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The Forgiven

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

David and Jo Henniger are on their way to a party at their old friends' home, deep in the Moroccan desert. But as a groggy David navigates the dark desert roads, two young men spring from the roadside, the car swerves and collides with one of the boys...

Meanwhile, festivities at the house are in full flow. Under the watchful eyes of their Moroccan staff, the extravagant hosts attend to the whims of their glittering, insatiable guests as the party rages on into a new day. The stage is set for a weekend in which David and Jo must come to terms with their fateful act and its shattering consequences.

'A modern Graham Greene' - Sunday Times

© Lawrence Osborne 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

 Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature

Critic reviews

Compelling…Engrossing…Gripping
Surprising and dark and excellent
A sinister story about guilt, atonement and restitution, fashioned from lean, prowling prose
A terrifically realised encounter between the clashing values of traditional Islam and the hedonistic, secular West... Beautifully written, painfully resolved. (Lionel Shriver)
More than a stylish thriller… The central plot has parallels with The Bonfire of the Vanities, while the socialites could be straight out of The Great Gatsby
A gripping read
A superbly compelling novel... As menacing and engrossing as the best McEwan
Osborne brings together all his authorial talents in this gripping and sophisticated thriller
Stylish, somehow both lavish and muscular at the same time
Utterly compelling; at the risk of trotting out a cliché, I couldn't put the book down
All stars
Most relevant
Iinteresting story and well written but with audible books you aren't quite sure when you have reached the end and to suddenly be plunged into a travel-agent style geographical description of the countryside when you're not quite sure if the story has finished is disappointing.

entertainingly written but

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I did not know what to expect from this book or even where I found the recommendation, but I really enjoyed it. The characters were so well portrayed but none of them very appealing or likeable. However this lead to great interactions and I enjoyed hearing the story from their different perspectives. It leaves you thinking about your own place in the world and choices in life. Would recommend reading and indeed listening to this.

Different and fascinating

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