The Cactus cover art

The Cactus

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The Cactus

By: Sarah Haywood
Narrated by: Katherine Manners
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About this listen

A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | SHORTLISTED FOR THE BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD | A RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK

People aren't sure what to make of Susan Green. Family and colleagues find her prickly and hard to understand - but Susan makes perfect sense to herself. Age 45, she thinks her life is perfect. She has a London flat which is ideal for one; a steady job that suits her passion for logic; and a personal arrangement providing cultural and other, more intimate, benefits.

Yet suddenly faced with the loss of her mother and, implausibly, with the possibility of becoming a mother herself, Susan's greatest fear is being realised: she is losing control. And things can only get worse ... at least in Susan's eyes.

This sparkling debut is a breath of fresh air with real heart and a powerful emotional punch. In Susan we find a character as exasperating and delightful as The Rosie Project's Don Tillman. An uncompromising feminist and a fierce fighter, it's a joy to watch her bloom.

©2018 Sarah Haywood (P)2018 John Murray Press Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt

Critic Reviews

'Quirky, poignant and extremely readable' Sunday Mirror

'Brilliantly comic' The Lady

'Wonderfully funny and astute' Red
All stars
Most relevant
Recommend for a non-taxing read. Not too deep but pleasant and wanted to keep going.

Light read

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I found this to be an entertaining book with serious undertones but primarily aighthearted read about a character that was comfortable being a little different from everyone else.

An entertaining listen

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Couldn't stop listening it was so good, the story, the characters and the narration were all wonderful.

loved it

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I listened to this at 1.5 speed, found the narration quite slow but that might be a personal attention-span thing. The character also seemed herself racing through her thoughts, too. Funny, just plain funny but also very relatable to anyone with, well, a relative...

If you're in need of a laugh - fantastic

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A great rendering of a story encompassing many different types of people and issues. It’s like The Rosie Project and Eleanor Oliphant, but even better. Couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next.

Great book

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Loved this: read really well, thoughtful and independent storyline. Something different but easy to follow. A satisfying book

Love

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I loved this story and loved the narrator. This book has stayed with me fir months now! Just loved it!

Brilliant and beautiful

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fantastic narration. All the different voices well defined and clear. definitely recommend. Really enjoyed this book

Narration

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Very enjoyable listen. Despite the main character being very straight forward to the point of being rude, she has, somehow, surrounded herself with some wonderful friends.
A very enjoyable light read.

Enjoyable Listen.

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Really enjoyable story. Susan’s unexpected responses were laugh out loud and smiles. Some of the other main characters were a little difficult to warm to but she makes up for them and I was happy to listen just for the narrator’s voice and Susan’s thoughts.

Gorgeous Susan

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