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Grandmothers
- Narrated by: Barbara Flynn
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
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Summary
The new novel from Salley Vickers, best-selling author of The Librarian, available for preorder now.
A wonderful novel about four very different grandmothers - Blanche, who can't seem to stop stealing things from the local pharmacy; Minna, who just wants a quiet life in her shepherd's hut, though the local children have other ideas; Cherry, who's adjusting to life in a care home; and Nan, whose favourite occupation is researching funerals - whose lives and grandchildren become unexpectedly entangled.
Critic reviews
"Vickers sees with a clear eye and writes with a light hand. She's a presence worth cherishing in the ranks of modern novelists." (Philip Pullman)
"Vickers has a formidable knack for laying open the human heart." (Sunday Times)
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What listeners say about Grandmothers
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Rachel Redford
- 07-01-20
Worth it for the acute observations
The grandmothers, Nan, Blanche & Minna, have close relationships with respectively Billy, Kitty and Rose, much closer than those between the children and their parents. All their lives become intertwined and they have fun expeditions, holidays, theatre trips and sleepovers - but surely I'm not the only grandmother listening who finds Sally Vickers' trio unrealistic in their physical energy & total absorption in their grandchildren?
Some of their trips and treats are slightly saccharine, and a Granny who drunk drives her grandchildren as Blanche did should not find her daughter-in-law's hostility unreasonable, as Blanche does. So there are limitations, but the whole is worth it for the scattered acute observations on topics such as the tricky relationship between an adoring mother and her son once that son is middle aged and the mother now an uncomprehending grandmother; the difficulties experienced by grandmothers observing what they see as parental failings of their grown-up children; of the pain suffered by 'other women' like Minna facing a childless old age having been thrown over by the married love of her life when he returns to his wife.
Overall, this is enjoyable, gentle, entertaining, thoughtful - although only sporadically thought-provoking. Barbara Flynn is a sympathetic, pleasantly modulated narrator without being spineless (often a trap), and she's excellent with dialogue.
Listening to Grandmothers is very pleasant on a day when it's drizzling, dank and dark by 4pm!
2 people found this helpful
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- Jane
- 07-12-19
Heartwarming
Loved this story. Beautifully written with interesting characters , exploring a relationship that’s isn’t usually written about.
Wonderful narration by Barbara Flynn.
2 people found this helpful
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- Elizabeth Anderson
- 04-12-19
Fascinating and beautifully crafted.
I loved this book and in true Salley Vickers style the characters really get under your skin. Perhaps because I am a troubled grand mother myself I felt great empathy with the protagonists.
We never learn what is killing Nan except perhaps old age but that thread of the story so hidden in plain sight from the other characters adds to the tension and intensity at the end. Beautifully crafted.
2 people found this helpful
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- Bibliodd
- 19-11-19
A masterpiece of evocative storytelling
In this skilful interweave of narratives Sally Vickers has created a stunningly atmospheric novel.
I heard about this book when the author was interviewed on BBC R4 Women’s Hour. ‘Not just about or for Grandmothers!’
I loved hearing her characters’ inner lives, their interactions, the familial relationships and responsibilities.
Such a clever writer, using settings to which many of her readers would have also used as personal pilgrimages or rights of passage!
Great listening, but now I want to own the book & read her words for myself.
2 people found this helpful
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- judith leonard
- 24-12-19
Grandmothers
The best book I have heard for a long time! I loved the narration by Barbara Flynn as she has the perfect voice .I wish you could search Audible by narrator.
1 person found this helpful
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- Jackie
- 23-11-19
excellent narration
Love love love this narrator please can we have more of her .lovely book also
1 person found this helpful
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- Carole Scott
- 17-01-21
Honestly? A wee bit boring
I really love Sally Vickers’ writing. She draws characters with great delicacy. And this was nicely narrated. But by about half way through, it simply felt a little dull. I realised I didn’t care that much what happened to the three main characters and their grandchildren. A space filler but not one to be remembered long after reading.
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- Lillyann
- 31-08-20
Fab reading of a lovely book
Sally Vickers on great form, full of wisdom and humanity, and Barbara Flynn is a delight to listen to.
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-05-20
Uninspiring
Predictable and uninspiring. Read Miss Garnet's Angel or Dancing Backwards for far better books by this author.
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-04-20
lovely, sharing in these ladies lives briefly
a great experience. the narrator really took you into these ladies lives. sweet story, not life changing but funny, poignant and sad all in 7 hours.