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The Road Home

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The Road Home

By: Rose Tremain
Narrated by: Steven Pacey
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About this listen

 Shortlisted for the British Book Awards, Author of the Year, 2009.
Winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction, 2008.

Lev is on his way from Eastern Europe to Britain, seeking work. But Lev has an outsider's vision of the place we call home. Lev begins with no job, little money, and few words of English. He has only his memories, his hopes, and a certain skill preparing food.

Behind him loom the figures of his dead wife, his beloved daughter, and his outrageous friend. In front of Lev lies the strangeness of the British: their hostile streets, their clannish pubs, their obsession with celebrity, their lonely flats.

London holds the alluring possibilities of friendship, sex, money, and a new career. But, more than this, the sense of belonging.

©2007 Rose Tremain (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking England

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All stars
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I read/listened to countless books in 2918. This has to be the best one for me. Loved everything about it. Narration was superb - thank you

Absolutely loved this book.

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This is a full and rewarding listening experience. There are so many reasons to buy this novel to listen to: the performer in Stephen Pacey is first rate with great intelligence, empathy and skill in realising the characters; Rose Tremain is a gifted and wholly reliable author; the journey of the main character is well drawn, and - above all else involves the reader; there is much humour as well as some sorrows. It is a touching and rewarding near fifteen hours of listening. Some may think the characters are drawn in broad brush-strokes; not for me. I have thoroughly enjoyed entering and inhabiting the world of this book. And luckily, I have more Rose Tremain novels to relish, and ‘Islands of Mercy’ will soon be published.

Left Too Long Before Reading/Listening

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I love this book. The characters are so real that I feel quite sad to think they aren't really out there somewhere continuing with their lives! I don't think I will ever look at foreign workers again without wondering what personal stories have brought them to this country. I finished listening to this book a couple of days ago and keep thinking about it. Proof surely, that this is an excellent novel.

The Road Home

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I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Fantastic characters, brilliant storyline and usual excellence from Rose Tremain.

Wonderful!

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I loved this book. An uplifting tale of hope,hard work and dreams. Anything is possible.

excellent

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Steven Pacey does the range of voices brilliantly lending another dimension of reality to Tremain's great storyline.

Exceptional narration

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Through Lev, an Eastern European migrant worker, Rose Tremain opens a Pandora's box from which all the evils of modern England fly out. There were times when I had to stop listening because my concern for Lev was too great. Hope is there, though, in Lev's dreams and the true friends he makes, shining through the story like the light through the room of coloured glass.
The narration is superb. At times you could believe you were in a room with friends of many nations, and the characters are developed so fully that I will miss them for a long while.

I Loved This Book

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Lev,s life unfolds and grows in this wonderful story.. beautifully written and with passion and humility and insight. Enjoy

a wondrous journey

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Really enjoyed this. Beautifully written and read and excellently drawn characters with plenty of human flaws and wrinkles. Nothing is sugar-coated and plenty of tragic and even dreadful things happen, but there's an underlying message of hope and a comforting amount of love and human decency.

Sucks you in

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This is a just-about-bearable listen, the unfolding of Lev's journey should keep you interested enough to continue but as the spool of the tale unwinds, you will encounter such bizarre character shapes and conversational set-pieces so at odds with anything resembling reality, that it starts to jar the narrative flow. Such a hotch-potch and baffling set of characters who behave in ways unlike how they have been presented There's many Idiot Abroad situations, bafflingly juxtaposed with decisions so at odds with the character traits the author has supplied us with.
A glaring example happens when Lev suddenly develops an ability to negotiate a higher rate of pay. Given his previous obsequious behaviours this was thoroughly unbelievable and felt like a rushed way into the happy ending.
Thus because of the lack of character depth and understanding, the book comes across, in the end, as a hastily researched churn-out piece. Another couple of months fleshing out believable characters would have resulted in a much richer and more meaningful book.

A churned out piece

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