Things I Don't Want to Know cover art

Things I Don't Want to Know

Living Autobiography 1

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Things I Don't Want to Know

By: Deborah Levy
Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
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About this listen

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Things I Don't Want to Know by Deborah Levy.

Things I Don't Want to Know is the first in Deborah Levy's essential three-part 'Living Autobiography' on writing and womanhood. Taking George Orwell's famous essay 'Why I Write' as a jumping-off point, Deborah Levy offers her own indispensable reflections of the writing life. With wit, clarity and calm brilliance, she considers how the writer must stake claim to that contested territory as a young woman and shape it to her need.

Things I Don't Want to Know is a work of dazzling insight and deep psychological succour from one of our most vital contemporary writers.

©2014 Deborah Levy (P)2018 Penguin Audio
Gender Studies Grief & Loss Personal Development Relationships Social Sciences Nonfiction Biography

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Critic reviews

"Unmissable. Like chancing upon an oasis, you want to drink it slowly.... Subtle, unpredictable, surprising." (The Guardian)

"Superb sharpness and originality of imagination. An inspiring work of writing." (Marina Warner)

All stars
Most relevant
Juliet Stevenson — whoever told you to do all those accents was extremely misguided. Avoid the audiobook and pick up the book instead.

Terrible audiobook of an excellent book

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It’s a very nice audiobook and the voice is lovely. But please while trying to make foreign accents, do some research.

Polish do not speak with Russian accent!

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Deborah IS a genius. Every sentence is as sharp as necessary. I followed her around the globe through her words and didn't want to leave her by the time the last page was read. Juliet's narration is sublime. Her on point change of accents helped the teletransporting and her reading pace was perfect.

Wonderful book, non-stop listening

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Loved how eloquent the writing is. You truly feel for the main character and Juliet Stevenson brings this to life!

Loved it!

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These are good stories horribly spoiled by accents that bordered on the offensive. The narrator and also sometimes her brother have English accents although they’re from Johannesburg but her mother has a very thick South African accent. No consistency. I’ll have to buy the book to get them out of my head!

Beware the accents

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