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Black Water

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About this listen

Harper wakes every night, terrified of the sounds outside his hut halfway up the mountain in Bali. He is afraid that his past as a mercenary has caught up with him and that his life may now be in danger.

As he waits to discover his fate, he meets Rita, a woman with her own tragic past, and begins a passionate affair. Their exile makes Harper realise that exile comes in many forms - but can Rita and Harper save each other while they are putting each other very much at risk?

Moving between Indonesia, the Netherlands and California, from the 1960s to the 1990s, Black Water turns around the 1965 Indonesian massacres, one of the great untold tragedies of the 20th century.

©2016 Louise Doughty (P)2016 Faber Audio Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Fiction Tear-jerking
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Unusual book. Enjoyed it a lot. A cliff hanger! Author says the central character shares a lot of her!

A great Dark Night of the Soul book

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Very disappointing compared to Apple Tree Yard. Beautifully narated though. Too much violence and tragidy.

Some history, some thriller, some romance.

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I hesitate to review this, as I only got through two (long) chapters. Louise Doughty can certainly write brilliantly. I loved Apple Tree Yard. It is infact one of my favourite books. Consequently, I really wanted to like this. Sadly, it isn't for me. The subject matter is depressing and nothing about it grabbed me. It may be better further in, but I am a 'too many books, too little time' woman, so I must move on.

Not for me sadly!

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I very much wanted to like this book, but it missed the mark for me with everything feeling a bit off, slightly contrived, and lacking subtlety. I do wonder, however, how much this has to do with the narration. Normally I feel I can separate the story from the narrator, but in this case I think the narration, which seemed cheesy, especially in the protagonist's dialogue, could've tinged the whole experience.

I'm sure some others will like it, but a disappointment to me.

Disappointed

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The narration was slow and very tedious. As a result a fascinating story because just too boring to put up with. i then bought the book and absolutely loved it.

Terrific book but....read it !

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