Literary Fiction Audiobooks | Literature

"A NATIONAL BESTSELLER "Whip-smart and compulsively readable. . . both a wildly entertaining adventure story and a meditation on what it means to love your children-fiercely and imperfectly."-Oprah Daily "Springs alive to explore questions that stump scientists and families, problems of the head and the heart."-Ron Charles, The Washington Post "A full-hearted portrait of sisterhood, family and the ways we process grief. Charming, wry, and original." -People TWO SISTERS, ONE MOM, AND ONE WOOLLY SECRET. Teenage sisters Eve and Vera never imagined their summer vacation would be spent in the Arctic, tagging along on their mother's scientific expedition. But there's a lot about their lives lately that hasn't been going as planned, and truth be told, their single mother might not be so happy either. Now in Siberia with a bunch of serious biologists, Eve and Vera are just bored enough to cause trouble. Fooling around in the permafrost, they accidentally discover a perfectly preserved, four-thousand-year-old baby mammoth, and things finally start to get interesting. The discovery sets off a surprising chain of events, leading mother and daughters to go rogue, pinging from the slopes of Siberia to the shores of Iceland to an exotic animal farm in Italy, and resulting in the birth of a creature that could change the world-or at least this family. The Last Animal takes readers on a wild, entertaining, and refreshingly different kind of journey, one that explores the possibilities and perils of the human imagination on a changing planet, what it's like to be a woman in a field dominated by men, and how a wondrous discovery can best be enjoyed with family. Even teenagers."

Ramona Ausubel (Author), Natasha Soudek (Narrator)

Audiobook

I Am My Country: And Other Stories

""A powerful and provocative debut collection" (The New York Times Book Review) by "a startling talent who can seemingly do anything" (Anthony Marra) that explores the lives of ordinary people in Turkey to reveal how even individual acts of resistance have extraordinary repercussions. "I Am My Country employs many different literary styles and voices to dazzling effect."-The Atlantic FINALIST FOR THE PEN/ROBERT W. BINGHAM PRIZE • LONGLISTED FOR THE STORY PRIZE • AN ELECTRIC LIT AND LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Spanning decades and landscapes, from the forests along the Black Sea to the streets of Istanbul, Kenan Orhan's playful stories conjure dreamlike worlds-of talking animals, flying houses, and omniscient prayer-callers-to examine humanity's unfaltering pursuit of hope in even the darkest circumstances. A determined florist trains a neighborhood stray dog to blow up a corrupt president. A garbage collector finds banned instruments-and later, musicians-in the trash and takes them home to form a clandestine orchestra in her attic. A smuggler risks his life to bring a young woman claiming to be pregnant via immaculate conception across the border with Syria. A poor cage-maker tries to use his ability to talk to birds to woo his childhood love just before the 1955 Istanbul pogrom. These characters are united by a desperate yearning to break free from the volatile realities they face: rising authoritarianism, cultural and political turmoil, and staggering violence. Ranging from the absurd to the tenderhearted, the stories in I Am My Country illuminate the constant force amid one country's history of rampant oppression and revolutionary progress: the impulse to survive."

Kenan Orhan (Author), Dilara Senbilgin, Reza Nasooti (Narrator)

Audiobook

Go as a River

"Brought to you by Penguin. The powerful Sunday Times bestselling Richard and Judy Pick A MESMERIZING READ FOR FANS OF WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING, GREAT CIRCLE AND THE PAPER PALACE I've come to understand how the exceptional lurks beneath the ordinary like the deep and mysterious world beneath the sea. On a cool autumn morning, Torie Nash heads into her village pulling a rickety wagon filled with late-season peaches. As she nears an intersection, a mysterious drifter with grimy thumbs and smudged cheeks and eyes as dark as a raven's wing stops to ask her the way. She could turn left or cross over. But she does not. 'Go as a river,' he whispers. So begins a mezmerising story that unfolds over a tumultuous lifetime as Torie begins to absorb and follow his words. Gathering all the pieces of her small and extraordinary life, spinning through the eddies of desire, heartbreak and betrayal, she will arrive at a single rocky decision that will change her life for ever. 'Completely spellbinding, vivid, and luminous' JANE GREEN 'Go As a River delivers so very much: the tenderness and curiosity of young love, the eternal pangs of loss, the brutality of racism, the sustaining power of nature and the miracle of a mother's love. Suffused with wisdom and compassion, this shattering testimony to life is to be savored, treasured, shared' MEG WAITE CLAYTON, author of The Postmistress of Paris 'Shelley Read's lyrical voice is a force of nature. Tragic, uplifting and completely unforgettable' BONNIE GARMUS, author of LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY ©2023 Shelley Read (P)2023 Penguin Audio"

