tomomo

Informative and enjoyable

Reviewed: 12-06-24

A really good listen. The perspective of the author is sympathetic but not uncritical -- probably the best perspective from which to write such a book. I initially felt the book would fall uncomfortably between history and biography, neither providing an adequate historical narrative nor providing more than a thin biographical sketch of the five 'rebels'. Having listened I think it does indeed fall into that neither-nor area, but I found that much less bothersome than I thought I might. As a centre-left person who has sometimes found the five 'rebels' exasperating, depressing, disappointing and/or pathetic, I enjoyed spending time with them much more than I might have expected.

The narrator is very easy to listen to. I find Penguin audiobooks are often poorly edited. This is better than many, but there are weird errors that the audio editor should've picked up and removed. The political 68ers should not be referred to as 'the 69ers'. 'Nous' in the context of the book is an English word which rhymes with 'house', not a Greek word pronounced 'noose'. 'Antisemitic' should not rhyme with 'hermetic'. And the union NUPE was always referred to as 'new-pea', not 'noop'.

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1 person found this helpful

Very enjoyable ...

Reviewed: 16-04-24

... though the denouement is a bit over-contrived and implausible. Not the best in the series, but still very listenable. The reader is excellent.

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1 person found this helpful

A very unusual, thought-provoking suspense novel

Reviewed: 01-02-24

This book was selected by Ian Rankin on BBC R4's "A Good Read" (30 January 2024). The short discussion on that programme/podcast gives a useful introduction to the book -- so maybe check it out before buying.

As Rankin says in the programme, there's something of Patricia Highsmith and Graham Greene in it. It's a (very odd) kind of holocaust survivor memoir, a fascinating portrayal of London in the '60s, and a very humorous and suspenseful read.

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1 person found this helpful

Begins brilliantly

Reviewed: 14-12-23

This book is too long, and the plot ultimately becomes too implausible and contrived. But it is nevertheless an excellent read. A gripping, sharp, and funny examination of envy, resentment, and ambition, and a wonderfully satirical presentation of publishing, race/gender politics/posturing in the US, and the banal horror of what passes for 'public discourse' on social media.

If only I had stolen the first draft of this book! I could have ruthlessly rewritten it, cutting the last third, and turning it into a masterpiece I would have been proud to call my own.

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Great story

Reviewed: 11-12-23

Amber Scorah has had an unusual and very interesting life, and she relates it and reflects on it in an honest and intelligent way. "Leaving the Witness" is not as well-written as, for example, Megan Phelps-Roper's "Unfollow", but I found it a very engaging and enjoyable read.

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Excellent novel. Genius reader.

Reviewed: 08-12-23

Although it's less brilliant than it initially promises to be, this is a very good novel.

The reader, Adjoa Andoh, is astonishing. She can do the voice of a Nigerian immigrant to the US who, having initially modified her voice to sound less African, has decided to revert to her own voice (which, despite her intentions, has been modified by her years in America). She can flip between Nigerian English and Igbo (a native Nigerian language). She can do cockney English, educated black American English, higher class Nigerian English, lower class Nigerian English ... I'm sure she's already won lots of awards, but if she hasn't, someone should make sure that she does.

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When it's good it's very, very good

Reviewed: 09-10-23

Overall I'd strongly recommend this book. Certainly, readers who have enjoyed the "My Struggle" series, or who have enjoyed "The Morning Star", will also enjoy "The Wolves of Eternity".

The narrative in the voice of a young Norwegian, Syvert, which constitutes almost all of the first part of the novel, is fantastic. It builds slowly from a very simple beginning, with individual narrative strands added one at a time. I was completely gripped by it and was therefore pretty annoyed when it was suddenly interrupted (a real cliff-hanger) and the book was taken over by narrators in Russia.

The novel is eventually brought together in quite a traditional way when a much older Syvert visits Russia. But in the meantime there is quite a lot of discursive material about (mainly) death and the nature/varieties of mindedness and identity. This is basically all good stuff, which I will enjoy reading with more focus when I get the paper book. All the same, I feel a bit equivocal about its inclusion in the novel. There's nothing wrong in principle with (roughly speaking) pasting essays into a novel -- the novel form is almost infinitely capacious and I wouldn't want to say "this isn't a real novel" because of the discursive material. But a part of me would have preferred a shorter book, driven more exclusively by narrative.

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1 person found this helpful

Very Zadie

Reviewed: 10-09-23

I really enjoyed this.

It's very good in the respects Zadie Smith is usually good. Exuberant; lively dialogue; sharply observant; reflective and critical; full of information; jostling with different perspectives, life experiences, ways of perceiving and thinking. The historical material she's used is fascinating and has some obvious contemporary resonances.

I think the book is rather weak in the area I generally find Zadie Smith's books to be weak, namely structure. In my view, her books are usually longer than they should be, tending to lose momentum after starting brilliantly. This makes them a little disappointing, but only because they initially promise so much.

Zadie Smith's reading is amazingly good for a non-professional. It's a real plus to have the book in her voice.

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5 people found this helpful

Where are the images?

Reviewed: 14-08-23

I've only just started this book.

in the introductory material it says reference is made to figures (i.e. images) which appear in the print and ebook versions.

Has the publisher thought to include these in a PDF attached to the audiobook? No.

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Excellent

Reviewed: 08-08-23

I came to this from an interest in scientology, having never previously heard of Sands Hall (or her father and brother). From a family of writers, Sands is an excellent writer, and this book is very much about the interior life. There are no thrilling motorbike escapes from Church of $cientology compounds or harrowing tales of persecution by megalomaniacal dwarves.

Among many other things, the book captured something of the appeal of scientology to 'public' scientologists (those who mainly or exclusively pay for 'services' rather than being bound over for a billion years to serve the organisation).

The book is very well read by the author. I feel it is too long -- the author sometimes seems to want to say everything, rather than stopping when she has said enough. But that's a minor criticism. And don't be put off by the singing, mentioned in another review. There's very little of it, and though not to my personal taste I found it perfectly bearable.

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