After You'd Gone cover art

After You'd Gone

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After You'd Gone

By: Maggie O'Farrell
Narrated by: Lesley Mackie
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About this listen

A distraught young woman boards a train at King's Cross to return to her family in Scotland. Six hours later, she catches sight of something so terrible in a mirror at Waverley Station that she gets on the next train back to London, where a traffic accident leaves her in a coma. After You'd Gone follows Alice's mental journey into how she came to be this way, as she twists together threads of memory in a plot that grips from the outset.

It is a love story which is also a story of absence - we discover that Alice's lover, John, has been dead for a year by the time the book starts - and of parental legacies: how actions and choices can reverberate in following generations. Slowly, we are drawn closer to a dark secret at the family's heart, as Alice begins to wonder whether she will ever be whole again, or even survive.

©2000 Maggie O'Farrell (P)2012 Headline Digital Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt Inspiring Tear-jerking Thought-Provoking

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All stars
Most relevant
I bought this book because I loved Hamnet, but this is not really very good. It started off quite well but after halfway it lost credibility and didn't warrant 12 hours of listening.

Disappointing

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This is how storytelling should be, but for the most part isnt, but you carry on taking chances with books and get disapojnted time and time again and just when you are about to give up , when there are no more genres left to find a good story, something wonderful like this comes along.

I cried, a lot, it was intense the last couple of hours, but worth it.

only a fool would pass up this book, it has no genre, sometimes real life hits harder.

Absolutely Beautiful and Tragic

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What did you like best about this story?

Maggie O'Farrell presents the grief of losing a loved one in many layers - the physical and emotional, the searing pain and the trivial reminders of what is gone. Thankfully I haven't suffered such a loss, but this portrayal seemed totally authentic.

Any additional comments?

At first I found the jumping from present to past to more recent past and back to present difficult to keep up with. Similarly, the three generations of women took a little while to tune into.

All the characters were believable - they all had flaws but this made them credible and mostly likeable.

I found the descriptions of Alice in her coma fascinating; all her senses were involved in the ebb and flow of her unconsciousness. I have no idea how true to life this is, but am happy to accept the author's view.

I've read several Maggie O'Farrell books and never been disappointed. She has the talent to present layers of emotional situations without mawkishness or over-sentimentality.

A well crafted study of grief

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This is one of the best novels I have listened to - the narrator is excellent and brings the story to life.

Excellent

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A very moving story of love and loss. Absolutely fantastic narration ! Found it difficult to press the pause button. Fully recommended!

A wonderful book. Amazing narration !

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