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Music and Silence

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Music and Silence

By: Rose Tremain
Narrated by: Jenny Agutter
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About this listen

 Winner of the Whitbread Novel of the Year, 1999.
Winner of the Costa First Novel Award, 2008.
A Radio 4 Book Club Selection.

In the year 1629, a young English lutenist named Peter Claire arrives at the Danish Court to join King Christian IV's Royal Orchestra. From the moment when he realizes that the musicians perform in a freezing cellar underneath the royal apartments, Peter Clair understands that he's come to a place where the opposing states of light and dark, good and evil, are waging war to the death.

©1999 Rose Tremain (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Royalty Heartfelt War King

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All stars
Most relevant  
Wonderful tale, great characters and great narration from Jenny Agutter. My second Rose Tremain book, not my last!

Superb

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Thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this book, beautifully narrated. Fantastic characters and a beautiful love story.

A great listen

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This is beautifully written and performed. The characters are diverse and complex.
Well worth a listen.

well constructed and engaging

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Took time to settle in but as the narrator settled in, the book became alive and flowing. Amazing story telling with many contemplative ideas. Would recommend and the narration excellent.

Different and excellent

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Rose Tremain’s mastery here and storytelling at its best. Great narration too. A wonderful read captivated me to the end

Magical and intriguing

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Rose Tremain at her most powerful! A wonderful, unusual, imaginative and beautifully controlled novel read impeccably by Jenny Agutter. I loved it from start to finish.

Superb

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I have just completed my listening/reading of Music and Silence and it massively reinforces for me the trust that I have come to place in Rose Tremain. I did not find this a comfortable book, but I did find it compelling. Tremain has a genuine capacity to get into characters' heads, so sharing their worlds and thoughts with us. She also shows her wonderful thoughtfulness in expressing things in a way that makes you say, "Yes, she's right." There is much to enjoy in this novel, and there is warmth too - though there are some upsets. The novel resolves itself and there is no bitter after-taste. I listened to the novel at 1.25 speed, even then there were some odd pauses, but not enough to ruin the flow. The narrator does well with foreign names. (If this novel ever comes to be re-recorded it would fly in the hands of Fenella Woolgar.) Straight after reading this novel I bought two further Rose Tremain audiobooks; what better testimony?

Quality, Quality, Quality

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In places I felt this was Rose Tremain at her best. It offers many delightful observations and expresses them elegantly. But ultimately it felt way overlong. I enjoy writing that is slow or descriptive but this felt like it moved too slowly without achieving a deeper immersion or more powerful perspective. Jenny Agutter is a wonderful reader but this performance is spoiled by a large number of inappropriate pauses which should have been edited out.

Rather dragged out

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Jenny Agutter is my favourite narrator, she never dominates the text, only allows it to live. I came across Rose Tremain through searching Agutter’s titles and am now so excited to look discover more of her work!
This book has love and loss like so many but her writing style and the world she creates is quite incredible. I’ve listened twice back to back!

Utter perfection

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This is the sort of book I admire but don't enjoy and I know had I read it on the printed page I would have given up on it. Although everything links together, the plot is built up on multiple narrators, some of whom I found more interesting than others. Jenny Agutter's wonderful reading of it lulled me through the more stolid bits and carried me firmly through the engrossing parts. It is no doubt a beautifully written and thought -provoking book. However it is bleak and at the time this didn't suit my mood, so for me to say I was glad that I listened to the whole book is praise. This is a very biased review, but I would say if you are really struggling after an hour or so, you are going to have an uphill battle.

Held by the reader

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