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Gillespie and I

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Gillespie and I

By: Jane Harris
Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
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About this listen

Longlisted for the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction

Sitting in her Bloomsbury home, with her two birds for company, elderly Harriet Baxter sets out to relate the story of her acquaintance with Ned Gillespie, a talented artist who never achieved the fame he deserved. Back in 1888, after a chance encounter, young Harriet befriends the Gillespie family and soon becomes a fixture in all of their lives. But when tragedy strikes - leading to a notorious criminal trial - the certainties of this world all too rapidly disorientate into mystery and deception.

©2011 Jane Harris (P)2011 W F Howes Ltd Historical Fiction Mystery Fiction Exciting Scary Tear-jerking Suspense

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All stars
Most relevant
Wonderfully written and expertly narrated, Gillespie & I is a chilling tale of altered perceptions, half truths and obsessive love. Jane Harris is a supremely talented storyteller.

Sublime

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I tried on several occasions to get in to this book. The style of narration, although well matched to the main character and period of the book, irritated me which is why it took several attempts. This is an interesting story switching from 1930s to 1890s and is narrated by a single English lady of private means who befriends the family of a struggling Scottish artist. The family consist of two daughters, one of whom appears disturbed, and throughout the book you do not really know what happened to her. A tragedy ensues in which this spinster lady is implicated. However the story is told as a memoire so you know the outcome even as it unfurls. At some points you feel the past and the present may merge which definitely held my interest. The narrator herself is quite self opinionated. There were times I was irritated by her, but at other times I felt sorry for her. She is someone who appears independent, who befriends people but deep down does not appear to have the support of loving relationships herself and so her "independence" is really more stoical acceptance. Towards the end, I was gripped as I felt something new was about to happen, but in the end it just finishes and was not quite as satisfying as I hoped, as I like a good, surprise ending. I am glad I read this book as it was a change from the contemporary books I usually read but is not in my 5* list.

Something different, glad I read it

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I loved this unusual book, told from the point of view of an unreliable narrator in dual time zones. We start the novel in 1933 with Harriet Baxter, an old lady writing her memoirs, looking back on her youth and her intense friendship and involvement with the Gillespie family beginning in 1888.
Simultaneously a second story unfolds in the later time period as Harriet becomes increasingly suspicious of her maid, and we become increasingly unsure of Harriet's sanity and reliability as a narrator.
It's beautifully read by Anna Bentinck who does a nice line in Scottish accidents. (Although the, thankfully little needed, German accent did veer into Pakistani!) she completely strangled the vowels for Elspeth, Sybil lisped beautifully, Ned is quiet, unshowy but appealing, Annie is tired, exasperated and ultimately heartbreaking and so on. Bentinck really made the book come to life. I think she did a much better job than my inner voice would have done.
After a slow start this picked up pace and became very gripping. I was waiting for a big reveal and the loose ends to be tied up nicely at the end, it did seem to peter out a bit for my liking, but I'm still mulling it over so maybe it's better for the reader to be left to draw their own conclusions.

Highly Recommended

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Brilliantly read by Anna Bentinck (not only does she cope with a range of accents she even modulates her tone to reflect the 'young' and 'old' periods in the narrator's life) this audiobook had me gripped until the final seconds. It focuses on the tragic fate of the artist, Ned Gillespie as told by his close friend and great admirer Harriet Baxter. What becomes increasingly apparent however, is that this is only one, far from impartial, view of events...
Don't miss out on this one - the closing sentence truly sent a shiver down my spine!

Chilling and Compelling

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I've listened to this audiobook 3 times and, despite now knowing exactly how it plays out, find it fabulously entertaining. With a first person narrator the tone is very unusual, by turns funny, sinister, farcical, pathetic, and tragic with a very chilling ending. Anna Bentinck's flawless narration immerses you in the world that this extraordinary woman inhabits. I think it's wonderful and is in my top ten

A favourite

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