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  • The Unbroken Beauty of Rosalind Bone

  • By: Alex McCarthy
  • Narrated by: Rachel Isaac
  • Length: 3 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (6 ratings)

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The Unbroken Beauty of Rosalind Bone cover art

The Unbroken Beauty of Rosalind Bone

By: Alex McCarthy
Narrated by: Rachel Isaac
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Tucked into the Welsh valleys and encircled by silver birch and pine, the village of Cwmcysgod may appear a quiet, sleepy sort of place. But beneath the surface, tensions simmer, hearts ache, and painful truths threaten to emerge.

Sixteen-year-old Catrin Bone knows only what she has been told. Now, she is beginning to question her small world, and a version of the past that seems to entrap and embitter her reclusive mother, Mary.

Mary had a sister once, a girl of unparalleled beauty. Why did she disappear from the village in a shroud of shame all those years ago - and where is she now?

Meanwhile the Clements brothers, skint and all out of hope, run rampant across the hills and lanes. And old Dai Bevel, whose frailty masks a dark history, dreams of a girl he used to know...

The sins of the past are approaching, for it takes a village: to raise a child, to bring down a woman, to hide something monstrous and to look the other way.

In this tender, sly, exquisitely wrought novella, a unique cast of characters give voice to their versions of the truth. But it is the story of Rosalind Bone, of her strength and of all that she has endured, that rises above the rest, shimmering with hope and possibility...

©2023 Alex McCarthy (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Beautiful, incredibly painterly and full of breathtaking details. A devastating portrait of a particular place, which draws you in with its brutality and beauty." (Caryl Lewis, author of Drift)

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What listeners say about The Unbroken Beauty of Rosalind Bone

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Beautifully written and moving

This is a wonderfully written and poetic book and the narrator is wonderful. Haunting, sometimes dark and often moving. Highly recommended.

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Absorbing, beautiful, brilliant...

I had no intention of finishing this in one sitting but I was absolutely compelled to do so. The richness of the images has left me awash - I feel as though if I move too quickly it will spill over my edges. So layered, nuanced and multi angled - and a vivid picture of rural Welsh life. I found myself thinking of Caradoc Evans 'My People' but here we find the warmth and healing so absent from that novel. Very highly recommended!

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Gripping and beautifully told

Hilarious and heartbreaking. A brilliantly told story with characters that draw you into the rawness of their lives.

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Evocative and gripping.

Evocative, gripping and beautifully written. Very Welsh and the narrator fitted so well with the story.

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