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The Blue Afternoon

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The Blue Afternoon

By: William Boyd
Narrated by: Kate Handford
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Winner of the Sunday Express Book of the Year Award

Los Angeles, 1936. Kay Fischer, a young and ambitious architect, is being followed by an old man. When confronted, he explains that his name is Salvador Carriscant - and that he is her father.

In a matter of weeks Kay will join Salvador on an extraordinary journey as they delve back into his past to not only learn the truth behind her own birth, but also to discover the whereabouts of a woman long thought dead - and to uncover the identity of a killer.

©2020 William Boyd (P)2020 Penguin Audio 20th Century Fiction Historical Fiction

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Critic reviews

"Achingly memorable." (The Times)

"The finest storyteller of his generation." (Daily Telegraph)

"An extraordinary story." (John Mortimer, Sunday Telegraph, Books of the Year)

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I love this Author. It’s my 2nd book to read by him. The 1st being “love is blind” which is Excellent.
This tale is so engaging and I looked forward to getting back into the story each day but it really falls down in the end when story goes back to the main character in his present day. It’s like the author just had enough and decided to end the book which was so disappointing as the first 75% of the book had been so engaging. He does not answer so many questions. In fact he does not give reason or closure to anything in the story. Who committed the murders? What was the main character jailed on no evidence of a crime? And do many more important questions to all aspects of the story that I cannot say without divulging the story. It finishes and you say “Why” I would love for the Author to do justice to the book by re writing the final 25%.

Great story but fell down in the end

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I have come late to Boyd’s work. His novels are memorable, unique and beautifully crafted. In to the next one…

The sheer beauty of Boyd’s writing

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Do not understand the positive reviews. The writing is not good but more like someone following a guide for how to write well. At times minutiae in describing irrelevant things. The narrator also did not impress. Poor male voicing and poor accents.

Eh.

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Great audio performance of this work by William Boyd who is a great storyteller, able to weave complex narratives with dexterity and paint fascinating characters that you utterly believe in. A really enjoyable listen.

Unusual story well told

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Long complicated story but I never really cared about any of the characters. Not his usual standard.

Description of life in a time and area I knew little of.

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I sometimes find myself thinking 'oh I'm not going to enjoy this as much as his others' but sure enough the characters and his fluent storytelling draw you into their world until you almost feel you are living in it.

Another excellent novel by William Boyd

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Loved it! An excellent yarn as always from William Boyd. A very good listen indeed.

Review

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I liked the background history of the Phillipines. The turn of the century changes leading into the world of the 20th century.

As always with Boyd, the characters and the extraordinary plausibility of the complex plot/story hold attention.

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William Boyd is an amazing writer but this novel was ruined by the narrator. She read the book rather than told the story

The narration was so grating

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