Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

$0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
A Closed Eye cover art

A Closed Eye

By: Anita Brookner
Narrated by: Prunella Scales
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £13.99

Buy Now for £13.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Light in August cover art
Fraud cover art
Hotel du Lac cover art
A Family Romance cover art
Falling Slowly cover art
Brief Lives cover art
A Friend from England cover art
Undue Influence cover art
The Next Big Thing cover art
The Bay of Angels cover art
Latecomers cover art
Leaving Home cover art
Strangers cover art
The Rules of Engagement cover art
Waiting for the Barbarians cover art
Running in the Family cover art

Summary

Born to elegant but frivolous parents, Harriet grows up ignored and unguided, and retains a curious innocence that neither her marriage to Freddie Lytton, nor her friendship with the beautiful Tessa can dispel. Freddie is far older than she is - a companion rather than a lover - and slightly disapproving of Tessa and her irresponsible, attractive husband, Jack. Yet all four are bound together: by their backgrounds, their children, by Harriet’s unspoken feelings for Jack and by the tragedy that lies in wait for all of them.

©1991 Anita Brookner (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Love Books? You'll Love Audible.

Transform your day

Transform your day

Replace endless scrolling with endless listening. Chores can be fun.

Listen everywhere

Listen everywhere

You can’t turn pages while you drive—but you can press play.

Carry your entire Library

Carry your entire Library

Your stories go where you go. Audiobooks don’t weigh a thing.

Listen and learn

Listen and learn

Discover stories that can change your mind, your well-being, and your life.

Reach your reading goals

Reach your reading goals

Download titles to listen offline, wherever you are in the world.

Find your niche

Find your niche

WIth thousands of titles to explore, there’s something for everyone.

Try for £0.00 £7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

What listeners say about A Closed Eye

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    31
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    36
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    25
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyed this

I hadn't read any Anita Brooker before so this was a wonderful surprise. It is such a well observed study of the struggles of a particular type of life. The writer shows so much understanding of human psychology. I found the characters and their motivations utterly believable. Prunella Scales as narrator is superb.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A subtle, unsettling and compelling book.

I bought this book on the off chance. I’d never read Brookner before but I’m now a fan. Her writing is bleak and poignant while also being really witty.. Her characters are all quietly struggling, forced to make compromises and frequently completely isolated from each other. They make their own private hell which they then unintentionally inflict on their children. Prunella Scales is a brilliant reader - she captures the strained, stiff upper lip tones of the characters as well as Brookner’s dry humour. Highly recommended!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great writing, great performance

This book is quite bleak at times, but it is addictive in that one has to see what happens "in the end".
The heroine is an "anti-heroine" and frustrating in her lack of action.
Having said that, it is great for character-drawing.
Prunella Scales gave an amazing performace with the reading. That made the book interesting, when it could have become a bit droll in parts.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

The most depressing book

This is the most depressing book ever although made me look at my life I suppose, no real story tries to be very clever not sure it is

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Like a poor effort to emulate Henry James

Tedious. Repetitious. So long-winded I scrolled through several chapters to discover the story . . . what there was of it. Pretentious voiced reader. Brookner always has some acute observations about human behaviour but finding them here was like finding the poverbial needle. What a disappointment after Hotel du Lac.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Dreary, tedious, depressing

Gosh I regret getting this, I struggled through it, but goodness what a relief when I finished it. The story, characters, and writing are all tedious and depressing. The reading is fine, but having enjoyed Hotel du Lac, this was so disappointing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Irritation

I resent being obliged to write any review and shall leave audible as soon as I can

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful