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Trio

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Trio

By: William Boyd
Narrated by: Hannah Arterton
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

A producer. A novelist. An actress.

It is summer in 1968, the year of the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. There are riots in Paris and the Vietnam War is out of control. While the world is reeling our three characters are involved in making a Swingin' Sixties movie in sunny Brighton.

All are leading secret lives. Elfrida is drowning her writer's block in vodka; Talbot, coping with the daily dysfuntion of making a film, is hiding something in a secret apartment; and the glamorous Anny is wondering why the CIA is suddenly so interested in her.

But the show must go on and, as it does, the trio's private worlds begin to take over their public ones. Pressures build inexorably - someone's going to crack. Or maybe they all will.

From one of Britain's best loved writers comes an exhilarating, tender novel that asks the vital questions: what makes life worth living? And what do you do if you find it isn't?
_______________________________________________

PRAISE FOR WILLIAM BOYD

'The ultimate in immersive fiction . . . magnificent' Sunday Times

'A finely judged performance: a deft and resonant alchemy of fact and fiction, of literary myth and imagination' Guardian on Love is Blind

'William Boyd has probably written more classic books than any of his contemporaries' Daily Telegraph

'Simply the best realistic storyteller of his generation' Sebastian Faulks

© William Boyd 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

 20th Century Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction

Critic Reviews

A middle-aged film producer, a novelist with writer's block and a glamorous young actress come together to make a Swinging Sixties movie in this jaunty page-turner. But everyone is living a double life. Even names can't be taken on trust. Full of neat phrases and quirkily funny scenes, it's an elating read
What could be more reassuring in troubling times than a new William Boyd novel? Trio is immensely readable, its descriptions full of light and colour, its humour spot on, its mood a perfect mix of frolicsome and melancholy

An absorbing novel about lives spiralling out of control and the drastic measures required to right them
The characters are wonderfully written and I loved escaping to the gossipy world of the film set
Boyd keeps the plot racing along, yet for all the twists, the real delight is in William Boyd's wry portrait of a bygone age . . . Boyd's usual sure touch is evident throughout this tender, gently comic work
One of our best contemporary storytellers. . . Trio embraces comedy, tragedy and redemption. It succeeds impressively because of its dramatic, often sensational, revelations
I am a huge fan of William Boyd and the tender way he writes about the flaws and frailties of his characters. Trio is his best novel in years
Reading William Boyd's Trio is like shrugging on a worn leather jacket on the first brisk morning of autumn: cosy but cool . . . He has enormous fun with the worlds - and egos - of page and screen
Enormous fun . . . Boyd's characters are vibrant, his prose elegant, comedy excellent: the result is a book that's compassionate and compelling
Boyd's writing is as fluent as ever but it's the ideas pulsing beneath the surface that distinguish Trio
All stars
Most relevant
This is full of great characters who entertain one. The trio all change and grow. He William Boyd is a fantastic author. And Hannah’s narration is seamless.
I have read quite a few of his books here’s hoping I can find some more well written novels. And not some dreadful books I have to send back.

So well written

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Just before the release of this title, I listened to the new Audible version of 'Any Human Heart'. Of course, it demonstrates Boyd's brilliance and I was delighted that it filled the gap until this novel was released. However, Trio turned out to be such a disappointment and the only Boyd book that I have returned.

The characters felt weak and I found it impossible to engage with any of them. Perhaps they represented the superficial nature of the film industry, but I had to give up after 20 chapters as I just did not care about or connect with anyone. I thought I might be misjudging Boyd because this is so unlike him, so I even tried a second time, but gave up a second time!

As for the narration, this was truly dreadful. Hannah Arterton was clearly an extremely bad choice as she has absolutely no ability to pronounce even the most basic French. Hard to imagine that this escaped Boyd, his agent and the Audible production team. A major failure in execution. Let us hope that Boyd returns to form with his next novel.

Such a dissapointment

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