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The Indian Clerk

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The Indian Clerk

By: David Leavitt
Narrated by: Graeme Malcom
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About this listen

This critically acclaimed and emotionally charged novel about the strange and ultimately tragic relationship between an esteemed British mathematician and an unknown and unschooled mathematical genius is historical fiction at its best: ambitious, profound, and absorbing.

Based on the remarkable true story of G. H. Hardy and Srinivasa Ramanujan, and populated with such luminaries such as D. H. Lawrence, Bertrand Russell, and Ludwig Wittgenstein, The Indian Clerk takes this extraordinary slice of history and transforms it into an emotional and spellbinding story about the fragility of human connection and our need to find order in the world. A literary masterpiece, it appeared on four best seller lists, including the Los Angeles Times, and received dazzling reviews from every major publication in the country.

As an added bonus, when you purchase our Audible Modern Vanguard production of David Leavitt's book, you'll also get an exclusive Jim Atlas interview that begins when the audiobook ends.

Listen to more Audible Modern Vanguard titles.©2008 David Leavitt (P)2009 Audible, Inc. Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Emotions

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Critic reviews

"Mathematics and its paradoxes provide a deep vein of metaphor that Leavitt uses to superb effect, demonstrating how the most meaningful relationships can defy both logic and imagination." ( The New Yorker)
"Ambitious, meaty, extensively researched…[a] richly layered, rueful portrait...Leavitt has tapped into marvelous material...stimulating and refreshingly original." ( San Francisco Chronicle)
"This novel is brilliant. It is a beautiful and creative work that manages to portray a melange of the literary, historical, romantic and academic, with breathtaking prose and deeply nuanced characters." ( Pittsburg Post-Gazette)
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I'm a fan of David Leavitt's writing and had already bought 'The Indian Clerk' in paperback. But I really struggled with it, and started reading it twice, never getting more than a quarter way through. So when I saw it on Audible I decided to buy it thinking that perhaps I could get into the book this way. But although I did finish both parts, it was a bit of a hard slog. The narration is really tedious. The reader's downward inflection is irritating within minutes, so imagine seven hours of this weary narration. I did feel there was a great story in there somewhere, but the book needs a brutal edit. Way too long. Too many mathematical equations are fleshed out at the expense of the potentially far more interesting human relationships, which somehow you never really get your teeth into. I only suffered this audiobook out of respect for Leavitt's other work, but despite my optimism, it never really got going.

Buy Leavitt, but not this one.

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this is the first audible book that I have thouroghly disliked. The narration was too monotone and had very little variation. The story, which sounded fascinating and based on true incidents managed to be 'ho hum'. Sorry, but I couldn't finish part 2. I would be interested to hear what othes have to say.

The Indian Clerk

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I was excited at the prospect of a book based on this intriguing
character but was disappointed. If you want a book about a gay love you wont be.

A book more based on gay love than science

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