Literary Fiction Audiobooks | Literature

"Meet Libby Weeks, author of the mega-bestselling fantasy series the Falling Children—written as “F. T. Goldhero” to maintain her privacy. With the final manuscript months overdue to her publisher and rabid fans around the world growing impatient, Libby is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Already suffering from crippling anxiety, Libby’s symptoms quickly accelerate. After she forgets her dog at the park one day—then almost discloses her identity to the journalist who finds him—Libby has to admit it: she needs help finishing the last book. Desperate, she turns to eleven-year-old superfan Peanut Bixton, who knows the books even better than she does. Finding the ending they need will take them down paths they never expected. With the zany verve of Lessons in Chemistry and the unexpected, unlikely friendship of Remarkably Bright Creatures, Libby Lost and Found is a book for people who don’t know who they are without the books they love. It’s about the stories we tell ourselves and the chapters of our lives we regret. Most importantly, it’s about the endings we write for ourselves. “A book for those of us lucky enough to have ever really, truly fallen in love with one.”—Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of This Is How It Always Is"

Stephanie Booth (Author), Mia Barron (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Map of Bones

"Read by Hattie Morahan, with an author's note read by Kate Mosse. 'Mosse is a master storyteller' - Madeleine Miller, bestselling author of Circe A sweeping story of love, adventure and adversity, The Map of Bones by Kate Mosse is an epic tale of courageous women battling to survive in a hostile land. Olifantshoek, Southern Africa, 1688. When the violent Cape wind blows from the south-east, they say the voices of the unquiet dead can be heard whispering through the deserted valley. Suzanne Joubert, a Huguenot refugee from war-torn France, arrives in search of her cousin - the notorious she-captain and pirate commander Louise Reydon-Joubert - who landed at the Cape of Good Hope more than sixty years before, then disappeared without a trace . . . Franschhoek, Southern Africa, 1862. Nearly one hundred and eighty years after Suzanne's perilous journey, another intrepid and courageous woman of the Joubert family - Isabelle Lepard - has journeyed to the small frontier town once known as Oliftantshoek in search of her long-lost relations. Intent on putting the women of her family back into the history books, she quickly discovers that the crimes and tragedies still shadow the present. And now, Isabelle faces a race against time if she is to discover the truth, and escape with her life . . . Painstakingly researched and beautifully told, The Map of Bones is the fourth - and final - novel of The Joubert Family Chronicles, following the bestselling The Burning Chambers, The City of Tears and The Ghost Ship. Praise for The Joubert Family Chronicles: 'Gripping, complex and intensely atmospheric' - The Mail on Sunday on The Burning Chambers 'A historical epic' - The Observer on The City of Tears 'Meticulously researched and stunningly written' - Santa Montefiore, bestselling author of Wait for Me, on The Ghost Ship The Ghost Ship by Kate Mosse was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 09-07-23"

Kate Mosse (Author), Hattie Morahan (Narrator)

Audiobook

Karla's Choice: A John le Carré Novel

"Brought to you by Penguin. A gripping new novel set in the universe of John le Carré's most iconic spy, George Smiley, written by acclaimed novelist Nick Harkaway It is spring in 1963 and George Smiley has left the Circus. With the wreckage of the West's spy war with the Soviets strewn across Europe, he has eyes only on a more peaceful life. And indeed, with his marriage more secure than ever, there is a rumour in Whitehall – unconfirmed and a little scandalous – that George Smiley might almost be happy. But Control has other plans. A Russian agent has defected in the most unusual of circumstances, and the man he was sent to kill in London is nowhere to be found. Smiley reluctantly agrees to one last simple task: interview Susanna, a Hungarian émigré and employee of the missing man, and sniff out a lead. But in his absence the shadows of Moscow have lengthened. Smiley will soon find himself entangled in a perilous mystery that will define the battles to come, and strike at the heart of his greatest enemy… Set in the missing decade between two iconic instalments in the George Smiley saga, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Nick Harkaway's Karla's Choice is an extraordinary, thrilling return to the world of spy fiction's greatest writer, John le Carré. © Nick Harkaway 2024 (P)Penguin Audio 2024"

John Le Carré, Nick Harkaway (Author), Simon Russell Beale (Narrator)

