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The Discomfort of Evening
- Narrated by: Genevieve Gaunt
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
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The Discomfort of Evening
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Publisher's Summary
Winner of the International Booker Prize 2020
I asked God if he please couldn't take my brother, Matthies, instead of my rabbit. 'Amen.'
Ten-year-old Jas has a unique way of experiencing her universe: the feeling of udder ointment on her skin as protection against harsh winters; the texture of green warts, like capers, on migrating toads; the sound of 'blush words' that aren't in the Bible. But when a tragic accident ruptures the family, her curiosity warps into a vortex of increasingly disturbing fantasies - unlocking a darkness that threatens to derail them all.
A best-selling sensation in the Netherlands, Marieke Lucas Rijneveld's radical debut novel is studded with images of wild, violent beauty: a world of language unlike any other, exquisitely captured in Michele Hutchison's translation.
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What listeners say about The Discomfort of Evening
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- David
- 30-10-2020
Toads, poo and other things
Not really my sort of thing but I feel sorry for this young woman brought up on a farm in the Netherlands! I used to think that being sent to boarding school in England in the 1960s was pretty bad but this sad pessimistic view of life mixing constipation with foot and mouth disease makes me feel lucky! I am extremely worried about the author and her bowel habit! A very depressing view of childhood! Discomfort is the right word!
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 06-12-2020
Warning Required- incest and rape
Struggled to finish this one. I feel there should have been a warning regarding the subject matter. Incest between young siblings is something I found confronting and may be triggering for some listeners.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Fiona Edmonds
- 01-02-2024
A bit too nauseating
I had to stop reading this book as it actually made me feel sick. The toads, the poo, the mouldy food, the cruelty. everything eaten in this book turned my stomach: aniseed milk, donuts covered in mould. Relentlessly awful, had to stop
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Kristen Lyons
- 12-09-2020
Dull and disturbing
I’m sure it’s a story worth telling but for me not worth reading. Sad yet dull. Disturbing yet boring.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Wendy
- 21-04-2021
Why did this author win a prize!
This is the most depressing book I have ever listened to. It is sordid, sad, boring , and a complete waste of time. I am sure that there are other books worthy of such a prestigious prize. I very rarely comment on a book but I feel the need to deter others from wasting their money!
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1 person found this helpful
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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
- Sally Cousens
- 27-11-2020
Wow what a story
Beautifully written and incredibly translated to preserve the beauty of the words and images. A sad tale of the damage adults can inflict on imaginative vulnerable children.
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1 person found this helpful
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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
- chet
- 19-10-2021
Masterful storytelling and prose
People seem unfairly up in arms in the other reviews here. Understand this isn't for the casual reader, but it is a very good book and worth reading. It will move and provoke, not cheaply or vacantly, but through masterful storytelling and prose.
The prose are so evocative and worth studying - it gets under your skin in a manner I've rarely experienced, which is equal part disturbing, hilarious and even tender.
It is also a very well told story, a rich character study and meditation on grief. It may feel lacking in structure or action to drive the narrative, but it all comes together very thoughtfully by the end.
If you are easily disturbed maybe it's not for you, otherwise it's definitely worth your time. Also the narration is perfect.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- BreeGoodwinReads
- 09-10-2020
don't read
This book is so unnecessary. Don't know how it won the international booker prize a
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2 people found this helpful
