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The Benefactors

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The Benefactors

By: Wendy Erskine
Narrated by: Wendy Erskine, Various
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About this listen

 'The style of Woolf but the heart of Dickens . . . impressive'
Sunday Times

From the prize-winning author of Dance Move and Sweet Home, this is an astounding novel featuring a cast of 30 narrators about intimate histories, class and money - and what being a parent means.

Meet Frankie, Miriam and Bronagh: three very different women from Belfast, but all mothers to eighteen-year-old boys.

Gorgeous Frankie, now married to a wealthy, older man, grew up in care. Miriam has recently lost her beloved husband Kahlil in ambiguous circumstances. Bronagh, the CEO of a children's services charity, loves celebrity and prestige. When their sons are accused of sexually assaulting a friend, Misty Johnston, they'll come together to protect their children, leveraging all the powers they possess. But on her side, Misty has the formidable matriarch, Nan D, and her father, taxi-driver Boogie: an alliance not so easily dismissed.

Brutal, tender and rigorously intelligent, The Benefactors is a daring, multi-voice presentation of modern-day Northern Ireland. It is also very funny.©2025 Wendy Erskine (P)2025 Hodder & Stoughton Limited City Life Dark Humour Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Urban Women's Voices Funny Heartfelt Witty Marriage

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Critic reviews

Riveting . . . a polyphonic drama of money and class . . . Erskine's eye for detail keeps us rapt (Anthony Cummins, 10 Best Debut Novelists for 2025)
Northern Ireland's most exciting novelist . . . a polyphonic narrative about Belfast, class, parenting, and the aftermath of a sexual assault, served up with an undertow of politics . . . an absorbing and clever structure that feels fresh and exciting (Susie Mesure)
A cacophony of voices meet in The Benefactors in connected and often seemingly utterly disconnected ways, all of them given Erskine's trademark attention to character, all of them like mini short stories of their own . . . the success of The Benefactors is the way it treads across familiar fare . . . and tackles them in surprising ways (Marie-Claire Chappet, 5 Debut Female Authors to Read in 2025)
A truly special author - so special that you want to keep her for yourself . . . with a voice that is crystal clear and a viewpoint that takes in the world's cruelties and joys, Erskine's talent shines in The Benefactors . . . one of [Ireland's] finest contemporary writers (Aoife Barry)
The dialogue and the descriptive prose, showing the inner and outer worlds of the novel, are extraordinary. I think this will be one of the most admired and talked-about books this year (Adrian Duncan)
I couldn't put this book down.,Wendy has skilfully written herself out of the story completely, her hand has disappeared. As a reader, you are totally transported into these characters lives. They are living people and I missed them when I finished (Sheena Patel, author of I'm a Fan)
Deftly tackle[s] dark subject matters (Brendan Corbett)
A polyphonic, moving, funny masterpiece. A joy to read sentences like these from a writer as talented as this (Sinéad Gleeson, author of Hagstone)
Wendy Erskine is one of the best writers working in Ireland right now and The Benefactors is all her own, astute and full of feeling (Nicole Flattery, author of Nothing Special)
All stars
Most relevant  
I’m so thrilled to have had this longer story to get immersed in having loved the short stories published previously. The dialogue is always brilliant, shaping the characters and bringing them to life. She writes in such a kind way about people from all walks of life but still manages to be funny- what a skill.
The structure is very interesting, seems to run a parallel with our fragmented and fast moving culture. Excellent!

Compelling and funny

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Very interesting focus on different characters, class, social issues and Belfast. Gripping in its depth sometimes story disjointed but excellent.

The Benefactors

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I loved this book! I’m going to buy a hard copy so that I can read it. The voices are magnificent! The unfolding of the story was terrific

The way the story unfolded was amazing

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I read a Guardian review, I listened to the preview and I was hooked !
I'm from Belfast and the accents and their range really got to me.The production company and the voice actors deserve the highest praise.
And the author? Wendy Erskine wrote one fabulous novel. The complexity, the characters, I was completely involved and won over.
A magnificent piece of work and so deserving of prizes!!!
I will recommend this to all.

This story really captivated me

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Erskin is an extraordinarily brilliant storyteller. This production and performance are exceptional..
A Booker please for Wendy Erskin.

The Benefactors for Booker

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Wendy Erskine is an exceptional writer of short stories and this novel shows her talent extends. The Benefactors is a story of truths colliding. You won’t find troupes, you’ll find love and pain and hope. All the characters come to the story with the lives they’ve had before the central event that binds them, and many will stay with the reader long after the final page.

Loved it.

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I liked the polyphonic structure, themes, characterisations and strong sense of place. A stunning debut that clearly shows the devastating effects of community trauma. Not an easy listen and I had to playback a few times

Fantastic narration

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After being put on to the author's work by Blindboy, I fell in love with her short story collection ' Dance Moves'. She has a great voice. I was really excited to listen to a novel by her and this didn't disappoint. I really enjoyed this book, one of the favourite audiobook experiences.

A beauty

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This audio book was a pleasure from start to finish - a great plot with pace, wit and pathos. The vocabulary of the characters and the delivery by the speakers were outstanding. Highly recommended

Voices and the authenticity of the delivery

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I don’t know what to think about this to be honest. Is there comedic relief in the writing? Absolutely but wouldn’t label this book as funny. It deals with a lot of serious subject matters like consent, rape, grief, questionably suicide. It’s very dark at times.

Erm

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