Shelley Read (Author), Cynthia Farrell (Narrator)

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How to Build a Boat: AS SEEN ON BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS

"Brought to you by Penguin. Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023. A deeply moving novel about a boy and his dream, from the prize-winning author of As You Were Jamie O'Neill loves the colour red. He also loves tall trees, patterns, rain that comes with wind, the curvature of many objects, books with dust jackets, cats, rivers and Edgar Allan Poe. At age 13 there are two things he especially wants in life: to build a Perpetual Motion Machine, and to connect with his mother Noelle, who died when he was born. In his mind these things are intimately linked. And at his new school, where all else is disorientating and overwhelming, he finds two people who might just be able to help him. How to Build a Boat is the story of how one boy and his mission transforms the lives of his teachers, Tess and Tadhg, and brings together a community. Written with tenderness and verve, it's about love, family and connection, the power of imagination, and how our greatest adventures never happen alone. ©2023 Elaine Feeney (P)2023 Penguin Audio"

Elaine Feeney (Author), Ciaran O'brien (Narrator)

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[Spanish] - La mejor madre del mundo

"«Prepárate para leer un libro como nunca has leído antes, que rompe las convenciones de lo narrativo y lo biográfico, de los valores no sólo tradicionales, sino también de los alternativos. Un libro de humor, de amor y de dolor, tan embriagante como un vino fuerte y tan tumultuoso como la vida. A decir verdad, no concibo que pueda haber alguien a quien no le guste.» Rosa Montero La protagonista de esta novela tiene treinta y cinco años y es estéril cuando la Idea de ser madre se le mete en el cuerpo «como un cáncer». Cinco años y dos hijas después cree haberlo ganado y perdido todo. Es entonces cuando decide escribir una historia a vida o muerte, un duelo entre la escritora que fue y la madre en que se ha convertido. Si gana la madre, el libro será un diario sobre su maternidad y una parte de la escritora morirá en el intento. Si gana la escritora, la ficción le arrebatará su propia historia al elevar su maternidad a lo universal. En ese caso, será la escritora quien fulmine a la madre. El resultado es un relato apabullante y siempre ambivalente sobre una experiencia definitiva donde humor, amor y horror se convierten en hilos de la misma trenza. La protagonista examina el mito (pero también el timo) de la maternidad, dialogando abiertamente con todas las voces del pasado que de una manera u otra han alimentado su condición de mujer (y en consecuencia de madre): desde la legendaria homínida Lucy, «madre de la humanidad» hasta la Cenicienta, pasando por Platón, Teresa de Jesús, Darwin, Maupassant o Simone de Beauvoir. En esta novela donde convergen la ficción, la autobiografía y el ensayo, la protagonista trata su propia y palpitante maternidad como un cadáver al que disecciona en directo ante el inevitable estupor del lector. Una invitación abierta a todos los hombres y mujeres que se atrevan a entrar en la mente y el cuerpo de una madre. «Hay muchas maneras de hablar de la maternidad, pero la de NuriaLabari es profundamente original y brillante. Esta novela es una explosión,un viaje intelectual a través de los instintos más primarios y del amor más humano. Nuria Labari ha escrito un libro necesario sobre un tema universal.» Lara Moreno Críticas: «No sé quién será la mejor madre del mundo, pero Nuria Labari sabe ser luz y conquistar almas en 224 páginas. Y eso no lo consigue todo el mundo.» Marta Hernández, Blog El club de malas madres «La mejor madre del mundo es un misil de crucero capaz de dar en todas las dianas, de callar todas las bocas y rearmarlas con el poder absoluto de la lucidez. Es la demostración de que en todas las tormentas hay al menos un rayo que encuentra su lugar.» Sonia Fides, El asombrario «Esta crónica sincera y visceral de la maternidad no se calla nada.» Martín Piñol, El País «Es un libro necesario y, a la vez, insuficiente: nos faltan más mujeres, nos faltan más madres, más no madres, más trabajadoras, más artistas, más abuelas, más limpiadoras, más ejecutivas, más madres solteras... Nos faltan nuestras voces.» Paloma Bravo, Zenda"

