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Flesh Wounds

By: Richard Glover
Narrated by: Richard Glover
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Publisher's Summary

A mother who invented her past, a father who was often absent, a son who wondered if this could really be his family...Richard Glover's favourite dinner-party game is called 'Who's Got the Weirdest Parents?' It's a game he always thinks he'll win.

There was his mother, a deluded snob who made up large swathes of her past and who ran away with Richard's English teacher, a Tolkien devotee, nudist and stuffed toy collector.

There was his father, a distant alcoholic who ran through a gamut of wives, yachts and failed dreams. And there was Richard himself, a confused teenager, vulnerable to strange men, trying to find a family he could belong to.

As he eventually accepted, the only way to make sense of the present was to go back to the past - but beware of what you might find there. Truth can leave wounds - even if they are only flesh wounds.

Part poignant family memoir, part rollicking venture into a 1970s Australia, this is a book for anyone who's wondered if their family is the oddest one on the planet. The answer: no. There is always something stranger out there.

©2015 Richard Glover (P)2015 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

What listeners say about Flesh Wounds

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  • Overall
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So comforting

The spoken word is the way to take in a book like this. To hear the emotion in the author's own voice enabled me to connect at a really visceral level, and to know it's not just me. If Richard Glover can survive, so can I. So can we all. You won't regret purchasing this book.

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5 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great story spoiled by poor narration.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The narrator. Richard can write but he cannot narrate.

What did you like best about this story?

The final paragraphs resonated with me and made it worth the effort of persevering with the narration.

How could the performance have been better?

Someone else should have read it.

Do you think Flesh Wounds needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No.

Any additional comments?

Good story, interesting to hear someone's back story...but just because you are a great writer does not mean you are a great narrator. This is the third book read by the author that I have struggled with. Let the writers write and the actors/voice over people narrate.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Entertaining and highly recommended

Loved this book. Listened to it whilst running. Usually tortuous - the run flew by! I actually didn't want my run to end sometimes as I was hanging out for the next instalment. That's an achievement!

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A Great Read

Would you consider the audio edition of Flesh Wounds to be better than the print version?

I study law so I do a lot of reading, so when it comes to books I am happy to listen. Also audio books lets the characters come to life through the voice of the author.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Flesh Wounds?

I liked the part when Richard went back to his past and dug up his family history. However, my only wish is that he should have done it when he was 19 and then he could have met some of his now deceased relatives.

Have you listened to any of Richard Glover’s other performances? How does this one compare?

This is the first book of Richard Glover I have listened to.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were a few moments, one where his mother ran away from her birth family and took a new identity, then ran away from her son and when she wouldn't hold her first grandson.

I don't have a great relationship with my own mother so probably that's why I am saying this.

Any additional comments?

I found the book very insightful. It reminded me of Shantaram by Gregory Roberts. Their stories are tragic, however there is a quirkiness of both styles, which made them slightly entertaining.

Also on a side note, I went to ANU with Dan Glover, although I didn't study in the same course as him, I only bumped into him a handful of times. I first met him during enrolments when we were registering our course and he mentioned he was residing at Burton and Griffin, I myself at Fenner Hall.

Anyway I really enjoyed this book.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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"It's only a flesh wound"

This is a poignant reflection on self and other. What, or who, ultimately makes us who we are? What happens when a child (and so in turn an adult) is beholden to a parent who has not figured out who they are...and to such an extent that it is predominantly a fabricated story into which a child is born...Richard's memoir highlights that finding one's way through somebody else's fantasies is no mean feat...but that it can be done...and that sanity can prevail in the weirdest of circumstances ...well worth a read/listen...

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A Warm But Funny Memoir

I have occasionally listened to Richard Glover on the radio and remember I once used to read newspapers which contained his columns. This memoir recalls a most unexpected story and can make us all wonder about our own parents and upbringing. He refers to the game of "Who had the weirdest parents?" I think Richard Glover is usually going to win that game. But he tells the story with warmth, compassion and humour. I laughed regularly while listening to this audiobook. I'm not sure if it would appeal to people in other countries but the humour will certainly appeal to Australians and possibly some Brits. Richard's survival of his upbringing makes him something of a hero but being prepared to tell his story with such candid honesty, including his own imperfections, is bravest of all. I don't wish Richard's upbringing on more children but a world with more Richard Glovers would be a better one. "Flesh Wounds" is one of the best audiobooks I have listened to - ever.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great Listen

This is a wonderful journey of discovery.
Couldn’t stop listening to it.
Highly recommend this book.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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I couldn't stop listening

Fantastic book, funny sad, heartfelt. Very thought provoking. The narration was excellent, the story is very amusing in parts.

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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A good Aussie book

This book was a wholesome story full of truth about life and the nuts and bolts of human insecurities. It also captures the solid I will survive attitude familiar to many of us who have had a rough upbringing.

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1 person found this helpful

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Loved this book

I could relate to the type of parenting and era and many other things in this book. But most of all the ability to see the funny side of it. Many parallels with my own life.

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