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Nest

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Nest

By: Inga Simpson
Narrated by: Inga Simpson
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About this listen

Once an artist and teacher, Jen now spends her time watching the birds around her house and tending her lush, subtropical garden near the small town where she grew up. The only person she sees regularly is Henry, who comes after school for drawing lessons.

When a girl in Henry's class goes missing, Jen is pulled back into the depths of her own past. When she was Henry's age, she lost her father and her best friend, Michael - both within a week. The whole town talked about it then, and now, nearly 40 years later, they're talking about it again. Everyone is waiting - for the girl to be found and the summer rain to arrive.

At last, when the answers do come, like the wet, it is in a drenching, revitalising downpour.

Nest was longlisted for the Stella Prize 2015.

©2014 Inga Simpson (P)2015 Hachette Australia Pty Ltd Coming of Age Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Mystery Women's Fiction

Critic Reviews

"Beautiful and absorbing." ( Sydney Morning Herald on Mr Wigg)
"Resonantly powerful at every bite.... Just beautiful." ( Australian Women's Weekly on Mr Wigg)
"Beautifully crafted and brimming with warmth." ( Who Weekly on Mr Wigg)
" Mr Wigg captivates to the end." ( Good Reading)
All stars
Most relevant  
Some reflections and recounts of painful past tragedies reignited by current circumstances. Beautifully observed. Looking forward to exploring more of Inga's books.

Beautiful and gentle observations

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I enjoyed this book mostly for the stories of the birds and their environment. I liked the characters and their realness.
I liked the narration, though the other reviews are right, the post production editing is terrible.
But the mystery element was a bit boring because it was just left a mystery throughout almost the entire book. That part never really developed until it was just solved suddenly at the end.
To be completely honest I only finished it because I hate leaving books unfinished.

Beautiful imagery

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Beautifully written and narrated . I loved this book so much, a complete joy to listen too.

Brilliant

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…why did you say next chapter heading so quickly after end of previous chapter? It was jarring, annoying & I even checked my settings! But, loved the story.

Loved story & performance except…

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This book was used in my university class for the teaching of literary theory. The text is a great example for applying ecocriticism and/or postcolonial ecocriticism and is a very good overall narrative even if you aren’t doing critical analysis.

Learning material

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Loved this book. So evocative of country life yet understated and poetic. The plot unfolded in its own time and the characters well crafted.
The narration was sometimes a bit too understated with not quite enough pause between chapters to fully absorb the language and meaning.
A must read for anyone who loves birds and nature.

Exquisite

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I really enjoyed the lyrical descriptions of birds and their behaviour. They carried the story and the author's emotions.
Sadly the post production spoilt the effect of special chapter endings by running them straight into the next chapter title.
Very off putting and annoying.

Loved the birds.

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I don’t even know whether this is a good book because I cannot listen to it. I tried. I persevered. I gave it a red hot go. I cannot do it. I guess I’ve been spoilt by the absolutely flawless narration in most of the books I listen to. I’m giving the story four stars because I’m sure it’s probably a good one (although it is very reminiscent of all those “return to the home town/murder-mystery” themes). Anyway, I’ve put it back on the shelf.

Omg the narration!

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I didn’t get too far into this book. The audio was flat and so was the story. Depressing really

Boring voice and story

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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.