The Famished Road cover art

The Famished Road

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

The Famished Road

By: Ben Okri
Narrated by: Hugh Quarshie
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £16.80

Buy Now for £16.80

LIMITED TIME OFFER

£0.99/mo for 3 months - terms apply. Offer ends 24 August 2026.

Winner of The Booker Prize 1991

So long as we are alive, so long as we feel, so long as we love, everything in us is an energy we can use.

He is born into a world of poverty, ignorance and injustice, but Azaro awakens with a smile on his face. Despite belonging to a spirit world made of enchantment, where there is no suffering, Azaro chooses to stay in the land of the Living: to feel it, endure it, know it and love it.

This is his story.

©2019 Ben Okri (P)2019 Audible, Ltd Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Magical Realism World Literature Fantasy Magic
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
All stars
Most relevant
I was so in AWE of Hugh performance and the storytelling, Ben Okri is a magician with the pen, and this story was captivating. An Ode to things fall apart and the griot storytelling of old. Listen to it and let it transport or transform you.

A wonderful whirlwind of a Story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Hugh Quarshie sounds like the book sounded in my head

This is an absolute joy thank you sooooo much xxxx

Just beautiful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
it took a while with nearly 20h but it was well worth it. loved the shallow lines between spirit world and political harshness. Book has a sense of infinity to it and at times humorous moments. it's description of the party of the poor and the party of the rich applies to many a nation. The only datedness (book is from 1991) is the reference to the West in the end as sole external exploited as China has become the new force of exploitation in many regions of Africa. wonderfully read by actor Hugh Quarshi with great care bringing the rich landscape Okri paints alive.

A dream that makes reality clearer

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It's basically a book about a retarded child who constantly hallucinates. I'm sure it's probably allegorical, but that was lost on me. There are some moments that are very funny. It's nice to listen to the characters and their daft behaviour. But it does get a bit repetitive and some of the descriptions repeat themselves. It's enjoyable, and ok if you are collecting Booker Prize winners, but it's not that good. 3.5 stars.

It's ok. Worth sticking with.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The atmosphere in this book is other worldly and really different to any book I have read before. I felt very immersed in the world Okri has created - however it is not easy going! It is convoluted and confusing, in a way that mirrors the frame the protagonist is in. I would be interested in reading this in hardcopy.

Ethereal but quite hard to get through!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews