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Harvest

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About this listen

As late summer steals in and the final pearls of barley are gleaned, a village comes under threat. Over the course of seven days, Walter Thirsk sees his hamlet unmade: the manor house set on fire, the harvest blackened, three new arrivals punished, and his neighbours accused of witchcraft. But something even darker is at the heart of his story, and he will be the only man left to tell it…

©2013 Jim Crace (P)2013 Recorded Books LLC Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Small Town & Rural Mind-bending
All stars
Most relevant
Great narrative, poorly narrated. I found myself wondering if the reader had ever attempted to read out loud before. Eccentric handling of several words which became quite laughable. Great story though, so worth persevering.

Bizarre reading

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Would you try another book written by Jim Crace or narrated by John Keating?

I would avoid anything narrated by John Keating. His reading seriously detracts from this book.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed the rich textures of period life in a small farming village.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He reads each sentence as a grand, portent-laden pronouncement, even if he's just describing a hat. It's tiring and ruins the pace.

Was Harvest worth the listening time?

Just - the characters and story are interesting up to a point. Then it seems as though Crace isn't sure how to finish the story and wrap things up, so he hurries through a set of unexpected and unbelievable events.

Good book, bad reading

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I thought the narrator odd at first, then realised his intonation was perfect for the time in which the story is set. I really enjoyed this unusual book.

Unusual

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the narrator was really great, I struggled a bit to understand what was going on but loved the setting and mysterious vibe. I wish a bit more was explained about what happened

beautiful language but not an easy read

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What made the experience of listening to Harvest the most enjoyable?

This timeless narrative is very well written, with evocative descriptions of a rural English world that is long gone but deeply embedded in our cultural psyche. I enjoyed it while listening to this short book, but have been surprised how much it has stuck with me - I've often found myself thinking back on it.

What didn’t you like about John Keating’s performance?

The reading performance I found distractingly bad - possibly the worst I've experienced yet. I found his voice and some of his pronunciations (e.g. 'manny' instead of 'many') irritating, and whenever he did a voice for a character he seemed to put on the same exaggerated squeeky village simpleton voice. This is clearly a matter of taste though, as others have rated the performance highly.

Any additional comments?

I've read/listened to 3 of the 6 books on the 2013 Booker shortlist so far, and I think this would have been a worthy winner.

A good (maybe great) book poorly read

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