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The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
- Narrated by: Daniela Nardini
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
Non-member price: $24.97
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Publisher's Summary
From the Costa Award winning, best-selling author of This Must Be the Place and I Am, I Am, I Am, comes an intense, breathtakingly accomplished story of a woman's life stolen and reclaimed.
Edinburgh in the 1930s. The Lennox family is having trouble with its youngest daughter. Esme is outspoken, unconventional and repeatedly embarrasses them in polite society. Something will have to be done.
Years later, a young woman named Iris Lockhart receives a letter informing her that she has a great aunt in a psychiatric unit who is about to be released.
Iris has never heard of Esme Lennox and the one person who should know more, her grandmother Kitty, seems unable to answer Iris's questions. What could Esme have done to warrant a lifetime in an institution? And how is it possible for a person to be so completely erased from a family's history?
Critic Reviews
"O'Farrell's imaginative territory is one you return to with delight." (The Times)
"Unputdownable." (Ali Smith)
"In one touching scene Esme, sitting in the car with Iris, attempting to process her sudden emergence into the world, pretends to fall asleep because 'she needs to think'. Iris reaches over and turns off the radio; this is 'the single nicest act that Esme has witnessed in a long time. It almost makes her cry'." (The Times)
More from the same
What listeners say about The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Bianca Coleman
- 28-04-2016
Touching, gut-wrenching read
I loved everything about this audiobook. The story is remarkable - full of tragedy, love, guilt and jealousy. The performance by Nardini was fantastic, transitioning seamlessly between characters. I didn't expect the ending at all.
Well worth a listen, I think.
4 people found this helpful
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- M.
- 05-02-2018
Incredible family secrets and twists
Great storyline enhanced by perfect Edinburgh accented narration .. was over all too quickly . Bizarre family secrets of pervious generation, who were unable to deal with an alternative intelligent female who did not conform.
1 person found this helpful
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- Layla Sacker
- 19-07-2018
Sadness, wasted life
Beautifully read. Switching from character to character so seamlessly. I was so moved by the wasted lives and while I felt rage at some of the actions I felt compassion too. Creating characters who act so heartlessly and yet you cannot judge or condemn is not easy and Maggie O Farrell does this so well.
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- Ann
- 19-10-2009
I didn't like it
When this book ended I thought there was some kind of mistake, so I listened to the last part again....how unsatisfactory. It's like the author just ran out of ideas and quit! I was waiting for it to get started.
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- Anna
- 15-07-2013
One of the best readings I have heard
What made the experience of listening to The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox the most enjoyable?
Daniella Nardini's characterisation and interpretation
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox?
The most memorable moments were when Esme was removed to the hospital. The extraordinary unfairness of the law and the brutal conditions in mental hospitals at the time were graphically and movingly described
What does Daniella Nardini bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
The voices of the different characters, especially Kitty, which I think I would have found it hard to track through reading only
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes
Any additional comments?
I have been listening to talking books for over 15 years and this is one of the best readings I have heard. I was moved to tears.
10 people found this helpful
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- Karen
- 21-05-2007
Gripping
This certainly was the equivalent of a 'page turner' I could not stop listening. I love Maggie O'Farrel's writing, and was gripped by this latest novel. That said, I did feel that the ending of this novel was a little light weight.....I felt it ended just when it had really begun....Not, in my view, her best work, but still extremely well written and engaging.
5 people found this helpful
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- Kaggy
- 03-06-2016
Heartbreaking story of a life denied
What is the worst thing you can do to another human being? Esme experiences a number of horrors made worse still by the fact they have been inflicted by her family and the people who are supposed to love her. In this short book, Maggie O'Farrell manages to weave an intimate and intriguing story of three family generations and the secrets that lurk in their background. The characters are vividly written and their stories are gripping and believable. This is an emotional book, but the pathos is not overdone and the ending is stark and believable. Daniella Nardini reads this beautifully and the production makes use of clever techniques to convey real and imagined voices. I don't believe anybody can ever achieve true closure but the conclusion was as close as it can probably ever get.
4 people found this helpful
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- Joan
- 01-04-2007
Glad to be modern
This is a woman's book. I don't mean this in a derogatory way, but any woman would be gripped by the appalling and sad story of Esme. This book is a little slow to start, but once the characters are established, it is fascinating to compare the lives of women born 50 years apart, and Daniela Nardini is excellent at delivering the changing voices of the different generations. The story unfolds slowly through snippets of conversation until everything falls into place. Clever and thought-provoking.
8 people found this helpful
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- bookwormbadger
- 11-07-2013
Brilliant and unforgettable
Would you consider the audio edition of The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox to be better than the print version?
Beautifully read and performed - really added to the story in a way that the print version would not have.
What did you like best about this story?
The plot was very clever and intricate, with lots of unexpected twists and turns!
What about Daniella Nardini’s performance did you like?
Her voice could be both calm and gentle for one character, as well as angry, accusatory, distraught... She was amazing.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I found it hard to stop listening - didn't want to tear myself away but the presence of young children tend to prevent me from listening in one sitting!
Any additional comments?
One of the best audiobooks we have bought in a long time. Will definitely be buying more from Maggie O'Farrell.
3 people found this helpful
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- Mrs Wendy Huggins
- 18-07-2012
Excellent, so much so, I read it twice!
Totally absorbing and brilliantly read by Daniella. So good I suggested it for the book club and everyone else loved it too.
3 people found this helpful
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- CharmayneFB
- 25-10-2013
I cannot rate it highly enough!
Would you consider the audio edition of The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox to be better than the print version?
I have not read the print version, but I can say that Daniella Nardini really does an amazing job reading the audio book. The voices she uses transport you back in time and then to the present day. Her portrayal of someone in the midst of dementia is so believable too.
What did you like best about this story?
The gentle suspense throughout. You just know something is coming, but it is in a gentle way, not obvious like a detective story. Not a romance, but has romantic elements affecting the plotlines too.
Which scene did you most enjoy?
There is part of the book where the two main characters independently come to realise what relationship they are to each other. It is very poignant.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I definitely could have listened to this all the way through in one go had my family allowed me to. I have to admit that the first few minutes didn't grab me, but after that, I was gripped.
Any additional comments?
The sense of injustice I felt for the characters was so great that it felt as though they were real people. I think this book will live with me for a while!
2 people found this helpful
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- Elizabeth
- 29-11-2010
its good
I was absorbed in the story quite quickly, the change in characters and time and place are very well done, and you can so easily visualise the situations. Its one I will be listening to again sometime.
2 people found this helpful
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- Elisabeth
- 13-01-2009
Esme lennox
A great audio story as much of the book is dialogue in different voices. Sensitive and an easy listen - exposure to the ease with which women in particular could be locked away in institutions in the early part of this century. Good contrasts with life as was, particularly for middle class gals and modern day life for women. thoroughly enjoyed it.
2 people found this helpful
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- Mama C
- 04-09-2017
Amazing and captivating...
What a creative and clever writer, oh boy you need to keep concentrating to follow the treads...but well worth it.
1 person found this helpful
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