Audiobooks by Clare Chambers

Intact: A Defence of the Unmodified Body

"Brought to you by Penguin. In an age of social media and selfies, of pixel-perfect pictures and surgically-enhanced celebrities, the pressure to change our bodies can often seem overwhelming. We are told we should conceal the signs of ageing and get our bodies back after pregnancy. We ought to perfect our complexions, build our biceps, trim our waistlines, cure our disabilities, conceal our quirks. More than ever before, we should contort our physical selves to prejudiced standards of beauty and acceptability. In this thought-provoking work, acclaimed political philosopher Clare Chambers argues that the unmodified body is a key principle of equality. While defending the right of anyone to change their bodies, she argues that the social pressure to modify sends a powerful message: you are not good enough. The body becomes a site of political importance: a place where inequalities of sex, gender, race, disability, age, and class are reinforced. Through a clear-sighted analysis of the power dynamics that structure our society, and with examples ranging widely from body-building to breast implants, makeup to male circumcision, Intact stresses that we must break away from the oppressive forces that demand we alter our bodies. Instead, it offers a vision of the human body that is equal without expectation: an unmodified body that is not an image of perfection or a goal to be attained, but a valued end in itself. © Clare Chambers 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022"

Clare Chambers (Author), Alix Dunmore (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Dry Spell

"Brought to you by Penguin. From the highly-acclaimed author of SMALL PLEASURES - longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021 In 1976 four students took a trip to the desert. Now the repercussions of that fateful summer are coming back to haunt them... And repercussions are just what Guy doesn't need: his wife, Jane, is moving swiftly from slightly eccentric to downright peculiar, their three-year-old daughter seems set on destroying Jane's sanity, and now even God's gone quiet on him. As for Nina, she's having enough trouble with her son, James. He's got exams looming, a new girlfriend with pneumatic breasts and now, it seems, he's on drugs. Nina certainly won't welcome any ghosts from the past. Life isn't going smoothly for anyone. But when Hugo, long-forgotten agent of misfortune, threatens to pay them all a visit, disaster seems unavoidable. Praise for Clare Chambers: 'A wonderful novel. I loved it' Nina Stibbe on Small Pleasures 'Gorgeous... If you're looking for something escapist and bittersweet, I could not recommend more' Pandora Sykes on Small Pleasures 'An irresistible novel - wry, perceptive and quietly devastating' Mail on Sunday on Small Pleasures 'Chambers' eye for undemonstrative details achieves a Larkin-esque lucidity' Guardian on Small Pleasures 'An almost flawlessly written tale of genuine, grown-up romantic anguish' Sunday Times on Small Pleasures © Clare Chambers 2000 (P) Penguin Audio 2021"

Clare Chambers (Author), Emma Noakes (Narrator)

Audiobook

Back Trouble

"Brought to you by Penguin. From the highly-acclaimed author of SMALL PLEASURES - longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021 On the brink of forty, newly single with a failed business, Philip thought he'd reached an all-time low. It only needed a discarded chip on a South London street to lay him literally flat. So, bedbound and bored, Philip naturally starts to write the story of his life. But between the mundane catalogue of seaside holidays and bodged DIY, broken relationships and unspoken truths, more surprises are revealed, both comic and touching, than Philip or his family ever bargained for. Even, perhaps, a happy ending... Praise for Clare Chambers: 'Smart, astute, and very funny' Daily Mail 'Gorgeous... If you're looking for something escapist and bittersweet, I could not recommend more' Pandora Sykes on SMALL PLEASURES 'Chambers' eye for undemonstrative details achieves a Larkin-esque lucidity' Guardian 'A funny and moving story with a great deal of style' Daily Express © Clare Chambers 2001 (P) Penguin Audio 2021"

Clare Chambers (Author), Stephen Leask (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Editor's Wife

"Brought to you by Penguin. From the highly-acclaimed author of SMALL PLEASURES - longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021 When aspiring novelist Christopher Flinders drops out of university to write his masterpiece (in between shifts as a fish delivery man and builder's mate), his family is sceptical. But when he is taken up by the London editor Owen Goddard and his charming wife Diana it seems success is just around the corner. Christopher's life has so far been rather short of charm - growing up in an unlovely suburb, with unambitious parents and a semi-vagrant brother - and he is captivated by his generous and cultured mentors. However, on the brink of realising his dream, Christopher makes a desperate misjudgement which results in disaster for all involved. Shattered, he withdraws from London and buries himself in rural Yorkshire, embracing a career and a private life marked by mediocrity. Twenty years on, a young academic researching into Owen Goddard seeks him out, and Christopher is forced to exhume his past, setting him on a path to a life-changing discovery. Praise for Clare Chambers: 'Thoroughly enjoyable and very clever' Sunday Express 'Effortless to read, but every sentence lingers in the mind' Lissa Evans 'Beautifully observed and achingly funny' Woman & Home 'Chambers' eye for undemonstrative details achieves a Larkin-esque lucidity' Guardian 'Reminds us of the rare pleasure that an intelligent tale with a happy ending brings' The Sunday Times © Clare Chambers 2007 (P) Penguin Audio 2021"

