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The Mars Room
- Narrated by: Rachel Kushner
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
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The Mars Room
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Summary
Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Mars Room, written and read by Rachel Kushner.
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2018.
The New York Times best seller.
Romy Hall is at the start of two consecutive life sentences, plus six years, at Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility. Outside is the world from which she has been permanently severed: the San Francisco of her youth, changed almost beyond recognition. The Mars Room strip club where she once gave lap dances for a living. And her seven-year-old son, Jackson, now in the care of Romy’s estranged mother.
Inside is a new reality to adapt to: thousands of women hustling for the bare essentials needed to survive. The deadpan absurdities of institutional living, which Kushner details with humour and precision. Daily acts of violence by guards and prisoners alike. Allegiances formed over liquor brewed in socks, and stories shared through sewage pipes.
Romy sees the future stretch out ahead of her in a long, unwavering line - until news from outside brings a ferocious urgency to her existence, challenging her to escape her own destiny and culminating in a climax of almost unbearable intensity. Through Romy - and through a cast of astonishing characters populating The Mars Room - Rachel Kushner presents not just a bold and unsentimental panorama of life on the margins of contemporary America but an excoriating attack on the prison-industrial complex.
Critic reviews
"An unforgettable novel." (Daily Telegraph)
"More knowing about prison life [than Orange Is the New Black]... so powerful." (New York Times)
"One of America's finest writers." (Vogue)
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What listeners say about The Mars Room
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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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
- Amazon Customer
- 30-09-18
Excellent
Initial struggle with the narration but am glad I kept going. A richly descriptive tale of a life lived out of bounds.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mia
- 21-05-19
A better read than a listen
I've been wanting to read the book for ages, so was very much looking forward to having the audio version for my commute. The story weaves around different characters but keeps its focus very much on the protagonist, Romy. It was a heartbreaking story at times, highlighting all the flaws of the US justice system.
But I just couldn't get over the narration (narrated by the author). She sounded like she was the one doped up, with little blue birds flying around her head. Her performance just did not hold my attention and I found myself drifting in and out of concentration. There was barely any distinguishing between character voices... just her continuous slow monotone whispery drawl. Buy a hardcopy instead.
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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
- Alejandra Diaz
- 10-01-19
great account of women's prison in America
Rachel K does a terrific job at depicting life in women's prisons, the alliances, injustice, new world order you must entered upon losing your freedom. it's also a good account of the sort of injustices that as women they have to deal with and how the justice system is just a recollection of other system failures that cut across people's lives.
definitely a must read.
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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
- Brid
- 12-02-19
spellbinding book - I couldn't stop listening.
Beautifully written and narrated. Normally with aaudiobooks, even ones I've loved, it takes me a few chapters to get into the rhythm of it but I fell into step with this book right from the start, thanks to the lyrical writing perfectly complimented by the author's narration. The subject matter is bleak but there is humour too and beauty amidst the bleakness.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 20-03-22
Brilliant!
I love the story and I love the author’s voice on narration. Bit like Hemingway for our times
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Genevieve
- 15-01-19
A story that will stay with me for a long time
Not for those who want the Disney version of a prisoner’s life. This slow moving, bittersweet story with complex, convincing characters and a strong sense of place allowed me to completely suspend disbelief. This story and its characters will stay in my mind for a long time. The author does a superb job with the narration too.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- JST
- 06-03-19
Gripping Story.
This is such an incredible story and had me gripped from the start. 'Romy' was totally believable, all the characters are well written and rounded and I could picture them all. It's not a 'jolly' read, but then it's not a 'jolly' subject matter, it's gritty and dirty and desperate and thought provoking.
I really liked Rachel Kushner's style of narration, it's unhurried and reels you in beautifully and I completely get why she would narrate her own story, as I don't think anyone else could have done it justice.
10/10 from me.
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1 person found this helpful
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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
- felicity cassin
- 04-09-18
Amazing great performance by Rachel Kushner,
A brilliant story, voiced beautifully by Rachel Kushner. Gripping, thought provoking a really good listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Manda N
- 24-09-18
A worthy man booker shortlist contender
Gutsy, sharp, real.
The author researched US prison life and it shows. Flawlessly presented by the author, my only gripe was it felt a bit long at times. Glad I didn’t abandon it as the ending was cracking. Overall a great read and worth hearing read by the author too.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 19-06-22
Beautiful story
This is a really beautiful sad story. For me the narration fits so much with the writing that it felt almost like an autobiography. One of the best books I have read/listened to in a long time.
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