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The Bridge

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The Bridge

By: Iain Banks
Narrated by: Peter Kenny
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About this listen

A man lies in a coma after a near-fatal accident. His body broken, his memory vanished, he finds himself in the surreal world of the bridge - a world free of the usual constraints of time and space, a world where dream and fantasy, past and future, fuse. Who is this man? Where is he? Is he more dead than alive? Or has he never been so alive before?

©1986 Iain Banks (P)2013 Hachette Audio Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological Science Fiction Fiction

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Critic reviews

"An exceptional talent... a totally absorbing read" ( The Times)
"A stunning book. Banks' powerful imagination is joined to a rare ability to be truly funny while exploring a nightmare world" ( Sunday Times)
"Banks turns inward to explore the complex, surreal microcosm of the human mind in a kaleidoscopic novel for sophisticated, literary readers of speculative fiction. Recommended." ( Library Journal)
All stars
Most relevant  
...also a good snap shot of 1970s/80s Britain. love that bridge, have done ever since the 39 steps.

written 1986, and it's still such a vibrant story!

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Great book wonderfully narrated. Fantastic performance by Peter Kenny. Interesting concept for the book, definitely had a good whiff of the culture about it.

really good

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Definitive Banks. As is true with many of his literary novels it isn't particularly plot driven but there is so much beauty and truth in his characters that that is irrelevant. Elegant, eloquent, poignant and funny in equal measure with a seasoning of typically Banksian oddness and imagination. Banks writes hauntingly well and never better than in this novel. I miss Iain Banks like no other author, the thought that there will never be another Banks book hurts.

And there is no finer reader of Banks than Mt Kenny. He just gets Iain Banks.

A strange and beautiful book.

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Aside from being a great story (I'm sure many reviews like that below) Peter Kenny might be the best narrator for audio books I've come across. His ability to flick between accents so comfortably is very impressive and all his performances feel raw. He's a great fit with Bank's material.

Great narration

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Iain Banks was my favourite author for many years (halted only by his rather selfish demise) and this was one of the first of his books that I read. This contains all of Banks key elements. It’s funny, heart warming, philosophical and despite being one of his mainstream novels it’s quite fantastical.

The audio book is beautifully performed and brings more humour to many of the lines than I read at the time. It’s a bit more Scottish than comes across from the written version but that’s not a bad thing. I found it hard to break off from the narrative and this book reminded me of what a terrible loss Banks was at far too young a year.

It’s possible you won’t enjoy this,
but if so it might be that books aren’t for you.

A Magical Book by a Master

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Very well written and narrated, the twists and turns, and hidden layers, relieved i have read a few more books by Iain, and this one did not disappoint

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Bridge?

the tumble of stories plots slowly relieved, seeming meaningless details come into focus to give an explanation of what at first glance, was chaos.

What does Peter Kenny bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

very good, really enhanced the storyline

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

i would have done, a little slow to start,, but soon difficult to put down

very well written and narrated.

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Brilliantly read by Peter Kenny (as always), but I spent most of the book waiting for something to happen that didn't.
This is one of those Banks books that basically says "here's some stuff that happened to someone" and for the vast majority of that stuff, you could remove massive chunks out of the book and it would make no difference at all to the overall narrative.
Granted, some of that stuff is interesting, entertaining and without fail well written, but you wouldn't miss anything if it wasn't there.

I have a confused opinion about these stories. The way Banks gets me inside the head of his characters is masterful and the book generated plenty of connection and emotion. But I can't help thinking "I wish there was more to this story"

Interesting but thin on plot

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I first read the bridge back in the early 90s and it gets better with every reading or listening in this case. Peter Kenny does his usual bang up job especially his take on the barbarian

One of the best books ever written

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The best Audio book that I have heard. Peter Kennys performance is extraordinary and has really brought a book that I had previously found hard work, to life in an engaging and exciting way.

Brilliant

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Never reviewed anything before, but this was amazing and I just had to.

Iain banks is by far my favourite auther, and on top of that, this is one of his best books. I wouldn't be so arrogant to say iain banks is the best auther ever just because he's my favourite, but I do struggle to find anyone who compares... He may well be the best, if not one of them.

Everything about his books are are incredible. The way he rights is remarkably captivating, and its so hard to put his books down once you've picked them up. He's incredibly imaginative and intelligent. He writes so well and builds the world around you beautifully. The characters are always interesting and there's always twists and turns that are great and never seem forced or generic. He's truly an original, and genius auther.

This book is amazing, even by banks' standards. It has so many interesting characters and situations, and the book unfolds around them in a way that connects everything perfectly.

Somthing I love about iain banks, is that he's so smart and always finds a way to make his books re-readable and still feel new. There are so many connections, and seeds that grow into revelations and twists later on, so you are bound to miss things the first time, which makes reading the book all the more fun. Much like how the film fight club has a hung mind trip at the end and watching it a second time is a different experience, knowing about the ending.

So good that I actually reviewed it... :D

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