Audiobooks by David Mitchell

Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8: A Young Man's Voice from the Silence of Autism

From the author of the bestselling The Reason I Jump, an extraordinary self-portrait of life as a young adult with autism Naoki Higashida was only thirteen when he wrote The Reason I Jump, a revelatory account of autism from the inside by a nonverbal Japanese child, which became an international success. Now he shares his thoughts and experiences as a twenty-four-year-old man living each day with severe autism. In short, powerful chapters, Higashida explores school memories, family relationships, the exhilaration of travel, and the difficulties of speech. He also allows readers to experience profound moments we take for granted, like the thought-steps necessary for him to register that it's raining outside. Acutely aware of how strange his behavior can appear to others, he aims throughout to foster a better understanding of autism and to encourage society to see people with disabilities as people, not as problems. With an introduction by bestselling novelist David Mitchell, Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8 also includes a dreamlike short story Higashida wrote especially for this edition. Both moving and of practical use, this book opens a window into the mind of an inspiring young man who meets every challenge with tenacity and good humor. However often he falls down, he always gets back up. Praise for Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8 "[Naoki Higashida's] success as a writer now transcends his diagnosis. . . . His relative isolation-with words as his primary connection to the outside world-has allowed him to fully develop the powers of observation that are necessary for good writing, and he has developed rich, deep perspectives on ideas that many take for granted. . . . The diversity of Higashida's writing, in both subject and style, fits together like a jigsaw puzzle of life put in place with humor and thoughtfulness."-The Japan Times "Profound insights about what the struggle of living with autism is really like . . . Once again, the invitation to step inside Higashida's mind is irresistible."-London Evening Standard "Naoki Higashida's lyrical and heartfelt account of his condition is a gift to anyone involved with the same challenges. . . . Higashida shows a delicate regard for the difficulties his condition creates . . . and is adept at explaining his experiences in language that makes sense to neurotypicals."-The Guardian "Wise and witty, [Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8] offers a second insider's insight into the mysteries of non-verbal autism-but this time from the vantage point of a young adult. . . . Moving . . . Higashida's reflections are at times refreshingly hard-nosed [and] his self-awareness is uplifting."-Financial Times "[Naoki Higashida's] thoughtful, syntactically complex writing puts the lie to the already dubious characterization of such individuals as 'low-functioning.'"-Toronto Star

David Mitchell, David Mitchell, K.A. Yoshida, Naoki Higashida (Author), David Mitchell, David Mitchell, Thomas Judd (Narrator)

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Cloud Atlas

By the New York Times bestselling author of The Bone Clocks | Shortlisted for the Man Booker PrizeA postmodern visionary and one of the leading voices in twenty-first-century fiction, David Mitchell combines flat-out adventure, a Nabokovian love of puzzles, a keen eye for character, and a taste for mind-bending, philosophical and scientific speculation in the tradition of Umberto Eco, Haruki Murakami, and Philip K. Dick. The result is brilliantly original fiction as profound as it is playful. In this groundbreaking novel, an influential favorite among a new generation of writers, Mitchell explores with daring artistry fundamental questions of reality and identity.Cloud Atlas begins in 1850 with Adam Ewing, an American notary voyaging from the Chatham Isles to his home in California. Along the way, Ewing is befriended by a physician, Dr. Goose, who begins to treat him for a rare species of brain parasite. . . . Abruptly, the action jumps to Belgium in 1931, where Robert Frobisher, a disinherited bisexual composer, contrives his way into the household of an infirm maestro who has a beguiling wife and a nubile daughter. . . . From there we jump to the West Coast in the 1970s and a troubled reporter named Luisa Rey, who stumbles upon a web of corporate greed and murder that threatens to claim her life. . . . And onward, with dazzling virtuosity, to an inglorious present-day England; to a Korean superstate of the near future where neocapitalism has run amok; and, finally, to a postapocalyptic Iron Age Hawaii in the last days of history.But the story doesn't end even there. The narrative then boomerangs back through centuries and space, returning by the same route, in reverse, to its starting point. Along the way, Mitchell reveals how his disparate characters connect, how their fates intertwine, and how their souls drift across time like clouds across the sky.As wild as a videogame, as mysterious as a Zen koan, Cloud Atlas is an unforgettable tour de force that, like its incomparable author, has transcended its cult classic status to become a worldwide phenomenon.List of Readers:The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing, read by Scott BrickLetters From Zedelghem, read by Richard MatthewsHalf-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery, read by Cassandra CampbellThe Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish, read by John LeeAn Orison of Sonmi~451, read by Kim Mai GuestSloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After, read by Kirby Heyborne

David Mitchell, David Mitchell (Author), Various Readers, Various Readers (Narrator)

Audiobook

That Mitchell And Webb Sound

David Mitchell and Robert Webb star in the complete second series of their critically-acclaimed BBC Radio 4 show. Starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb, from Channel 4's Peep Show, That Mitchell and Webb Sound is a hilarious mix of satirical sketches and surreal characters that provides a fantastically skewed perspective on everyday life. Meet soporific late-night DJ Adrian Locket; Peter and Ted, commentators who reveal the murky underside of the snooker world; crime fighter Angel Summoner and his redundant sidekick BMX Bandit; and the obnoxious incredibly posh person who is still unaccountably a waiter. In addition, there's Numberwang!, the maths quiz that makes very little sense, plus thrilling coverage of people you don't know buying houses and living in them, and thinking where to go on their holiday and then booking it. Zany and original, this consistently funny and imaginative series highlights the absurdity of reality TV, politics, chat shows and milk helplines. 'By far the funniest sketch show in ages... fresh and full of invention... the world is an altogether better place when perceived through That Mitchell and Webb Sound experience' - Gillian Reynolds, Daily Telegraph

David Mitchell, David Mitchell, Robert Webb, Robert Webb (Author), David Mitchell, David Mitchell, David Mitchell And Robert Webb, Robert Webb, Robert Webb, Various (Narrator)

Audiobook