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The Blue Guitar

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About this listen

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of The Blue Guitar by John Banville, read by Gerry O'Brien.

Adultery is always put in terms of thieving. But we were happy together, simply happy.

Oliver Orme is a painter who has abandoned his art. His days are now haunted by loss: loss of desire; of artistic vision; of the people he has loved. And only now does he realize that those around him understand him more than he does himself.

Set in a re-imagined Ireland, The Blue Guitar reveals a life haunted by the desire to possess and always aware of the frailty of the human heart.

 Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt

Critic reviews

Everything I want from a love story: sexy, convincing, baffling, funny, sad and unforgettable
Banville's exquisitely written novel unravels the deceptions of memory with wit and pathos
Glittering visual evocation, expressed in a tone at once fresh and wistfully ironic. A world at once random, dreamlike and deeply experienced
Illuminating, funny, devastating. A meditation of breathtaking beauty and profundity on love and loss and death
All stars
Most relevant
I'd recommend this book for two main reasons; the narration by Gerry O'Brien is excellent, and Banville's use of language is a delight.

Having enjoyed The Untouchable, also by John Banville, I thought I'd have a listen to this. Like The Untouchable, the story is in dialogue form, as the main character, Oliver, an artist, reflects both on his different relationships, and also his childhood, which is when he developed a talent for pilfering obscure and unimportant objects to satisfy a need to do it without detection. His penchant for thieving is later reflected on and a comparison is made with his 'thieving' of, or affair with, a friend's wife.
Gerry O'Brien personifies 'Oliver' perfectly. I have my favourite narrators on Audible, and he is now definitely added to the list.
John Banville is a bit like marmite, you either love his prose, or think he goes a bit over the top. With this book, and The Untouchable, it's the former.

The Blue Guitar

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