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All That Man Is

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All That Man Is

By: David Szalay
Narrated by: Huw Parmenter, Mark Meadows, Sean Barrett
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Nine men: each of them at a different stage of life, away from home, and striving – in the suburbs of Prague, in a cheap Cypriot hotel – understanding just what it means to be alive, here and now. Tracing an arc from the spring of youth to the winter of old age, All That Man Is brings these separate lives together to show us men as they are – ludicrous and inarticulate, shocking and despicable; vital, pitiable, hilarious, and full of heartfelt longing.©2016 David Szalay (P)2016 W.F. Howes Ltd Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt Emotionally Gripping Witty
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Rather depressing and unusual stories ... Killing did say the human race has ab ugly face and it needs to be told maybe. The final story is the best...one can just imagine those old age feelings that so many people will eventually have. Sad but with a touch of humane kindness also shining through.

Mr Barretts charisma a d voice

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The narratives are linked tenuously by theme, not by plot, and the book is essentially a compilation of individual short stories. The author writes exceptionally well, lacking pretension and with clarity, although little actually happens for the duration of the book. You get the impression that, for whatever reason, the author has presented us with some of the less interesting events of the characters' lives and whilst this approach goes some way to illustrating the overarching motif, it left me feeling cheated after each transition.

I've often thought it's a pity the review ratings don't separate narrative and literary ability, never more so than for this particular book.

Still, I did enjoy listening to such an accomplished presentation and the impressive narration together with the author's linguistic skills made it a four star for me.

Good, with reservations

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After reading flesh by the author I was expecting something as good but I was very disappointed by the various stories

Disappointing

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excellent, engaging, moving and funny. various stories with different characters, all well narrated. definitely recommend.

excellent

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Szalay writes convincingly about repressed men with depression and a lack of purpose. It’s convincing but not joyful

Miserable men stories told with verve

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