale to follow and enjoy. was just a bit tooooo slow for me

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How have I missed this?

What an amazing book which nearly escaped me - 22 years too late! Absolutely loved it.

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fantastic

This was a great audiobook, I loved the changing voices! and the swift movement through the book. I really recommend this audiobook!

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1 person found this helpful

Climatic final quarter ruined by weak narration

In a few years, I think I'd be willing to give the physical book a try. I loved the story and the writing and whilst it was slow paced I found it really colourful and interesting with vibrant carachters.
However, like so many other reviewers I felt the narration - the final narrator in particular - really let down the telling of the novel. I missed a lot of the climactic last quarter... purely because my mind had wandered. It took me ages to finish because whilst I wanted to hear what happened, the knowledge I had to endure another hour of that narration kept me from coming back - I listened to two other audiobooks before finally returning to this one.
If you are in two minds, I would suggest you buy a physical copy and read it with your eyes, for the sake of your ears.

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mixed feelings

it took me 3 attempts at reading this, I found it quite hard to get through and I felt it went off at a tangent a few times, but i downloaded it as an audio book and found it easier to follow by listening than reading and actually at the end when it all tied together and came to an end I enjoyed it, i think if i read it again I'd appreciate it more.

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Terrible narrators

A good read, but a terrible listen!
Four speakers, none of whom could do a passable South Asian, Caribbean AND cockney working class accent.
Number 1 failed miserably with a South Asian accent, number 2’s cockney and Caribbean was execrable, number 3 did best, but again failed with South Asian, and number 4, for the climax of the novel, didn’t even try to get any. Read the book, don’t torture yourself with this recording!

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why did I wait so long to read this.

I was lost in the story, the characters and how it unfolded.
It's a long time since I've been so absorbed.

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2 people found this helpful

Brilliant story

Really loved this book. But I didn’t enjoy the tone of the last narrator, it was a shame because I was really into the book but the last narrator slightly ruined the end of it as his tone was kind of flat and lacking emotion.

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most entertaining pause for thought

really enjoyed the narrative / social history lesson. found the changing storytellers did not add to my enjoyment and reflecting on a small piece of content from within about the disappointment felt when soap opera replaces a character with another actor.

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