Paradise Lodge

Hilarity and pure escapism from a true British wit

Preview

Failed to add items

Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.

Add to basket failed.

Please try again later

Add to wishlist failed.

Please try again later

Remove from wishlist failed.

Please try again later

Adding to library failed

Please try again

Follow podcast failed

Unfollow podcast failed

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.

Try for £0.00

More purchase options

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of Paradise Lodge by Nina Stibbe, read by Helen Baxendale.

This is the story of Lizzie Vogel, a 15 year old girl who finds herself working in an old people's home in the 1970s. The place is in chaos and it's not really a suitable job for a schoolgirl: she'd only gone for the job because it seemed too exhausting to commit to being a full-time girlfriend or a punk, and she doesn't realise there's a right and a wrong way to get someone out of a bath.

Through a cast of wonderful characters, from the assertively shy Nurse who only communicates via little grunts to the very attractive son of the Chinese take away manager, Paradise Lodge is the story of being very young, and very old, and the laughter, and the tears, in between.

Nina StibbeHelen BaxendalePenguinLizzie Vogel

Coming of Age

Genre Fiction

Literature & Fiction

World Literature

Funny

Feel-Good

Heartfelt

Witty

Thought-Provoking

Comedy

Coming of Age Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction World Literature Funny Feel-Good Heartfelt Witty Thought-Provoking Comedy

Critic reviews

It's the most piss-funny thing I've read all year (Caitlin Moran on 'Love, Nina')

The funniest new writer to arrive in years (Andrew O’Hagan)

Nina already feels like my best friend (Marian Keyes)

I am already longing for Nina Stibbe's next book

I can't remember a book that made me laugh more

Man at the Helm wouldn't be out of place on the same shelf as Cold Comfort Farm and I Capture the Castle

Lizzie's voice is convincingly childlike but also confidently witty... Stibbe's feat is to remain unsentimentally barbed while subtly and triumphantly demonstrating the value of the kind of understated love found within the strangest and least obviously functional families

Fantastic. Comical, moving and brilliantly evocative of British childhood

Most relevant

Would you consider the audio edition of Paradise Lodge to be better than the print version?

Hard to say really. I enjoyed the book too, but the beauty of the audio version is that you can listen on the move.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Paradise Lodge?

I don't want to give it away but when you discover the identity of one of the characters, plus the negotiations between NIna and the school teacher was very good.

Have you listened to any of Helen Baxendale’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to any other audio books narrated by Baxendale but I would seek her out in future.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Welcome to Paradise.