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The Heather Blazing
- Narrated by: Stephen Hogan
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Classics
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Summary
Colm Tóibín's The Heather Blazing details the life of Eamon Redmond, a judge in Ireland's high court, a man remote from his wife, his son and daughter and, at least outwardly, his own childhood.
The life he has built for himself, between his work in Dublin and his family's retreat by the sea at Cush, is distinguished by order and by achievement. When, like his beloved coastline, it begins to slip away, he is pulled sharply into the present and finds himself revisiting his past.
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What listeners say about The Heather Blazing
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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- jayjay
- 30-05-18
Insightful
I mostly enjoyed this book. Colm Toibin is brilliant at bringing characters to life, and setting a believably accurate Irish scene. Stephen Hogan's narration was excellent and complimented or even enhanced Toibin's writing. What I could have done without, and so could his story, were the explicit sex descriptions. It made me cringeand didn't add much to the story. That was my only criticism and the reason for the four stars instead of five. Although this was written in the 1990's its topicality is as it's only just been written. The main character Eamon Redmond, a judge in a case that involves the expulsion of a girl from school because she has had a baby - relevant to the massive yes vote to abortion in Ireland, that has just taken place. It is just one example of past intolerance and cruelty to women/girls bearing children out of wedlock.
3 people found this helpful