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The Bass Rock

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The Bass Rock

By: Evie Wyld
Narrated by: Julie Graham, Kirsty Strain, Ross Anderson
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The lives of three women weave together across four centuries in this dazzling book from Evie Wyld, a Granta Best of Young British Novelist

Surging out of the sea, the Bass Rock has for centuries borne witness to the lives that pass under its shadow on the Scottish mainland. And across the centuries, the fates of three women are inextricably linked to this place and to each other.

Sarah, accused of being a witch, is fleeing for her life.

Ruth, in the aftermath of the Second World War, is navigating a new marriage and the strange waters of the local community.

Six decades later, Viv, still mourning the death of her father, is cataloguing Ruth’s belongings in the now-empty house.

As each woman’s story unfolds, it becomes increasingly clear that their choices are circumscribed, in ways big and small, by the men who seek to control them. But in sisterhood there is also the possibility of survival and a new way of life. Intricately crafted and compulsively readable, The Bass Rock burns bright with anger and heart – a devastating indictment of the violence that men have inflicted on women throughout the ages.

©2020 Evie Wyld (P)2020 Penguin Audio Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt

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Critic reviews

Like Ali Smith’s novels crossed with the TV series Fleabag… [The Bass Rock is] a vividly imagined portrait… There’s much to admire in its little miracles of observation… [Evie Wyld] knows how to maintain suspense, what to withhold and when to reveal it — right up to the spine-chilling last line. (Johanna Thomas-Corr)
A multilayered masterpiece; vivid, chilling, leaping jubilantly through space and time, it’s a jaw dropping novel that confirms Wyld as one of our most gifted young writers. (Alex Preston)

Wondrous... Expertly chilling... Wyld consistently entertains, juggling the pleasures of several different genres. (John Williams)
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I loved the story, but it’s a real shame that some of the narration wasn’t so great (I found the Welsh accent particularly difficult to listen to!). Don’t let this put you off though, it’s a good, gripping listen otherwise.

Brilliant story, but variable narration

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This is one of the most beautifully written novels I have read for some time. The eloquence and sensitivity of the language stands out. The story is really engaging. Reading a novel is so rewarding when you find a writer who can provide insights into human behaviour.
So well read by the performers.

Beautifully written and narrated

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Don’t expect this book to be uplifting. And don’t expect all the loose ends to tie up. A gripping story of parallel and sometimes overlapping lives, bracing against life, mysogeny and the best and worst of the human spirit

Harrowing but engrossing

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The book spans three main characters interspersed with vignettes of male violence against women.

True story itself is fascinating and, whilst there are multiple characters, they are all crafted so well that you become completely invested in their story and experience.

The vignettes are violent, but they further the author’s point - that violence against women is a systemic age old issue. Although they are brief, you get a glimpse into their lives and add an interesting dimension to the book.

Harrowing but fascinating novel. I really enjoyed the mix of timelines and characters.

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I found the plot needlessly confusing and rather thin. There was an attempt at a sort of mythic poeticism but it fell short of that.
The characters, apart from Mrs Hamilton, were disappointingly ordinary.
I could see what the author was trying to achieve with the rock at its centre, but, for me, it wasn’t realised.

Directionless

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I need to order a copy of this novel. It moves from one character to another - most of whom are linked - but I never fully grasped how all of them were connected. Evie Wyld was recommended by William Boyd (in a podcast) and he said that she moves between time frames in the same way he constructs his novels. I’m certainly impressed by her writing and story line and look forward to to rereading this novel and exploring her others. I was not impressed by the narrator for Ruth. She read in as flat tone and ran sentences into one another in a way that lost meaning. However the other narrators were ok.

Probably best to be experienced on the printed page.

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Very good novel but the narrator who did the Ruth sections is terribly bad at doing accents (Weksh, Scots), which ruined it a bit for me.

Very good but Ruth narrator realky bad at accents

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I read reviews of this book that complained about the sudden ending with no neat tying together of the threads. I thought it was great. This is a story about a place, and what has happened there not so much about resolving the people’s stories. If you have ever sat under an ancient oak and wondered who had sheltered there and what had happened, this is for you.

Great Ending

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Portraying men as bad and very one sided. Playing on the “me too” movement to store up bias. Not worth the read.

Confusing

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The narration of Ruth’s chapters were so appalling, it completely ruined this book for me

Absolutely TERRIBLE narration of Ruth’s chapters

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