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  • The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047

  • By: Lionel Shriver
  • Narrated by: George Newbern
  • Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (126 ratings)

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The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047 cover art

The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047

By: Lionel Shriver
Narrated by: George Newbern
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Publisher's Summary

The brilliant new novel from the Orange Prize-winning author of We Need to Talk About Kevin centres on three generations of the Mandible family as a fiscal crisis hits a near-future America.

It is 2029. The Mandibles have been counting on a sizable fortune filtering down when their 97-year-old patriarch dies. Yet America's soaring national debt has grown so enormous that it can never be repaid. Under siege from an upstart international currency, the dollar is in meltdown. A bloodless world war will wipe out the savings of millions of American families. Their inheritance turned to ash, each family member must contend with disappointment but also - as the effects of the downturn start to hit - the challenge of sheer survival.

Recently affluent Avery is petulant that she can't buy olive oil while her sister, Florence, is forced to absorb strays into her increasingly cramped household. As their father, Carter, fumes at having to care for his demented stepmother now that a nursing home is too expensive, his sister, Nollie, an expat author, returns from abroad at 73 to a country that's unrecognisable. Perhaps only Florence's oddball teenage son, Willing, an economics autodidact, can save this formerly august American family from the streets.

This is not science fiction. This is a frightening, fascinating, scabrously funny glimpse into the decline that may await the United States all too soon, from the pen of perhaps the most consistently perceptive and topical author of our times.

©2016 Lionel Shriver (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

What listeners say about The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Dystopian, Realistic, Fantastic!

This book is similar to George Orwell's 1984, but better. Based on realistic implications, should the US currency become defunct. A fantastic read/listen

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Witty dry and so imaginative

This is just great. A wry understated dystopian novel set in the USA. Thoroughly enjoyable. Definitely recommend.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

dense and brilliant

Hilarious, tragic, hyper-intelligent and self-aware. Political and apolitical all at once. word word word word.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A little preachy

The Mandibles is a return to pre-1950 SF- the barely disguised political pamphlet. The characters were good, however the precocious super child seems to be a bit of a Shriver trope. Ignoring the barrow Shriver is pushing, it is a very engaging plotline and the future America is plausible.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Prescient

Chilling in realism - especially in light of current crisis. Characters and relationship interactions are believable and poignant. Well narrated

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Believable and disturbing

My only negative feeling toward this novel was that I didn’t bond with any of the characters.
Perhaps there were too many important characters for me to bond with one of them, or perhaps none of them were sufficiently likeable. Otherwise I found the story fascinating in spite of being depressingly believable.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Incredibly good.

George Newbern performance was incredible because he is an great narrator and he understood the story.
And what an incredible story!
Lionel Shriver has written a classic. This is the great American novel. This story what kids images adult stories are like, but extremely rarely are. By writing about a slightly different outside world it opens up the world on the inside. She is an excellent guide.
The Mandibles should win every award there is this year.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • SR
  • 09-11-2021

Excellent, Thought Provoking Journey

Narration was fantastic, understated test super effective at conveying the different characters personalities.

The shocking dystopian tale made me look at my own current life, the waste, the possessions , the way our government keeps printing money as a way of creating a band aid solution to fiscal woes etc.

The narrative and plot move along nicely and the pace is great.

Highly recommend

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Impeccable writing

I so enjoyed the clever prose and humour in this book. There was a richness through this prose, brought to each of the characters. There was something deeper in the story about humanity and our relationship to stuff and how kind ship has such a pull within us. I loved this book!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A great concept. Bit of a mishmash

The story takes a while to get going. It builds a lot of the characters and as it does you get to know them. Either the way the book is written or the narrator is frustrating. All of the characters sound like they are on a debate team and to be honest the narrator isn’t great and when he switches voices it’s hard to tell who is who.

When it did finally get going (I thought of giving up it took so long) it got really good. I was really enjoying it…. Then they cut a whole section out and did a time jump.

The final few chapters tbh were a waste of time and the ending was meh.

A great concept. It could have been so much better.

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