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My Purple Scented Novel

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About this listen

Random House presents the audiobook edition of My Purple Scented Novel written and read by Ian McEwan.

‘You will have heard of my friend the once celebrated novelist Jocelyn Tarbet, but I suspect his memory is beginning to fade…You’d never heard of me, the once obscure novelist Parker Sparrow, until my name was publicly connected with his. To a knowing few, our names remain rigidly attached, like the two ends of a seesaw. His rise coincided with, though did not cause, my decline… I don’t deny there was wrongdoing. I stole a life, and I don’t intend to give it back. You may treat these few pages as a confession.’

A jewel of a book: a brand new short story from the author of Atonement. My Purple Scented Novel follows the perfect crime of literary betrayal, scrupulously wrought yet unscrupulously executed, published to celebrate Ian McEwan’s 70th birthday.

 Anthologies & Short Stories Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Short Stories

Critic reviews

The writing is beautifully clear
My Purple Scented Novel…is deliciously cynical in its refusal of moral implication. There is a lightness of touch and enlivening impishness at play (Ben Masters)
All stars
Most relevant
I very much enjoyed this short story with it's innocently committed crime. I wonder if it has really happened?

cleverly succinct and intriguing

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Many books of hundreds of pages never deliver the punch this few pages have, perfect sarcasm, well-developed plot, characters that come off the page, entertaining and proof that writing can be majestic.

Short, sweet and sour; the perfect novella

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This is a tale of two authors, come of age together, how their paths diverge and intersect across the years.

Short Story

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Yes I knew it was short before I bought it but I expected more from Mr McEwan. The story starts slowly then gains a bit of interest before ending in a damp squib. Disappointing. For fans only. Or anyone wanting to have read the complete works.

Not worth the money I paid

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