Audiobook

Every Moment Since: A Novel

"'Every Moment Since is everything you want in a novel--a gripping story, nostalgia for lost childhood, exorbitant love, a deep sense of place, and page-turning tension.' --Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea In this 'neatly crafted story about lives connected and changed by one night' (New York Journal of Books), four people are bound by tragedy. Perfect for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid and Jessica Knoll. A small Southern town. An ordinary Saturday night. A little boy disappears without a trace. Everyone in Wynotte, North Carolina, knows the name Davy Malcor. Knows the video clip of him juggling four balls, 'All at the very same time!' Knows the Marty McFly jacket his mother made for his birthday that he wore proudly, and often. But no one knows what happened to him the night he went missing more than twenty years ago. When the jacket is unexpectedly uncovered, the cold case reopens, and Davy's family is thrust into yet another media storm. But at the heart of the story are four people forever changed by one single night: Thaddeus Malcor, Davy's older brother, created the life of his dreams by writing a bestselling memoir about his family's experience and is enjoying success and notoriety as a result, even if the memoir doesn't quite reveal the whole story. Tabitha Malcor, his mother, is divorced and living alone, advocating for victims' rights and faithfully cataloging her regrets each week, never including her biggest regret of all. Anissa Weaver was just a kid herself when Davy went missing, and her connection to him is one she cannot reveal as she serves as the Malcor family's Public Information Officer. And, long suspected in Davy's disappearance, Gordon Swift has kept his head down and scraped together a decent life. But the new attention to the case makes it impossible to hide from the public, and the past. With hauntingly vivid prose, Marybeth Mayhew Whalen peels back the curtain on the inner turmoil of those who were left behind in the small Southern community as they pick up the pieces that remain and press forward into the light to find hope and healing. A perfect book club read that includes discussion questions."

Marybeth Mayhew Whalen (Author), Cassandra Campbell, George Newbern, Jane Oppenheimer, Kirby Heyborne, Macleod Andrews, Renata Friedman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Invisible Kitties

"'Cat was everywhere at once, splayed in all directions but too soft to get in our way…' Discover this captivating, inventive debut, perfect for fans of The Guest Cat and If Cats Disappeared from the World. Every cat contains multitudes When a young couple accidentally come into possession of a playful kitten, their daily routine (and cramped apartment) is turned upside down. Soon they find their peaceful existence forever altered. Charting the couple’s ever-evolving relationship with cats – some they live with, others who exist only in their imagination – Invisible Kitties is a meditation on the quiet moments of everyday life and a celebration of cats in all their many magical, chaotic, extraordinary forms."

Yu Yoyo (Author), Erin Lin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Absolution

"Ten years after the publication of Annihilation, the surprise fourth volume in Jeff VanderMeer’s blockbuster Southern Reach Trilogy. When the Southern Reach Trilogy was first published a decade ago, it was an instant sensation, celebrated in a front-page New York Times story before publication, hailed by Stephen King and many others. Each volume climbed the bestsellers list; awards were won; the books made the rare transition from paperback original to hardcover; the movie adaptation became a cult classic. All told, the trilogy has sold more than a million copies and has secured its place in the pantheon of twenty-first-century literature. And yet for all this, for Jeff VanderMeer there was never full closure to the story of Area X. There were a few mysteries that had gone unsolved, some key points of view never aired. There were stories left to tell. There remained questions about who had been complicit in creating the conditions for Area X to take hold; the story of the first mission into the Forgotten Coast—before Area X was called Area X—had never been fully told; and what if someone had foreseen the world after Acceptance? How crazy would they seem? Structured in three parts, each recounting a new expedition, there are some long-awaited answers here, to be sure, but also more questions, and profound new surprises. Absolution is a brilliant, beautiful, and ever-terrifying plunge into unique and fertile literary territory. It is the final word on one of the most provocative and popular speculative fiction series of our time."

Jeff VanderMeer (Author), Bronson Pichot (Narrator)

Audiobook

What Does it Feel Like?

"Brought to you by Penguin. THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER! From Number One bestselling author Sophie Kinsella, an unforgettable story – by turns heartbreaking and life-affirming – of a renowned novelist facing a devastating diagnosis and learning to live and love anew. ‘What Does It Feel Like? is fiction, but it is my most autobiographical work to date. Eve’s story is my story.’ — Sophie Kinsella Eve is a successful novelist who wakes up one day in a hospital bed with no memory of how she got there. Her husband, never far from her side, explains that she has had an operation to remove the large, malignant tumour growing in her brain. As Eve learns to walk, talk, and write again — and as she wrestles with her diagnosis, and how and when to explain it to her beloved children — she begins to recall what’s most important to her: long walks with her husband’s hand clasped firmly around her own, family game nights and always buying that dress when she sees it. Recounted in brief anecdotes, each one is an attempt to answer the type of impossible questions recognizable to anyone navigating the labyrinth of grief. This extraordinary novella is a celebration of life, shot through with warmth and humour – it will both break your heart and put it back together again. ‘Why did I write such a personal book? I have always processed my life through writing. Hiding behind my fictional characters, I have always turned my own life into a narrative. It is my version of therapy, maybe. Writing is my happy place, and writing this book, although tough going at times, was immensely satisfying and therapeutic for me.’ – Sophie Kinsella 'I laughed. And I cried. And then I thought about the meaning of life. A jewel of a book.' JOJO MOYES 'The bravest book you'll read all year.' JODI PICOULT 'I was gripped and moved and I loved every word.' LISA JEWELL 'A beautiful love story and a glowing beacon of hope.' JENNY COLGAN © Sophie Kinsella 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024"

Sophie Kinsella (Author), Sally Phillips, Sophie Kinsella (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Party

