Poor Things cover art

Poor Things

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for £0.00
£8.99/mo thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Offer ends 31 July 2025 at 23:59 GMT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Poor Things

By: Alasdair Gray
Narrated by: Russ Bain, Kathryn Drysdale
Try for £0.00

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 31 July 2025 23:59 GMT. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £13.99

Buy Now for £13.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
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.
Cancel

About this listen

Winner of the Whitbread Novel Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize

A life without freedom to choose is not worth having.

Godwin Baxter's scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of the beautiful Bella, who he brings back to life in a Frankenstein-esque feat. But his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless's jealous love for his creation...

But what does Bella think?

This story of true love and scientific daring whirls the listeners from the private operating-theatres of late-Victorian Glasgow through aristocratic casinos, low-life Alexandria and a Parisian bordello, reaching an interrupted climax in a Scottish church.

'A magnificently brisk, funny, dirty, brainy book' London Review of Books

'Visionary, ornate and outrageous' The Independent

'Witty and delightfully written' New York Times

'A brilliant marriage of technique, intelligence, and art.' Kirkus Reviews

©1992 Alasdair Gray (P)2023 W. F. Howes Ltd Genre Fiction Gothic Horror Literary Fiction Movie, TV & Video Game Tie-Ins Fiction Scary Witty Thought-Provoking Funny
All stars
Most relevant  
This is a most absorbing and original book. It is a wide canvas, but beautifully drawn.

Great performances, though I would take issue with a few of the place name pronunciations.

All in all it’s a triumph,

A tale like no other

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I watched the film, disliked it immensely and so the next day I bought this book hoping to find something to love about this story but alas it just was not meant to be!
But still I don't quite understand what I dislike so much about it.
It was a brisk and comfortable read and the performances really elevated it for me!

I wish I loved this book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Such great book it a shame there a very few books written but the author

Such great details in people

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fabulous narration of a wonderful tale. Haven’t enjoyed a book this good for a wee while

Wonderful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved this book .
listened to it twice.
thought provoking and very interesting.
10 out of 10 .

thought provoking

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
wonderful scope and story telling interwoven with historic fact and flights of fancy. unputdownable and well worth a listen.

wonderful scope and story telling

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed this book on terms of the story and format. It's unlike anything else I've read/ listened to, and I thought it was brilliant. The narration wasn't as good as the story deserved.

Intriguing, hilarious and incredibly clever

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Listen to this before watching the movie if you can, it's depth is surprising and shows how little has changed in the world.

Great book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I’m not sure about this book. Once it got going, it was an interesting enough listen. I did not understand the ending and actually gave up as it sounded like a shipping report monologue. Have since watched the film. Can’t decide which was worse!

? Overhyped?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great tale that keeps you guessing as to where it goes next, looking forward to the film.

Thought provoking tale

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews