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Study for Obedience
- Narrated by: Sarah Bernstein
- Length: 3 hrs and 59 mins
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Study for Obedience
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Publisher's Summary
A powerful, compressed masterwork for fans of Shirley Jackson and Claire-Louise Bennett.
A woman moves from the place of her birth to a remote northern country to be housekeeper to her brother, whose wife has just left him. The youngest child of many siblings - more than she cares to remember - from earliest childhood she has attended to their every desire, smoothed away the slightest discomfort with perfect obedience, with the highest degree of devotion. The country, it transpires, is the country of their family's ancestors, an obscure though reviled people.
Soon after she arrives, a series of unfortunate events occurs - collective bovine hysteria; the demise of a ewe and her nearly-born lamb; a local dog's phantom pregnancy; the containment of domestic fowl; a potato blight. She notices that the local suspicion about incomers in general seems to be directed particularly in her case. What is clear is that she is being accused of wrongdoing, but in a language she cannot understand and so cannot address. And however diligently and silently she toils in service of the community, still she feels their hostility growing, pressing at the edges of her brother's property...
Critic Reviews
LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2023
NAMED AS ONE OF GRANTA MAGAZINE'S BEST OF YOUNG BRITISH NOVELISTS 2023
What listeners say about Study for Obedience
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 11-11-2023
As insightful as it is absurd and disturbing.
An incredible narrative of internalised dialogue describing intergenerational trauma and internalised blame.
Given the rise of modern day antisemitism this is an important read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 23-11-2023
Compelling
I read the novel and loved it, and started listening to Sarah's reading. Incredible.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Cliente Amazon
- 27-01-2024
Complex, boring but still worth a read
Haven't been so confused by a book in a long time. Some pros: the style, the complexity of the characters' psychology (mainly the main one) and the relavance of modern antisemitism
. Some cons: ultra slow plot (weird in such a small book), boring side characters ...as well as 80percent ofnthe story. And particularly unrelatable and dislikable character.
Still, it is worth a read. I'm sure it's a book that can really spark something in someone...just not in me.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Tracey Mitchell
- 16-01-2024
I found the story uninteresting and was uncomfortable with the main character.
I found the readers accent and style of reading to be lacking intonation and overall uninteresting. The storyline, whilst subtle (it’s basically an internal monologue) was not that interesting and seemed to be on repeat. I wouldn’t recommend it.
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