The Old Country cover art

The Old Country

 Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Old Country

By: Mordicai Gerstein
Narrated by: Tovah Feldshuh
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £7.99

Buy Now for £7.99

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

 Mordicai Gerstein's portrayal of Philippe Petit's high-wire walk between the towers of the World Trade Center, The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, won the 2004 Caldecott Medal and was among the most admired books of the year. Now comes a memorable new work, a novel of singular insight and imagination that transports readers to the Old Country, where "every winter was a hundred years and every spring a miracle...where the water was like music and the music was like water...where all the fairy tales come from, where there was magic, and there was war".

There, Gisella stares a moment too long into the eyes of a fox, and she and the fox exchange shape. Gisella's quest to get her girl-body back takes her on a journey across a war-ravaged country that has lost its shape. She encounters sprites, talking animals, a chicken that lays a golden egg, a court with a spider for a judge...and bloodshed, destruction, and questions of power and justice. Finally, looking into the eyes of the fox once more, she faces a strange and startling choice about her own nature.

The Old Country is at once timeless and contemporary, a tale that draws on a wealth of storytelling tradition and dramatizes the question of what it is to be human. Part adventure story, part fable; exciting, beautifully told, rich in humor and wisdom, it is the work of an artist and storyteller at the height of his powers.

©2005 Mordicai Gerstein (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group Animals Childhood Education Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths Growing Up & Facts of Life Literature & Fiction Relationships Science Fiction & Fantasy Witty
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The Old Country

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 2.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 2.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.co.uk reviews

Amazon reviews
Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Liz

Entertaining story spoilt by the narration

I love a good retelling of a fairytale, but this narrators accented voices grated on me so much I had to switch the book off and take a break many times (which is saying something on a book under 4 hours long).

She has a vocal range that in this book runs from mildly irritating to nails-down-a-blackboard

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Clothilda

Captivating

Beautifully narrated tale of 'the old Country', rich in metaphor and symbolism. It is deep, dark and thought provoking.

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!