Nuria Labari (Author), Isabel Torrevejano (Narrator)

Audiobook

Close to Home

"Brought to you by Penguin. WINNER OF THE ROONEY PRIZE FOR LITERATURE 2023 WATERSTONES IRISH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE NERO BOOK AWARDS 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2023 Sean is back. Back in Belfast and back into old habits. Back on the mad all-nighters, the borrowed tenners and missing rent, the casual jobs that always fall through. Back in these scarred streets, where the promised prosperity of peacetime has never arrived. Back among his brothers, his ma, and all the things they never talk about. Until one night Sean finds himself at a party – dog-tired, surrounded by jeering strangers, his back against the wall – and he makes a big mistake. 'Staggeringly humane, unfaltering, taut and tender... [It] feels like that rarest of things: a genuinely necessary book' Guardian 'Every detail rings true, every character is fleshy and real and heartbreaking... Michael Magee has a remarkable talent' Sunday Times ©2023 Michael Magee (P)2023 Penguin Audio"

Michael Magee (Author), Conor Macneill (Narrator)

Audiobook

Enter Ghost

"Brought to you by Penguin. Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2024. After years away from her family's homeland, and healing from an affair with an established director, stage actress Sonia Nasir returns to Palestine to visit her older sister Haneen. Though the siblings grew up spending summers at their family home in Haifa, Sonia hasn't been back since the second intifada and the deaths of her grandparents. While Haneen stayed and made a life commuting to Tel Aviv to teach at the university, Sonia remained in London to focus on her burgeoning acting career and now dissolute marriage. On her return, she finds her relationship to Palestine is fragile, both bone-deep and new. Once at Haneen's, Sonia meets the charismatic and candid Mariam, a local director, and finds herself roped into a production of Hamlet in the West Bank. Soon, Sonia is rehearsing Gertude's lines in classical Arabic and spending more time in Ramallah than in Haifa with a dedicated group of men who, in spite of competing egos and priorities, each want to bring Shakespeare to that side of the wall. As opening night draws closer it becomes clear just how many invasive and violent obstacles stand before a troupe of Palestinian actors. Amidst it all, the life Sonia once knew starts to give way to the daunting, exhilarating possibility of finding a new self in her ancestral home. A stunning rendering of present-day Palestine, Enter Ghost is a story of diaspora, displacement, and the connection to be found in family and shared resistance. Timely, thoughtful, and passionate, Isabella Hammad's highly anticipated second novel is an exquisite feat, an unforgettable story of artistry under occupation. ©2023 Isabella Hammad (P)2023 Penguin Audio"

Isabella Hammad (Author), Nadia Albina (Narrator)

Audiobook

[Spanish] - El mapa de mi piel

"A sus treinta y dos años, Celia ha sobrevivido a un cáncer de mama que se ha llevado por delante su teta izquierda. Y a su mejor amiga. Y el sexo con su novio. Y la comida basura —no todo tenía que ser malo—. Y una prometedora carrera profesional en un conocido bufete de abogados. Con el alta en la mano, el regreso a la rutina parece sencillo. Sin embargo, pronto descubrirá que, para recuperar las riendas de su vida, tendrá que poner patas arriba su armario, su trabajo y su relación. Celia quiere volver a sentirse viva, amar y ser amada. Pero ¿cómo mostrarse ante los demás? ¿Cómo posar a pecho descubierto ante Leo, el fotógrafo responsable de la exposición en la que ha accedido a participar? ¿Cómo vencer el miedo al rechazo? O peor aún… ¿cómo aceptar que alguien la ame y desee quedarse a su lado? Una historia íntima y positiva sobre las segundas oportunidades, sobre lo que perdemos y lo que ganamos cuando la vida nos pone a prueba. Porque como dice Celia: «Hay quien tiene un cáncer. Hay quien sufre un accidente de moto. Hay quien pierde a alguien o algo. Hay quien lo vive con veinte años. Y hay quien nunca se da cuenta»."

