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Learning to Swim
- Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
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Learning to Swim
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
From the highly-acclaimed author of Small Pleasures - longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021.
Abigail Jex never expected to see any of the Radley household again.
The Radleys were extraordinary, captivating creatures transplanted from a bohemian corner of North London to outer suburbia, and the young Abigail found herself drawn into their magic circle: the eccentric Frances, her new best friend; Frances' mother, the liberated, headstrong Lexi; and of course the brilliant, beautiful Rad.
Abigail thought she'd banished the ghost of her life with them and the catastrophe that ended it, but 13 years later a chance encounter forces her to acknowledge that the spell is far from broken....
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What listeners say about Learning to Swim
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Judith Horth
- 01-05-24
Perfect narration of a wonderful story.
I was absorbed in the lives of these characters from the start, and the writer has a way with imagery. Brilliant.
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- MISS LA GOMEZ
- 05-09-22
Great modern romance
loved it. Great characters and good story about love. would recommend. UK based book. Great.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Molly
- 19-01-22
Wonderful coming of age novel
This is absolutely delightful - a gentle but absorbing story of a girl's obsession with an essentially dysfunctional but interesting family and the ripples that result from this relationship. I absolutely loved the narration and I listened to the whole thing in about two days. It reminded me a bit of I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith.
Clare Chambers is marvellous.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mellymoo
- 06-06-22
Beautiful story
Beautiful story funny evocative and real vent to all of us who lived in 79’s as teens and beautifully told
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Sam N
- 13-10-22
A good story
Started a bit slowly but I really got into it. Very enjoyable story. The narrator was perfect, have searched for other books she's narrated but sadly didn't find any.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 01-01-22
just brilliant
Claire Chambers is fast becoming a favourite author of mine. Her ability to draw characters and events is so insightful and clever that the plot almost becomes secondary. Fantastic narration, a joy to listen to.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Philomena
- 15-11-21
An awesome book about ordinary people.
Read 'Small pleasures' recently and just love this author's style. Learning to swim did not disappoint. Beautifully written observational gem.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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- Molly brown
- 27-09-21
a quiet book
I enjoy Clare's writing, her characters are likeable and completely believable.
there were a few editing problems with this recording.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Beckyboo
- 05-02-23
Didn’t want it to end
Absolutely loved this book. Having read Small pleasures, I thought I’d try another of her books. Will be buying a copy.
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- Katharine Kirby
- 21-06-22
A meandering story with many twists and turns
The path of true love doesn’t run smooth for sure and this long story hits some rocks along the way. Reminding me of an old favourite ‘The Brother of the More Famous Jack’ by Barbara Trepido which runs along the same lines about a young girl being subsumed into a more lively and relaxed family than her own. Abigail and Frances become firm friends with Rad, Frances’s brother in the wings. A long listen, pleasurably narrated with plenty of wit and wisdom along the way plus one horrible shock to absorb. Wondering where ‘Half Moon Street’ is situated I imagined it as Friday Street in Surrey…
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