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The Trick to Time

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About this listen

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Trick to Time by Kit de Waal, read by Fiona Shaw.

Mona is a young Irish girl in the big city, with the thrill of a new job and a room of her own in a busy boarding house. On her first night out in 1970s Birmingham, she meets William, a charming Irish boy with an easy smile and an open face. They embark upon a passionate affair, a whirlwind marriage - before a sudden tragedy tears them apart.

Decades later, Mona pieces together the memories of the years that separate them. But can she ever learn to love again?

The Trick to Time is an unforgettable tale of grief, longing, and a love that lasts a lifetime.

 Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Tear-jerking Feel-Good Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking Emotionally Gripping

Critic reviews

Weaving tragedy and joy, big themes and the minutiae of life, this is a love story to take on the classics
Tender with a fierce undercurrent of tension and heartbreak (Jane Shemilt, bestselling author of 'Daughter')
Authentic and beautiful, urgent and honest, this novel does what only the best do: it quietly makes room in your heart (Chris Cleave on 'My Name is Leon')
Tender and heart-breaking (Rachel Joyce on 'My Name is Leon')
A touching, thought-provoking debut (Guardian on 'My Name is Leon')
A beautiful story told with compassion, urgency and wit (Stephen Kelman on 'My Name is Leon')
Startlingly funny. Balances the gritty with the feel good (Observer on 'My Name is Leon')
Deeply moving, compulsively readable and, despite the heart-rending subject matter, often funny (Irish Times on 'My Name is Leon')
A story that's full of care; even in its saddest moments it is tender and kind. It feels like a book about all the best parts of being human, about family and friendship, and the way that loss only hurts the way it does because it's grounded in love. (S K Perry)
All stars
Most relevant
Patchy, found the first half hard going- bit dull and saccharine and not helped by the narrator's dodgy English accents (I know she's a Great Actor but ...) and I took a break.

However I'm glad I went back to it because the second half is much better, harsher, absorbing and faster paced.

Some reviewers have mentioned a twist at the end but I didn't notice a twist so don't be disappointed by its absence.

Worth persevering

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Fiona Shaw is a brilliant narrator , her ability to draw you into the story & to keep you captured in its twists & turns is second to none .
Kit de Waal writes beautifully. Intriguing story & description has you painting each person & scene . 5* all round .

Brilliant

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So beautiful and tender, I didn’t want it to end - only made more mesmerizing by Fiona Shaw’s beautiful voice.

Beautiful

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Would you listen to The Trick to Time again? Why?

This is certainly one to enjoy again. Fiona Shaw's reading of this fascinating story is superb: acutely moving and deeply sensitive to all the nuances of the characters she portrays so strongly. It has been an absolute joy to be engrossed by. It's a rich, detailed story, funny as well as profound, and will keep you company long after you've finished listening.

A novel about the human heart

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this is a beautifully written book, it is searing in parts due to to the circumstances and some of the tragedy but it is also utterly magical and the reading was one hundred per cent brilliant
highly recommend this

superb story, crafted on so many different levels

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