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The Clock Winder

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The Clock Winder

By: Anne Tyler
Narrated by: Suzanne Pirret
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.
The audio edition of The Clock Winder by Anne Tyler.

'Her brilliance in capturing the ripples on the surface of family life gives her a claim to be the Jane Austen of our age' - Allison Pearson, Daily Mail

Having sacked her handyman, newly-widowed Mrs Emerson finds a replacement in Elizabeth, a lanky, awkward girl. The Emersons - there are seven grown-up children - have a reputation for craziness and Elizabeth finds herself drawn into their disorderly lives against her will. But in the end it is hard to tell whether she is a victim of the needy Emersons, or the de facto ruler of the family.


©2019 Anne Tyler (P)2019 Penguin Audio Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological
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Having read three of Anne Tyler’s novels (Searching for Caleb, A Spool of Blue Thread, redhead by the side of the road) I was looking forward to this one. Unfortunately I found it an oppressive novel, which meandered aimlessly, and dominated by a hectoring, whining matriarch (Mrs Emerson) and an indifferent, almost shell-like character in Elizabeth. I chose this audio book based on the pleasant sample of the narration. But the narrator’s overdone characterisation of the dialogue - particularly her take on Mrs Emerson as a wailing, hectoring hysteric, but also of other characters - spoilt the reading for me and I wish I had returned the audiobook. (Also there was no pause whatsoever recorded between chapters which is jarring) I’ve since read that Anne Tyler is embarrassed by this novel, so don’t let this put you off the author as other novels I’ve read are excellent.

Far from Tyler’s best / let down by narration

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