María Montesinos (Author), Clara Pérez (Narrator)

Audiobook

[Spanish] - La vida, después. Premio Nobel de Literatura 2021

"La última novela del Premio Nobel de Literatura 2021, inédita en España. Una conmovedora historia de amor con la guerra y el colonialismo como telón de fondo. Cuando todavía era un niño, Ilyas les fue arrebatado a sus padres por las tropas coloniales alemanas; tras años de ausencia y de batalla contra su propio pueblo, regresa a la ciudad de su infancia, donde sus padres han desaparecido y su hermana Afiya ha sido dada en adopción. Otro joven regresa al mismo tiempo: a Hamza no lo robaron para que combatiera, sino que lo vendieron. Con tan sólo sus ropas a la espalda, se limita a buscar trabajo y seguridad... y el amor de la hermosa Afiya. Apenas acaba de comenzar el siglo XX y alemanes, británicos, franceses y demás países se han repartido el continente africano. A medida que estos jóvenes supervivientes intentan rehacer sus vidas, la sombra de una nueva guerra en otro continente amenaza con llevárselos de nuevo. La crítica ha dicho: «Fascinante y desgarradora [...]. Una novela convincente, que abraza a todos aquellos destinados al olvido, y rechaza su anulación.» The Guardian «Pocas veces en la vida se puede abrir un libro y descubrir que su lectura encierra las cualidades encantadoras de una relación amorosa... uno apenas se atreve a respirar mientras lo lee por miedo a romper el encanto.» The Times «Una evocación poética y vívida sobre el continente africano y el inquietante poder de lo desconocido.» Independent on Sunday «Un archivo resonante de una África desaparecida, que cobra vida de forma sorprendente. En él, un mundo perdido es recuperado de manera fascinante.» Sunday Times «Un libro brillante y revelador de un escritor asombroso.» New Statesman «Una novela vibrante y vívida que muestra a los seres humanos en toda su generosidad y codicia, mezquindad y nobleza, de modo que incluso los personajes menores parecen capaces de cargar con novelas enteras por sí mismos.» Herald «Desde las primeras páginas de La vida, después, un libro de tranquila belleza y tragedia, está claro que uno está en manos de un maestro de la narración.» Financial Times «Un tierno relato sobre lo extraordinario de las vidas ordinarias, La vida, después combina una narración fascinante con una escritura cuya exquisita precisión emocional confirma el lugar de Gurnah entre los destacados estilistas de la prosa inglesa moderna. Al igual que sus predecesoras, ésta es una novela que exige ser leída y releída, por su humor, su generosidad de espíritu y su clarividente visión de las infinitas contradicciones de la naturaleza humana.» Evening Standard «Con una prosa limpia y mesurada, Gurnah inspecciona los actos individuales de violencia... y los actos inesperados de bondad. Conmovedor en su ordinariez, La vida, después es una convincente exploración de la necesidad de encontrar lugares de refugio.» Daily Telegraph «Abdulrazak Gurnah es un maestro de su oficio ... Una novela intrincada y delicada, vitalmente necesaria.» New Internationalist"

Abdulrazak Gurnah (Author), Rafael King (Narrator)

Audiobook

Mother Country: A Novel

"A transnational feminist novel about human trafficking and motherhood from an award-winning author. Saddled with student loans, medical debt, and the sudden news of her infertility after a major car accident, Shannon, an African American woman, follows her boyfriend to Morocco in search of relief. There, in the cobblestoned medina of Marrakech, she finds a toddler in a pink jacket whose face mirrors her own. With the help of her boyfriend and a bribed official, Shannon makes the fateful decision to adopt and raise the girl in Louisville, Kentucky. But the girl already has a mother: Souria, an undocumented Mauritanian woman who was trafficked as a teen, and who managed to escape to Morocco to build another life. In rendering Souria's separation from her family across vast stretches of desert and Shannon's alienation from her mother under the same roof, Jacinda Townsend brilliantly stages cycles of intergenerational trauma and healing. Linked by the girl who has been a daughter to them both, these unforgettable protagonists move toward their inevitable reckoning. Mother Country is a bone-deep and unsparing portrayal of the ethical and emotional claims we make upon one another in the name of survival, in the name of love."

