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The Promise
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
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The Promise
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Publisher's Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
Winner of the Booker Prize 2021.
This audiobook includes bonus content of Damon Galgut in conversation with Ted Hodgkinson, Head of Literature and Spoken Word at the Southbank Centre.
There is nothing unusual or remarkable about the Swart family, oh no, they resemble the family from the next farm and the one beyond that, just an ordinary bunch of white South Africans, and if you don't believe it then listen to us speak....
The many voices of The Promise tell a story in four snapshots, each one centered on a family funeral, each one happening in a different decade. In the background, a different president is in power, and a different spirit hangs over the country, while in the foreground the family fights over what they call their farm, on a worthless piece of land outside Pretoria.
Over large jumps in time, people get older, faces and laws and lives all change, while a brother and sister circle around a promise made long ago and never kept....
Critic Reviews
A superb novel; a nuanced, sad, hilarious portrait of a family and a country (PAULA HAWKINS)
This story was so powerful, the writing so strong and supple.... What an achievement (CLARE CHAMBERS)
A moving, brilliantly told family epic...darkly comic...phenomenally good (ELIZABETH DAY)
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What listeners say about The Promise
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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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
- Pita
- 16-01-2022
Beautifully written and Brilliantly read
Well worth winning the Man Booker. Moving, sad, deep, hopeful and poignant. The subtle variations in South African accent that is never over done enhances the story. Thoroughly recommend.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jacqui Daniels
- 28-08-2022
Like an itch you can’t scratch!
I liked the interesting style of writing although I sometimes found it hard to work out whose voice/point of view I was listening to! (I know that was the intention just found it sometimes a bit confusing). I was kind of cross about the ending because he leaves it vague! Why couldn’t he at les give us some certainty at the end. I don’t want Disney but a little bit of final certainty would have been more satisfying!
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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
- Anonymous User
- 24-11-2021
Absolutely brilliant
Brilliantly written, beautifully read. A masterpiece in every sense. How else to describe it? What an experience.
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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
- Carole O'Sullivan
- 17-11-2021
Superb
A masterpiece. Incredible wriing
brought to life by the faultless narration.
Will listen again .
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Linette Anderson
- 06-05-2022
couldn't stand the sound of the voice. hated it
only listened to a couple of chapters
can I swap it please?
unable to finish
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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
- Gerrie van Vuuren
- 09-11-2021
loved it! very nostalgic
loved it! brought back memories of growing up in apartheid South Africa for the first 31 years of my life.
left SA because the future was unclear and did not look like a good place to bring up white children. The history recorded in this book confirms my fears.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 29-11-2021
The Promise
A drama tragedy that weaves in an anaemic polemic on the new South Africa. The recurrent tragedy surprises one. A great “read”.
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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
- Jennifer
- 12-11-2022
Compelling
Haven’t read anything like it before. Loved the meandering thoughts. And the what if scenarios.
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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
- Anonymous User
- 12-11-2021
Sublime
Powerful, intensely human story read by gifted narrator. A compelling audio journey and worthy Booker winner.
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2 people 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
- virginia w.
- 18-12-2021
A window to South Africa
I think this is a novel worth listening to. The writing is very good, meaning both elegant and evocative. The story is engaging on many levels. Of course we want to know what happens to the characters, but there is the bigger South African story which most of us would never have experienced in a personal way. The narration is nuanced and masterful.
I found the addendum, the interview with Damon Galgut, enlightening, in particular the way he, as a white South African approached the representation of black South Africans.
Recommended.
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2 people found this helpful
