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Poor Things

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Poor Things

By: Alasdair Gray
Narrated by: Russ Bain, Kathryn Drysdale
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About this listen

Winner of the Whitbread Novel Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize

A life without freedom to choose is not worth having.

Godwin Baxter's scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of the beautiful Bella, who he brings back to life in a Frankenstein-esque feat. But his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless's jealous love for his creation...

But what does Bella think?

This story of true love and scientific daring whirls the listeners from the private operating-theatres of late-Victorian Glasgow through aristocratic casinos, low-life Alexandria and a Parisian bordello, reaching an interrupted climax in a Scottish church.

'A magnificently brisk, funny, dirty, brainy book' London Review of Books

'Visionary, ornate and outrageous' The Independent

'Witty and delightfully written' New York Times

'A brilliant marriage of technique, intelligence, and art.' Kirkus Reviews

©1992 Alasdair Gray (P)2023 W. F. Howes Ltd Genre Fiction Gothic Horror Literary Fiction Movie, TV & Video Game Tie-Ins Fiction Scary Witty Thought-Provoking Funny
All stars
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I found this to be an intriguing combination of the Frankenstein story and the history of an admirable Scottish woman physician.
The narration was brilliantly convincing

A truly memorable morality tale

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This is a most absorbing and original book. It is a wide canvas, but beautifully drawn.

Great performances, though I would take issue with a few of the place name pronunciations.

All in all it’s a triumph,

A tale like no other

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Absolutely brilliant. Loved the detail. Totally engaging and engrossing. Great voice performance add to the intensity. Loved it.

Brilliant

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Unsurprisingly, I came to this book by way of the movie but that didn't prepare me in any way for the enormity of the novel. It is a wonderfully joyous and humorous story with so much depth, character development and unforseen plot twists. The language and narration is a delight to listen to and makes this one of the very best Audible books that I have listened to. Written to perfectly reflect the Victorian language and attitudes of the late 19th century especially in the dialogue and how that is perceived by the naive Bella (the main character) is often hilarious.

The last hour of the book is taken up by 'Notes' but it is essential listening right up to the end as it not only forms a part of the plot but is a delightful mixing of real world people and events with the fictional characters within the novel.

Truly brilliant.

Astonishly Good

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Fabulous narration of a wonderful tale. Haven’t enjoyed a book this good for a wee while

Wonderful

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