The Outcast cover art

The Outcast

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The Outcast

By: Sadie Jones
Narrated by: Sadie Jones
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Winner of the Costa first novel prize.

Shortlisted for the Orange prize for fiction.

The best-selling novel from the author of The Snakes, The Outcast is a powerful portrait of unexpected love and treacherous charades against the backdrop of a sleepy post-war English village.

August 1957. Lewis Aldridge, straight out of jail, stands alone at a Surrey railway station.

He's returned to the village where he grew up: the village where, a decade earlier, tragedy tore his family apart, leaving him to a troubled adolescence without a mother and with a father he barely knew.

Now, the only person who understands him is Kit, daughter of a bullying local businessman. Soon they realise that to forge their own futures, they must first confront the darkest secrets of their past.

As family, love, passion, sex and violence become ever more so intertwined, can Kit and Lewis find their way back to each other amidst the chaos?

©2008 Sadie Jones (P)2008 Penguin Audio
Family Life Genre Fiction Small Town & Rural Thriller & Suspense Village Fiction Emotionally Gripping

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Critic reviews

"If you liked Atonement by Ian McEwan, you'll love this." (Harper's Bazaar)

"A tragic account of the devastating effects of parental abuse and the redemptive power of true love." (Guardian)

"In the tradition of Remains of the Day...a passionate and deeply suspenseful novel." (Margot Livesey)

All stars
Most relevant
Poignantly beautiful. Excellent writing, excellent reading. I’m so grateful that it was chosen by one of our bookclub members for reading and discussion.

Loved it!

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I have always loved this novel by Sadie Jones and thrilled that I have now had the chance to hear it in full, read by the author. A real treat!

Best seller read by the author

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What a depressing story. I’m sorry I listened to it. There seemed to be no point to the depressing story. Do not recommend!

Depressing

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