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Light Perpetual

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Light Perpetual

By: Francis Spufford
Narrated by: Imogen Church
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About this listen

November 1944. A German rocket strikes London and five young lives are atomised in an instant.

November 1944. That rocket never lands. A single second in time is altered and five young lives go on - to experience all the unimaginable changes of the 20th century.

Because maybe there are always other futures. Other chances.

Light Perpetual is a story of the everyday, the miraculous and the everlasting. Ingenious and profound, full of warmth and beauty, it is a sweeping and intimate celebration of the gift of life.

From the best-selling, prize-winning author of Golden Hill, a novel of the everyday, the miraculous and the everlasting.

©2021 Francis Spufford (P)2021 W F Howes 20th Century Fiction Historical Fiction Heartfelt Thought-Provoking

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All stars
Most relevant
as a dedicated South Londoner born in north London and schooled in Peckham and East Dulwich before moving to Welling and now living in Sidcup via Belvedere and Bow, this story really resonates with me. I know Becksford is fictional but I really really would like to meet Francis down the pub to talk over the old places and times. We probably went to the same school? Who knows. tt was the exact kind of descriptive listen that I like allowing me to picture exactly what is going on and where it is. The narrator was bloody marvellous as well with all the right voices, sounds and inclinations that enhance the the wording perfectly. Thoroughly recommended and if Francis is reading this, get in touch and I will buy you that beer or white wine if you prefer, Bazzer

Bloody Brilliant

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This was a really good listen, following the lives of a group of children (at the start) and their varies paths through life, up and downs, good and bad.

It is a great book, with lots to think about by the end.

I listened at 1.45 speed (as I'd forgotten how soon my bookclub meeting was!) and it seemed to be a natural speed.

A dip into people's lives over the years.

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This book is definitely worth reading or listening to - such excellent writing- you feel you have lived through the 50 years these children tread.

Wow! What a novel.!

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The synopsis of this makes it sound like a clever split-time story. I was expecting two stories to emerge - one of survival in the nuclear winter, and the other 'what could have been.' In fact, it's just a literary device to catch attention and demonstrate the author's not inconsiderable talent for descriptive passages. Sadly, it's never mentioned again beyond the opening chapter. Instead, the book is a snapshot of dead people's lives at various points, had they lived.

In fact, it ends up being more of a social history book, with the lives of ordinary people described at different past times. No presence at momentous moments (missile not withstanding), but racism, sexism, fraud, violence and drug taking are all explored against a backdrop of contemporary issues.

This is a book that doesn't benefit from listening to it. It took me more than half the book to realise all the chapters were about the same people at different times, and not being able to flick back through the pages and connect the timelines was frustrating, and negated the purpose of the book structure. I read it as part of a book club and others found the same.

Another common remark was that the 'charred meat' chapter was tedious and hard to get through, both for readers and listeners alike. I'm in two minds about whether this was a terrible or genius depiction of mental illness. The cyclic obsessive compulsive return to the mental image seemed to resonate, even though I'm not sure the execution quite hit the mark. Writing should illuminate but hopefully without alienating or irritating the reader.

The narrator had too much to do to make sense of this book. Trying to narrate SO many people's stories, at different points in their lives (and thus with youthful /older voices) was too much to expect. Some characterisation was brilliant, and some were indistinguishable from others. She did her best, but this was a big ask. As an audio book it would benefit from recording with a bigger cast who could bring one character each to life throughout their lifetime.

Ultimately I wondered what the point of the book was, and felt mislead by the synopsis. After one or two time periods I wondered whether the missile hadn't been a mercy, as most of them had awful, crappy lives, but then in their later lives seemed to find redemption, and oddly, when the book finished I felt a sudden regret to remember the characters never got to live those lives after all (indeed, are just characters!) So the book got me somewhere, it seems, but it failed to live up to expectations.


Sounds better than it is

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This is a cracking story well told with a wealth of characters and a rounded account of interesting lives and times but oh that narration is excruciating.

Great Book but Ghastly Narration

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