Bodies of Men
Failed to add items
Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.
Add to basket failed.
Please try again later
Add to Wish List failed.
Please try again later
Remove from Wish List failed.
Please try again later
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Bodies of Men
Narrated by:
Stephen Phillips
Buy Now for $25.32
-
Narrated by:
-
Stephen Phillips
About this listen
Longlisted for the 2020 ARA Historical Novel Prize
2019 Canberra Critics Circle Award - FICTION
'a beautiful, tender, captivating story' - Joanna Nell, author of The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village
'It is a tender, liberating love story, but, as Featherstone originally intended, a provoking one about our definitions of masculinity, bravery and courage.' - Canberra Times
'a novel about intimacy and devotion, the power of tenderness, the mysteries of time, presence, and absence, secrets revealed and withheld, and friendships between strangers emerging from dire circumstances' - Australian Book Review
There is nothing more important than love and refuge.
Egypt, 1941. Only hours after disembarking in Alexandria, William Marsh, an Australian lieutenant at twenty-one, is face down in the sand, caught in a stoush with the Italian enemy. He is saved by James Kelly, a childhood friend from Sydney and the last person he expected to see. But where William escapes unharmed, not all are so fortunate.
William is sent to supervise an army depot in the Western Desert, with a private directive to find an AWOL soldier: James Kelly. When the two are reunited, James is recovering from an accident, hidden away in the home of an unusual family - a family with secrets. Together they will risk it all to find answers.
Soon William and James are thrust headlong into territory more dangerous than either could have imagined.
'A beautifully written, tender and sensitive love story told within the tense and uncertain context of war.' - Karen Viggers, bestselling author of The Lightkeeper's Wife
'This is a strangely gentle novel about wartime conflict, violence, and chaos.' - Sydney Morning Herald
Critic Reviews
a novel about intimacy and devotion, the power of tenderness, the mysteries of time, presence, and absence, secrets revealed and withheld, and friendships between strangers emerging from dire circumstances
A beautiful story, so deftly constructed . . . Bodies of Men is a wonderful book.
Spare, elegant, beautifully written
A beautiful, lyrical, elegiac book of love and war. A different take on men and conflict, and
a war story like no other
a war story like no other
Featherstone's writing rings with assurance, and echoes with love, memory and tenderness.
a beautiful, tender, captivating story
a tender, liberating love story, but... a provoking one about our definitions of masculinity, bravery and courage (Karen Hardy)
rich in tone and reflective, revealing the fragile nature of relationships within the shadows of war. Bodies of Men is a profoundly moving piece of fiction from a perceptive writer.
a captivating and moving love story that acutely measures the deep paradox of the masculine condition... Featherstone brings it all together in refined, unpretentious prose - war writing without sentimentality or hyperbole. I was totally absorbed by this book, I think it's just the thing for readers of Sebastian Faulks. There are even some ethereal notes of Michael Ondaatje in this. It's that good. (Ben Hunter)
Review to come
a timeless novel of love between men in wartime... a novel that says sweetness and strength in a man make for no contradiction but are two halves of a whole, and that shows each man, in his own way, is a 'dangerous story'. (Kim Kelly)
a strangely gentle novel about wartime conflict, violence, and chaos. Nigel Featherstone explores the emotional currents running between friend and friend, child and parent, lover and beloved. The novel is set in a time and place where everyone is vulnerable and anyone might be shot, betrayed, captured or abandoned, but love of all kinds endures.
if the reader wants setting, description, action at breakneck speed and a bittersweet ending, Bodies of Men will give it all... if you want a tender and remarkable story of discovery and fidelity, this is the book for you. (Michael McKernan)
Bodies of men, then, is a war novel that questions war. But, it is told with a generous touch that doesn't undermine or betray those who choose to go. It's a page-turner, underpinned by a fundamental understanding of humanity. It's a very good read.
the novel is worth reading for Featherstone's keen understanding of desire and the consequences of generosity
Extended Review
There’s a much larger focus on the humanity of war - this is a novel of microstories and love as refuge. It explores masculinity and politicality and the effects of war on those on the margins, and most of all, love as refuge.
It is not an action-packed, battle-heavy novel. The majority of the action happens in the first chapter. But it is beautiful and sweeping, both tiny and massive in scope.
The narration is brilliant and really adds something. Highly recommend!
A gorgeous WWII LGBTQ+ love story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.