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The Discomfort of Evening cover art

The Discomfort of Evening

By: Marieke Lucas Rijneveld
Narrated by: Genevieve Gaunt
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Summary

Winner of the International Booker Prize 2020

I asked God if he please couldn't take my brother, Matthies, instead of my rabbit. 'Amen.'

Ten-year-old Jas has a unique way of experiencing her universe: the feeling of udder ointment on her skin as protection against harsh winters; the texture of green warts, like capers, on migrating toads; the sound of 'blush words' that aren't in the Bible. But when a tragic accident ruptures the family, her curiosity warps into a vortex of increasingly disturbing fantasies - unlocking a darkness that threatens to derail them all.

A best-selling sensation in the Netherlands, Marieke Lucas Rijneveld's radical debut novel is studded with images of wild, violent beauty: a world of language unlike any other, exquisitely captured in Michele Hutchison's translation.

©2018, 2020 Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, translated by Michele Hutchison (P)2020 Audible, Ltd

What listeners say about The Discomfort of Evening

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Incest alert!

There's no denying the brilliant writing in this novel and the presentation of symbolism using effective and simplistic imagery. Yes it's depressing like everyone says- but it manages to express the inexpressible masterfully. However, the abundance of child related sexual activity and incest is more than a little wearingz- it got so abundant that I almost gave up on the book- take alot of breaks or it'll make you queasy! The abuse and slaughter of the animals is also harrowing- so I don't think I can honestly say I enjoyed this book, but I did appreciate it's writing. The reader does a fantastic job aswell. If you embark on this keep yourself distanced from the subject matter- it really is deeply disturbing.

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63 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

What a depressing book.

Really struggled with this book. Its so chillingly sad and one subject matter is worse than the next. I stopped listening with 2 hours left, it was too much doom, gloom, torture and depravity for me.

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28 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Not Recommend If You Are Feeling Fragile

This book is so well written and read so sympathetically (Genevieve Gaunt's narration was off the scale!) but it is NOT for the faint hearted.
It covers the implosion of a dysfunctional family following a tragic event, as told by a young girl called 'Jas' and her attempts to make sense and deal with all the awful things that happen to and around her.
It has taken me weeks to get through this book, as I had to keep taking a break from it, but didn't want to abandon it.
It was a terrible story, but totally believable and heart breaking.
It will stay with me for a long while, but I definitely feel the need of something very light to follow this dark tale.

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20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

darker every chapter, cant listen any more

it's a depressing start when a brother dies and the narrator with in the story feels guilt, it's full of religious nonsense. it suicidal to keep on reading

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18 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Discomfort sums it up

Initially, I found the viewpoint of this little girl surrounded by so much tragedy, endearingly quirky. However, without giving anything away, I very quickly started feeling uncomfortable and “discomfort” quickly became my general feeling about the book. I’ve given up two thirds through the book. The narrator can’t be faulted.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Abandoned it :(

Really struggled to finish this one, ended up abandoning it. A first for me, never felt that way about a book in all my life. Performance was good, its well written and from what I did listen to the story was good. I think it might have been the main character, something about her just didn't sit well with me and just didn't enjoy her or listening to her thought process. Found myself doing a few minutes and then turning it off. So it's not bad, it's just personal preference I guess.

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9 people found this helpful

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

Dark, disturbing and depressing

Oppressive, relentlessly miserable and featuring a large amount of disturbing juvenile sexual exploration, this book absolutely hits the spot at creating discomfort in the listener.
As a study of grief and guilt and a family falling apart it is a powerful piece of work, but it was just too unpleasant to listen to for me.
The voice adopted by the narrator to indicate the youth of the protagonist was extremely saccharine and grated on me nearly as much as the disturbing content of the novel.
Not a successful listen for me - simply too visceral and disturbing.

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8 people found this helpful

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

Dark and flowery

I didn't enjoy this book although it was read well it just seemed a bit disjointed and dealt with the dark subject matters in a way that I I found it difficult to relate to in any way.

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4 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Disturbing read but not in a good way

Although there are many fresh and appealing descriptions and the readers are excellent, the focus on incest makes this a disturbing read, not in a good way

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Discomfort is about right

I found this very disturbing. A very well evoked atmosphere of rigidity and childhood incomprehension. Was it over the top at times. I can't make my mind up

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3 people found this helpful