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  • The Book of Memory

  • By: Petina Gappah
  • Narrated by: Chipo Chung
  • Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (122 ratings)
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The Book of Memory cover art

The Book of Memory

By: Petina Gappah
Narrated by: Chipo Chung
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Summary

Memory, the narrator of The Book of Memory, is an albino woman languishing in Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison in Harare, Zimbabwe, where she has been convicted of murder.

As part of her appeal, her lawyer insists that she write down what happened as she remembers it. As her story unfolds, Memory reveals that she has been convicted for the murder of her adoptive father. But did everything happen exactly as she remembers?

©2015 Petina Gappah (P)2016 W.F. Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"Mistress of crushing irony and acerbic humour...this is a fiercely indignant and justly cynical work." ( Sunday Times on An Elegy for Easterly)
"Gappah's lightness of touch and excellent sense of humour moderate some of the gravest moments." ( Daily Telegraph on An Elegy for Easterly)

What listeners say about The Book of Memory

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A slow-burner, but a real treat.

Any additional comments?

This book will haunt me for a long time. Elegant in its simplicity and spare prose style, it crept up on me with some considerable stealth. I took me a couple of hours to become totally wrapped up in its charm but by that time I realised I was listening to an expert piece of storytelling. I was caught up in the fate of Memory, the storyteller, and the host of characters that fleshed out this simple story of an albino girl caught up in a convoluted crime story in post-colonial Zimbabwe. At the heart of the story lies Memory's belief that she was sold as a young girl ,by her parents, to a rich white man. Many years later she finds herself in prison for that man's murder and her lawyer, as part of the appeal process, asks Memory to write down her story. It slowly unravels and, aided by African myths and the contribution of other characters/events in the prison, reveals the heartbreaking truth of her childhood. The denouement left me reeling with sadness and empathy for Memory.

The narration was beautifully paced and the narrator expertly blended the African and colonial voices of the piece.

A 5* read in every sense. I always feel that one of the signs of a good book is how much you invest in the characters/story and believe in them. If it leaves me wanting more and I hurry off to check out the author's back catalogue, it usually means that I have just read a great book and one that I will probably read again. I will certainly revisit this one.

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10 people found this helpful

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

The book of Memory

Beautiful story beautifully read....slowly slowly we discover more and more about Memory , a young woman in Africa who is also albino, imprisoned for murder.
She is innocent of the crime, but only understanding her history do we understand how she came to be there.
The truth gradually emerges, her misunderstandings put right until she finally sees and we see what has happened. why it happened and that everything was born out of love.

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3 people found this helpful

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

Slow and meandering -

I found this really tedious, and also irritating in its constant and frequent use of the local dialect - without translation.
The story meandered here, there and everywhere. There really didn't seem to be much purpose to it. The idea was good and I think, if edited very strictly, it would have been worth reading, however that would have cut out about 60 % of it.
I am surprised that I seem to be a minority yet again, but I really wish I hadn't wasted my time and a valuable credit.

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2 people found this helpful

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

It started off slow, but got better

I found the first part of the book a real struggle. I really wanted to know about the events that put her in prison. Instead there were lengthy anecdotes about her childhood and the characters she used to know. The singing and the parts spoken in her native tongue were incredibly annoying, mainly due to the lack of translation. But the story picked up by Part 2, enough to make it more interesting. I feel the book went into unnecessary details about some things, but skimmed over important things about certain people and situations in Memory's life.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Not what I was expecting

For 90% of this book I thought it had been Mis-categorised, and tbh it probably has been.
Less a mystery/thriller and more a study of the life, inside and outside of prison, of a woman accused of murder.
Don’t let that out you off though - it was a thoroughly enjoyable study, and having it in audio highlighted the accents and speech patterns on a way that only made it better.

However the “mystery” element only became apparent in the final few chapters.
Again done in a very satisfying way, but I’m just not sure it should be targeted as a “mystery” novel.

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

Beautifully narrated

Captured me to the end.
Will search for more books by the author. Beautifully written.

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

Great story. Enjoyed the journey!

Expertly narrated story, traces parts of the Zimbabwean experience from different lenses and keeps you hooked throughout.

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

Wonderful

What a fascinating book. A slow start draws you in to a really interesting story absolutely brilliantly narrated. Highly recommend.

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

sad but interesting. not a gripping drama

slow moving but interesting and very sad. the ending let me decide. I like that.

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

something a little different

enjoyed this very much and found it really well suited to the excellent marathon.
at times the language choices made it difficult to follow briefly
didn't see the twist coming at all

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