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The Wren, the Wren
- Narrated by: Anne Enright, Aoife Duffin, Owen Roe, Liza Ross
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
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The Wren, the Wren
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2024.
Carmel had been alone all her life. She had been alone since she was twelve years old. The baby knew all this. They looked at each other; one life into another life, and the baby knew exactly how alone her mother had been.
Nell - funny, brave and so much loved - is a young woman with adventure on her mind. As she sets out into the world, she finds her family history hard to escape. For her mother, Carmel, Nell's leaving home opens a space in her heart, where the turmoil of a lifetime begins to churn. And across the generations falls the long shadow of Carmel's famous father, an Irish poet of beautiful words and brutal actions.
This is a meditation on love: spiritual, romantic, darkly sexual or genetic. A generational saga that traces the inheritance not just of trauma but also of wonder, it is a testament to the glorious resilience of women in the face of promises false and true. Above all, it is an exploration of the love between mother and daughter - sometimes fierce, often painful, but always transcendent.
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What listeners say about The Wren, the Wren
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Robert K.
- 10-10-23
Love this style of writing
Anne Enright is observant, insightful and clever with words. All my fave topics/thoughts arise.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J. F. Wrin
- 22-03-24
Irish generations
I often wonder, when I listen to Anne Enright, Donal Ryan, Louise Kennedy … (there are more) whether coming from an Irish family makes it easier to delight in and whether some of the intricate details are lost on those with no intimate knowledge of such families.
The narrators were all very good. Anne Enright herself has a rich and perfectly aging voice, fitting into the role of the mother with absolutely no glance backward.
That all said, I am on the whole, avoiding books, which are written in chapters of different characters or different timelines. I cannot be certain whether I would have actually read this all the way through in spite of the fact that the family politics and bickering are so accurately carved.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 07-10-23
brilliant
loved it. incredible performances on the audio book. A gorgeous insight to a family of characters. Bird lovers will enjoy
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- eileen boyle
- 25-01-24
I feel that the different voices added to a great story
It took me a little while to warm to the story and the characters. Then I did to a degree and would at times become disgruntled again, during the last few hours this happened less and I looked forward to my next listen. Thanks
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Elisabeth
- 15-02-24
A mixed book
The older women had interesting stories and had depth of character. The long descriptions of the younger woman’s experience of an increasingly abusive and controlled relationship was harder to digest because it went on for so long. So much introspection and no action. It seemed out of character for Nell. It also didn’t seem to play forward into the rest of the story. Otherwise Well read. An ok book but not stunning.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 20-04-24
Relationship
Took me a while to figure out what was going on but I persevered and I think I eventually got it.
Long rambling story, they all seemed to have an ‘ism’ and although some parts of their relationships were loving there was a lot of cruelty and major dysfunction. Just like a poet to state undying love but he leaves his wife and family just when they need him the most.
Some burst out laughing observations kept me going, amid the misery.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 07-06-24
Anne Enright at her best
Loved the exploration of the layered complexity of familial relationships, how our view of the past is shaped by our individual perspectives - all much enhanced by Enright's narration - a good tale well told.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- S. Bale
- 04-05-24
The wren
Beautiful writing, I think the book just wasn’t for me. It’s character driven and not much plot at all. I enjoyed the characters, wish they were explored a little deeper. Loved the ending. Narration is done very well.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 20-03-24
A beautiful book.
I loved every syllable and feel like I could listen to this story again straight away from the beginning. The whole thing was just perfect, the story itself, the exploration of words, meaning, poetry and people brought me to a place of pure enjoyment. A beautiful book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Sally Brown
- 26-08-24
A wonderful listen
I loved everything about this - the book itself and then the narration. Just so compelling and beautiful - I haven’t listened to anything so enriching for ages .
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