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Burntcoat

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About this listen

An electrifying story of passion, connection and transformation from 'a writer of show-stopping genius' ( Guardian).

'Dark and brilliant.' SARAH MOSS
'A masterpience.' DAISY JOHNSON
'Extraordinary.' SARAH PERRY

'Hall has set a bar . . . Finely wrought, intellecutally brave and emotionally honest.'
THE SCOTSMAN

In the bedroom above her immense studio at Burntcoat, the celebrated sculptor Edith Harkness is making her final preparations. The symptoms are well known: her life will draw to an end in the coming days.

Downstairs, the studio is a crucible glowing with memories and desire. It was here, when the first lockdown came, that she brought Halit. The lover she barely knew. A presence from another culture. A doorway into a new and feverish world.

'Sarah Hall makes language shimmer and burn . . . One of the finest writers at work today.'
DAMON GALGUT

'Wonderful . . . The writing goes down smoking hot onto the page.'
ANDREW MILLER

'I can think of no other British writer whose talent so consistently thrills, surprises and staggers . . . With Burntcoat she has solidified her status as the literary shining light we lesser souls aspire to.'
BENJAMIN MYERS

©2021 Sarah Hall (P)2021 Faber & Faber Contemporary Contemporary Romance Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological Romance
All stars
Most relevant
Beautifully written & narrated .. very powerful narrative & harrowing descriptions.. sad yet moving, a book for our times

Excellent

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Loved the narration. The book felt very raw and real, will seek out more by Sarah Hall.

Bleak and beautiful

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Utterly extraordinary, compelling, memorable, and timely, yet heartbreaking. I can't remember another work like it.

A masterpiece

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This is the first book of Sarah Hall's that I have "read".
I found the switching between past and present difficult to cope with at times (particularly because I had just listened to something else that did the same thing); as you would suddenly realise that you weren't where you thought you were. I was also confused by the pandemic - initially thinking that it was referring to Covid but then realising that it was something altogether worse. I didn't like the bits about the pandemic, I have to confess and I found some of the sexual descriptions gratuitously graphic (I don't really want to have menstrual fluid described in detail - I don't believe that it enhances the story).

The narration was a little flat in places but if you rose above it and just listened, it was possibly the best way to perform.

Overall, I enjoyed it and I am glad that I have "read" it.

Enjoyable

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A challenging listen evoking memories of loss during covid. Brilliant descriptions of the art. Lots of stop and think moments, interesting ideas. Graphic in both descriptions of someone dying messily and of sex.

Challenging at times

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