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The Folding Star
- Narrated by: Samuel West
- Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins
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The Folding Star
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Summary
Short-listed for the 1994 Booker Prize
Edward Manners - 33 and disaffected - escapes to a Flemish city in search of a new life. Almost at once he falls in love with 17-year-old Luc and is introduced to the twilight world of the 1890s Belgian painter Edgard Orst.
The Pride List of Queer Storytelling
Critic reviews
"As is typical of the best classics, he has fashioned a universal tale of sexual obsession, love and death out of a particular life." (Marie Claire)
"An extraordinary book which takes the reader into a world of obsession and mystery...The Folding Star is lit by insight and humour." (Evening Standard)
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What listeners say about The Folding Star
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
- Nom Prénom
- 15-07-23
Samuel West is a marvellous reader of Hollinghurst
The Folding Star is my favourite novel of Hollinghurst's to date, and quite likely my favourite novel, period. I find it dark and absorbing, and very, very funny. The writing is just sublime, and very evocative of the unnamed Flemish city in which it is depicted.
I intensely love everything about it, so I was delighted to find that Samuel West's narration is absolutely pitch perfect. He portays the story and its protagonist beautifully. I've listened to the entire audiobook twice already. I cannot recommend it enough. I'm looking forward to hearing more of his narrations. I see he reads The Swimming Pool Library. It promises to be a treat.
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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
- 01-08-20
Sam West’s Accents
Hollinghurst writes literature not mere novels, and Sam West is a consummate actor. I’ve listened to both of his Hollinghurst readings (the other being The Swimming Pool Library). My only gripe is that whenever he’s voicing black characters - even native British ones - he adopts a bestial semi-patois accent which robustly pushes the bounds of bigotry. Why can’t he have them speaking like actual human beings the way God and Hollinghurst intended?
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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
- Allan Robb-McLeod
- 11-07-18
Another Hollinghurst triumph
While not my favourite of Alan Hollinghurst's novels, The Folding Star contains some of his best writing. I found myself not particularly interested the sub-plot regarding the Flemish artist but a flashback of the protagonist's first love was so sublime that it left me gasping for more. I will definitely revisit The Folding Star.
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2 people found this helpful