Jacinda Townsend (Author), Kellye A. Saunders (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Memory of Animals

"Brought to you by Penguin. From the Costa-Winning, Women's Prize-shortlisted author of Unsettled Ground: a gripping, haunting novel about memory, love and survival, for readers of Never Let me Go and Leave the World Behind Neffy is a young woman running away from grief and guilt and the one big mistake that has derailed her career. When she answers the call to volunteer in a controlled vaccine trial, it offers her a way to pay off her many debts and, perhaps, to make up for the past. But when the London streets below her window fall silent, and all external communications cease, only Neffy and four other volunteers remain in the unit. With food running out, and a growing sense that the strangers she is with may be holding back secrets, Neffy has questions that no-one can answer. Does safety lie inside or beyond the unit? And who, or what is out there? While she weighs up her choices, she is introduced to a pioneering and controversial technology which allows her to revisit memories from her life before: a childhood divided between her enigmatic mother and her father in his small hotel in Greece. Intoxicated by the freedom of the past and the chance to reunite with those she loves, she increasingly turns away from her perilous present. But in this new world where survival rests on the bonds between strangers, is she jeopardising any chance of a future? The Memory of Animals is a taut and emotionally charged novel about freedom and captivity, survival and sacrifice and whether you can save anyone before you save yourself. ©2023 Claire Fuller (P)2023 Penguin Audio"

Claire Fuller (Author), Genevieve Gaunt (Narrator)

Audiobook

Fray

"‘Beautiful, amazing, mesmerising’ ALAN CUMMING A MISSING PERSON MYSTERY LIKE NO OTHER I am not gone. Mum is not gone. We are here. We are hidden. A father who is trying to rescue his lost wife. Their child, desperately searching the wild forests and dangerous mountains of the Scottish Highlands, not knowing what’s out there. An abandoned cottage in the remote wilderness, filled with thousands of confusing, terrifying handwritten notes. And a dark, looming voice who threatens to destroy everything… ‘This hallucinatory debut will grab you’ DAMIAN BARR ‘A dark and atmospheric masterpiece’ VIKKI PATIS ‘Mind-alteringly beautiful writing’ KIRSTIN INNES ‘Chilling and very original … I couldn't put it down' SIMON McCLEAVE ‘Eerie and ethereal, Fray is an unsettling quest in the unforgiving Scottish highlands – utterly spellbinding’ MARION TODD ‘A totally original novel that throws up lots of surprises. The writing is awe-inspiring’ ALEX PINE - *A FINANCIAL TIMES ‘BEST NEW DEBUT FICTION’ PICK* *A SCOTS MAGAZINE BOOK OF THE MONTH* *A COURIER BOOK OF THE WEEK* - BOOKSELLERS RECOMMEND FRAY ‘Fray was so much more than I expected. It is beautifully written, you could sit back and sip it like a good wine … I was so caught up in it I couldn't face putting it down … Most certainly recommended, this is a very accomplished debut’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Fray is an exceptional and haunting debut, very reminiscent of the work of Max Porter … I absolutely loved it. Chris Carse Wilson is a highly talented writer and Fray is filled with passages that resonated deeply with me’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - READERS RECOMMEND FRAY ‘A truly unique book, like nothing I’ve ever read before … a thoughtful and beautifully written story, which is simultaneously gripping. This is a must-read.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A twisting tale of grief and mental health that sucked me in from the start and swept me along with it … I couldn’t put it down.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"

Chris Carse Wilson (Author), Angus King (Narrator)

Audiobook

Literary Fiction Audiobooks in Literature