Clare Chambers (Author), Joshua Riley (Narrator)

Audiobook

[German] - Kleine Freuden

"1957, im Südwesten von London. Jean Swinney geht auf die Vierzig zu und ist Redakteurin bei einer lokalen Tageszeitung. Von der Liebe enttäuscht, lebt sie ein unscheinbares Leben gemeinsam bei ihrer halsstarrigen Mutter. Als eine junge Frau sich bei der Zeitung meldet und behauptet, ihre Tochter sei das Ergebnis einer unbefleckten Empfängnis, wird Jean mit der Erforschung der Angelegenheit beauftragt. Ist Gretchen Tilbury eine Betrügerin, oder hat sich an ihr tatsächlich ein Wunder vollzogen? Je mehr Jean in der Sache recherchiert, desto näher kommt sie Gretchen, deren freundlich-humorvollem Ehemann und ihrer zauberhaften Tochter Margaret. Die erblühende Freundschaft zu den Tilburys gerät immer mehr in Konflikt mit ihrer Aufgabe als Ermittlerin und bringt alle Beteiligten nach und nach in Bedrängnis. Und doch will Jean die Hoffnung auf ein wenig Glück nicht aufgeben."

Clare Chambers (Author), Solveig Jeschke (Narrator)

Audiobook

In A Good Light

"Brought to you by Penguin. From the highly-acclaimed author of SMALL PLEASURES - longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021 Without even noticing, Esther Fairchild has become locked into routine. Living with her adored brother, Christian, she divides her time between illustrating children's books, nightly shifts as a waitress, weekly visits to her father and fortnightly meetings with her married lover. Then one day she encounters a face in the crowd which jolts her out of her mundane existence and makes her question both her life and the past that has helped to shape it. Memories she had long chosen to forget begin to resurface. Memories of an eccentric childhood in a large and shabby house, where the children were left to fend for themselves within the loose boundaries of their parents' unorthodox values. A chaotic existence peopled by a rich collection of feckless 'guests'. And into this shambolic world came Donovan - regularly deposited by his unreliable mother - and Penny, Christian's girlfriend and Esther's idol. Until tragedy struck and shattered their joint existence. But now, it seems, their lives are about to become intertwined once more . . . Praise for Clare Chambers: 'A wonderful novel. I loved it' Nina Stibbe 'Effortless to read, but every sentence lingers in the mind' Lissa Evans 'A captivating read' Woman's Own 'An irresistible novel - wry, perceptive and quietly devastating' Mail on Sunday 'Shines with an old-fashioned moral certainty that is as subtle and refreshing as it is unexpected' Independent on Sunday 'An almost flawlessly written tale of genuine, grown-up romantic anguish' The Sunday Times © Clare Chambers 2004 (P) Penguin Audio 2021"

Clare Chambers (Author), Imogen Church (Narrator)

Audiobook

Learning To Swim

"Brought to you by Penguin. From the highly-acclaimed author of SMALL PLEASURES - longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021 Abigail Jex never expected to see any of the Radley household again. The Radley's were extraordinary, captivating creatures transplanted from a bohemian corner of North London to outer suburbia, and the young Abigail found herself drawn into their magic circle: the eccentric Frances, her new best friend; Frances' mother, the liberated, headstrong Lexi; and of course the brilliant, beautiful Rad. Abigail thought she'd banished the ghost of her life with them and the catastrophe that ended it, but thirteen years later a chance encounter forces her to acknowledge that the spell is far from broken... Praise for Clare Chambers: 'Modern, intelligently observed and highly original' Daily Mail 'This delicious novel is a joy from beginning to end - a perfect novel' Lisa Jewell 'Charming - A funny and moving story with a great deal of style' Sunday Telegraph 'A spirited account of growing up and falling in love' Good Housekeeping 'An intelligent and escapist read - well written, and very funny' Daily Express © Clare Chambers 1998 (P) Penguin Audio 2021"

Clare Chambers (Author), Antonia Beamish (Narrator)

Audiobook