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Black Dogs
- Narrated by: Philip Franks
- Length: 4 hrs and 59 mins
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Black Dogs
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Summary
In 1946, June and Bernard set off on their honeymoon. Fired by their ideals and passion for one another, they had planned an idyllic holiday, but in France they witness an event that alters the course of their lives entirely.
Forty years on, their son-in-law is trying to uncover the cause of their estrangement and is led back to this moment on honeymoon and an experience of such darkness it was to wrench the couple apart.
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What listeners say about Black Dogs
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- myra
- 09-04-24
Moving back and forth in time
Liked the historical background. Especially the fall of the Berlin Wall from spectators viewpoint. Great Way of narrating complex issues
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 01-12-22
Black Dogs by Ian McEwen
A semi biographical book based on a life changing experience, it is both thought provoking and insightful. Well worth listening to, read splendidly by Philip Franks.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- hfffoman
- 20-04-22
Intelligent but forgettable
For fans of Ian McEwan, this has the quality and intelligence you would expect. It's a slow, slightly odd narrative that unfolds carefully and thoughtfully without ever generating much feeling for the characters. I found the narrator uninspiring. With a better reader I might have given it 5 stars but as it was I found it rather unforgettable.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kosta-Koffe
- 21-01-19
Among his best books
Deep, disturbing book playing upon quite a few personal strings. Oscillating between giggles and shivers all the way. Echoes of his later books. Trademark crispy turn of phrase and "bomb drop" moment. Deserves listening-to twice over, to which I am proceeding. P.S. Brilliant narrator!
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Maggie Elliot
- 20-10-19
don't miss this book!
it's a book that makes you think - very much showing not telling and pure enjoyment sits with working out the deeper meaning. The man is a genius..
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Rachel Redford
- 07-09-18
Menace within Europe
Through the narrative framework of Jeremy researching for a memoir of his estranged parents in law, Bernard and June Tremaine, McEwan's 1992 novel explores the dire situation in Europe, which is remarkably appropriate to now.
Bernard and June were committed communists but their separate intellectual development separated them. Through the disjointed account of the relationship between these two and of key events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, and of the June's terrifying encounter with wild dogs on her honeymoon, McEwan presents an intellectual analysis of the rupture of Europe.
Although the characters are clearly explored through the decades, the most important element of the novel is intellectual and metaphorical, the current situation giving it extra bite.
Extremely well read.
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr J.
- 27-02-22
Brilliant - and timely
Like many Ian McEwan novels this is a history of a lifetime but it turns on a single relatively short incident that will haunt those affected for the rest of their lives. If you enjoy his writing, and are up for a debate about whether the answers to life’s problems are to be found in science, politics, or meditation and spirituality, this book is for you. The performance is great too - I was spellbound.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 04-04-24
The black dog’s
Good story
Good narration
Well constructed even though flipped from post war to the 1980s it never felt confusing
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Wras
- 10-09-18
Metaphors that don't bark but rip your soul apart
Again Ian McEwan brings to life characters and events while placing questions and conundrums that are devastating for the protagonists and the reader, like how can we pretend we know how to change the world when we can not fix the most familial of problems, do we recognize evil when we see it or do we pretend it is just history or a story.
The story of two lovers viewed from an angle that is unromantic at first glance but hides true love and the desperation of not having salvation. Two historical events that change Europe, two beliefs and two metaphors that grow out of this histories and out of the primordial evil of war and creed.
This book is literature that reverberates in the reader.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Francesca
- 27-11-22
Attention
Quite a complex story so needs your full attention I found and speakers voice very staccato though I did eventually get use to it,
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