The Discomfort of Evening cover art

The Discomfort of Evening

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The Discomfort of Evening

By: Marieke Lucas Rijneveld
Narrated by: Genevieve Gaunt
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About this listen

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.

©2018, 2020 Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, translated by Michele Hutchison (P)2020 Audible, Ltd Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Women's Fiction
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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!

Toads, poo and other things

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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.

Warning Required- incest and rape

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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

A bit too nauseating

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I’m sure it’s a story worth telling but for me not worth reading. Sad yet dull. Disturbing yet boring.

Dull and disturbing

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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!


Why did this author win a prize!

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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.

Wow what a story

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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.

Masterful storytelling and prose

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This book is so unnecessary. Don't know how it won the international booker prize a

don't read

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