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Ducks, Newburyport

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Ducks, Newburyport

By: Lucy Ellmann
Narrated by: Stephanie Ellyne
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About this listen

Winner of the Goldsmiths Prize 2019.

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2019.

Latticing one cherry pie after another, an Ohio housewife tries to bridge the gaps between reality and the torrent of meaningless info that is the United States of America. She worries about her children, her dead parents, African elephants, the bedroom rituals of happy couples, Weapons of Mass Destruction and how to hatch an abandoned wood pigeon egg. Is there some trick to surviving survivalists? School shootings? Medical debts? Franks 'n' beans?

A scorching indictment of America's barbarity, past and present, and a lament for the way we are sleepwalking into environmental disaster, Ducks, Newburyport is a heresy, a wonder - and a revolution in the novel.

©2019 Lucy Ellmann (P)2020 Recorded Books Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Fiction Survival

Critic Reviews

"A masterpiece like no other." (Vogue)

"Full of wit and intelligence...and one of the most intriguing, charming and genuinely funny characters I have come across in recent years." (The Herald)

"In her latest novel, Lucy Ellmann doesn't just carry on as before: she doubles up, doubles down, and absolutely goes for broke. (...) Success? Failure? A triumph." (Guardian)

All stars
Most relevant  
Thoroughly enjoyed the internal rhythm and motifs of this book, enjoyed the commentary on america, medical acronyms & experience of parents.
Listened to this as an audiobook which was excellently narrated by Stephanie Ellyne.
If intimidated by it’s length, audiobook is fantastic medium and emphasizes the rhythm and motifs.

audiobook is the best medium to enjoy this book

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I can see that people could struggle with this book but I loved it. At first it just seems like a jumble of thoughts, and it is, but as it goes on more of a narrative emerges. I really loved the perspective this is told from.
Great narration too, perfect for this book.

Not like anything else I've read

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I don't know whether I would have been able to stick with this in book format, but as an audiobook, listened to while doing other things (much like the narrator's thoughts), it works extremely well.

Audiobook is the perfect medium for this.

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This book is addictive if you like it. Whether reading or listening you sink into the flow of thought from the narrator. Broken by the few short sharp sections about the mother mountain lion.

But audible make it hard. Rather than create sections it is all one 45 hour piece. Very hard to move around. Whether random - every hour - or for each tome the lion episode breaks the text there ahould more ways to control the listen.

A long exposure to motherhood

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This book is not for everyone, it is not accessible and not the ‘norm’, however, once I got into the book it was so much fun! It’s written as if your reading the thoughts of the narrator with a short story interweaved throughout. The vocal performance is amazing and really enhances the nuisances of the book! I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to explore experimental literature.

Experimental Fun!

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So subtle, soothing and oddly addictive to listen to… I was sad for this to end. Very clever the way everything links together, and the narrator is incredibly talented.

A work of genius

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Supposedly a great work of modern fiction according to the arts intelligentsia, I found it tedious, repetitive and boring. I'm sure the author is saying something profound, I just can't get past the tedious, stream-of-consciousness narrative to work out what it is, or whether I am even interested. Rarely do I give up on books, but this was one of them. This book makes you work hard to penetrate the buzz of the internal monologue of a neurotic housewife to try to find a plot and what it is saying. In the end I decided it wasn't worth the effort. I work hard during the day. I don't want to spend my evening listening to the impenetrable, neurotic ramblings of a character I just couldn't become interested in. If you like your books to be a challenge this could be for you. It could equally be one of publishing's greatest practical jokes.

If you like a challenge

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