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Waterline

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Waterline

By: Ross Raisin
Narrated by: Steven Cree
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About this listen

From Ross Raisin, the acclaimed author of God's Own Country and one of the best young British novelists today, comes Waterline: The story of an ordinary man caught between the loss of a great love and the hard edges of modern existence.

Mick Little used to be a shipbuilder on the Glasgow yards. But as they closed one after another down the river, the search for work took him and his beloved wife Cathy to Australia, and back again, struggling for a living, longing for home. Thirty years later the yards are nearly all gone and Cathy is dead. Now Mick will have to find a new way to live: To get away, start again, and try to deal with the guilt he feels over her death.

Ross Raisin was born in 1979 in West Yorkshire. His first novel, God's Own Country was published to great acclaim in 2008 and was shortlisted for nine literary awards including the Guardian First Book Award and the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. His second novel, Waterline, followed in 2011 and was a Radio 4 Book at Bedtime. In 2009 Ross Raisin was named the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year and in 2013 he was named one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists.

©2012 Ross Raisin (P)2013 Audible Ltd Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction

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Critic reviews

“A poignant, shocking, cunningly crafted classic ... the definitive novel for our times” ( Scotsman)
“Heartbreaking ... brilliant. There are rare novels that embed themselves in your sensibility so profoundly you can imagine conversations arising between characters that never occurred on the page.” (Alan Warner, Guardian)
“Spectacular” ( Time Out)
“Raisin is a novelist of terrific ability and great verve’ (Philip Hensher, Sunday Telegraph)
“What impresses about Raisin is the all-encompassing nature of his imaginative empathy, and the way in which he makes the reader complicit in his character's fate” ( Sunday Times)
“Mick's story is one you won't forget. With this second novel Ross Raisin confirms himself as an exciting talent, a unique, gifted and generous voice, a young writer with a vision broad far beyond his years’ (David Vann, Financial Times)
“ Waterline announces Raisin as a profound thinker as well as a distinctive voice” ( Esquire)
“A writer of outstanding talent” ( Independent on Sunday)
“Stunning in its maturity and descriptive voice ... Raisin is shaping up to be one of our most extraordinary writers” ( Telegraph)
“Beautiful ... Waterline’s great achievement is in giving a convincing and moving voice to an element of society that is rarely so emotively heard” ( Dazed & Confused)
All stars
Most relevant
Narrator was fantastic, will listen to more from him.
Felt for the main character.

narrator wow

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Well drawn characters and descriptions of situations as we are taken through a man's grief and decline following the death of his wife. Extremely good presentation of life on the streets as a homeless alcoholic. A very moving book and well read.

moving account of a man's grief after wife's death

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Beautiful and very moving book, Although it started slowly and I didn´t really know what to expect from the story at first, it really grew up on me and the last third of the book was the best.
Steven Cree was a great narrator as always.

very moving story

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