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  • Harvest

  • By: Jim Crace
  • Narrated by: John Keating
  • Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
  • 3.6 out of 5 stars (117 ratings)
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Harvest cover art

Harvest

By: Jim Crace
Narrated by: John Keating
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Summary

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

What listeners say about Harvest

Average customer ratings
Overall
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • M
  • 30-10-13

Very good.

I love it when a novel takes me to a place or time that's new and unknown to me, and 'Harvest' certainly did that. The vague impressions I have of that period in British history, around 1800, when the aristocratic landowners were able to clear the common lands of the common people, in order to use the forests for the much more profitable rearing of sheep, were brought to wonderful, brutal life by the author.
What I like about this novel, though, is that there are no innocents. The village is ancient, but not venerable; it's not a bucolic paradise but a closeted little world with harsh justice and a stagnant gene pool. The indigents may be innocent of the crimes they're accused of, but they're unforgiving and vengeful in the end; and the landlord, and his people, are, for better or worse, responsible for preparing the way for the industrial revolution and our modern world ... So we're all found wanting in this tale. It's well narrated (though the narrator's idiosyncratic pronunciation of 'cloth' as 'clorth' was distracting) and I'll definitely be searching out more of Jim Crace's work.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A good (maybe great) book poorly read

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.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Novel and narration not cut from the same "clorth"

A truly great novel ruined by a bizarre performance. Keating's accent is convincing at first but British listeners will soon be sniggering every time he mentions "cloth" or "lasses" (which is pretty frequently). His slow, considered delivery would make a kind of sense for the character telling the story, but it becomes clear that this is more a result of of the reader concentrating carefully on doing his best English accent.

If I'm wrong and Keating is British, then
this is just plain weird.

This book deserves far far better.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

disappointing...

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

Having tried and not finished a couple of other Jim Crace books, I tried again as it was a hot favourite to win the Booker prize. But again I couldn't connect with the story and this was compounded by the irritating and slow narration. Obviously not my cup of tea...

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

beautiful language but not an easy read

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

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • mj
  • 12-04-18

A very interesting story

A very interesting story, great observations and lovely narrative. Very atmospheric.
HOWEVER the narration was shocking.....Very badly read. Please please find another narrator to do this book justice.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • A
  • 26-06-17

Great book - weird pronounciations!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

With warnings about the odd pronouciations. A shame, as the book is so original.

What other book might you compare Harvest to, and why?

Unlike anything I've read - I suppose the nearest might be Hardy's novels, with accounts of rural events in his time.

What three words best describe John Keating’s performance?

Clear, Not English?

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Too long.

Any additional comments?

I felt that the reader sounded too young for the protagonist who was the narrator, but the most irritating thing was his peculiar pronounciation of words which cropped up a lot, like 'clorth' for cloth for instance, which for me upset the flow of the narrative. Would be interested to hear an historian's view of the book - would a village not have had a church?

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

all change

Crace's first person narrative swings along as Walter Thirsk cowers his way through a week of upheaval, trying to ensure his own survival as all about him alters irrevocably

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

beautiful and sad, tale of prejudice and lonelines

strangely unanchored in time or place this is a story about identity. A village abuses a small family of strangers and then guilt coupled with narrow mindedness allow the selfish unscrupulous gentry to conveniently destroy the village for their own gain.
lovely rural references and descriptions

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Bizarre reading

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.

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