"Brought to you by Penguin. An irresistible novella about two sisters and a night that changes everything, from the master chronicler of our heart’s hidden desires. Evelyn had the surprising thought that bodies were sometimes wiser than the people inside them. She’d have liked to impress somebody with this idea, but couldn’t explain it. On a winter Saturday night in post-war Bristol, sisters Moira and Evelyn, on the cusp of adulthood, go to an art students’ party in a dockside pub; there they meet two men, Paul and Sinden, whose air of worldliness and sophistication both intrigues and repels them. Sinden calls a few days later to invite them over to the grand suburban mansion Paul shares with his brother and sister, and Moira accepts despite Evelyn’s misgivings. As the night unfolds in this unfamiliar, glamorous new setting, the sisters learn things about themselves and each other that shock them, and release them into a new phase of their lives. ‘Tessa Hadley is my favourite author’ KATE ATKINSON ‘Few writers give me such consistent pleasure’ ZADIE SMITH ‘Hadley’s extraordinary skill [is] making both surface life and deep interiors come fully alive’ COLM TÓIBÍN ‘Tessa Hadley recruits admirers with each book’ HILARY MANTEL © Tessa Hadley 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024"

Tessa Hadley (Author), Tessa Hadley (Narrator)

Audiobook

Gifted: A Novel

"A subtle and intimate accounting of a daughter's final days with her mother, set amid the rush of Tokyo's red-light district. Drawing on her own experiences as a hostess and adult film actor, Gifted—Suzumi Suzuki's first novel to be translated into English—offers a nuanced, frank, and intimate portrayal of the lives of a mother and daughter getting by (or not) in an industry rarely depicted authentically in literary fiction. In the last days of her mother's life, a young woman living in Tokyo's red-light district is thrust into a split existence. By day, she negotiates her new role as caregiver of an abusive parent. By night, she drifts home from the hospital, goes out with other sex-workers, thinks about quitting smoking, and numbly remembers Eri, a friend who died the summer before. Her sensitivity to the details of her surroundings grounds an otherwise unstable world, one where each interaction requires a subtle negotiation of economic and sexual power, and proximity rarely means intimacy or connection. Contains mature themes."

Suzumi Suzuki (Author), Cindy Kay (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Book of Losman

"Meet Daniel Losman—an American in Copenhagen, translating books and living a solitary existence. His longtime girlfriend has left him, and the only highlights in his life are encounters with an offbeat artist he thinks he’s in love with and weekends with his three-year-old son, whom he worries has inherited his Tourette syndrome. When Losman learns of a new drug designed to locate the root of his Tourette's through childhood memories, he’s lured by promises of a cure and visits the mysterious lab that developed the drug. Initially, what he discovers buried deep within his brain rejuvenates him. But the more Losman takes the drug, the more he needs it. Losman steals some of the pills and locks himself away in his apartment, only to quickly find himself trapped inside his own mind. There is a way out of his head, but it will come at a price… With intelligence and humor reminiscent of Matt Haig's The Midnight Library, The Book of Losman explores the depths one man will go to make himself whole."

K.E. Semmel (Author), Tristan Wright (Narrator)

Audiobook

[French] - Les larmes rouges sur la façade

"Amis d'enfance, Anjir et Zal sont aujourd'hui des adultes amoureux, mais ils vivent en Iran où l'homosexualité est considérée comme un crime. Lorsque Zal est attaqué après avoir été vu en public avec un autre homme, Anjir est encore plus déterminé à mener à bien leur projet : il va devenir une femme et ils quitteront ensemble la ville pour prendre un nouveau départ. Mais à peine sorti de l'hôpital, Zal disparaît, laissant derrière lui un mot énigmatique qui pousse Anjir à partir à sa recherche. Traquant les indices et errant dans les clubs, les bibliothèques, les chambres d'hôtel et les musées de Téhéran, Anjir se rend vite compte qu'il est lui aussi suivi. S'il est en quête d'amour et de paix, il devient alors évident que le chemin vers la liberté passera par violence. Poétique et subversif,Les larmes rouges sur la façadeimprègnent nos cœurs et nos rétines d'un portrait inoubliable des amours clandestines de Téhéran."

Navid Sinaki (Author), Slimane Yefsah (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Scarab Where the Heart Should Be

"Jacky ‘The Beetle’ McKenzie is, if you ask her, the most sensible and rational person in the world. Unfortunately, her ordinary and the rest of the world’s ordinary don’t mix. To the rest of the world, she is belligerent, weird, obsessive, angry and volatile. Always, in the background, husband Mark and girlfriend Clarissa have one eye on each other, both asking the same question – which of them will she push too far first? Which of them will abandon her, and which will be left to pick up the pieces? A Scarab Where the Heart Should Be invites us into the mind of one of the world’s few true individuals as she embarks on her quest to streamline her life into the most perfect version it can be. Part visionary architect, part whirlwind of furious artistic chaos, but always, unwaveringly, searingly true to herself, this is a case study on what happens when obstinate obsession comes up against an unyielding society."

Marieke Bigg (Author), Antonia Beamish (Narrator)

Audiobook

Literary Fiction Audiobooks in Literature