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The Man in the Wooden Hat

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The Man in the Wooden Hat

By: Jane Gardam
Narrated by: Bill Wallace
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About this listen

Filth (Failed in London, Try Hong Kong) is a successful lawyer when he marries Elisabeth in Hong Kong soon after the war. Reserved, immaculate, and courteous, Filth finds it hard to demonstrate his emotions.

But Elisabeth is different - a free spirit. She was brought up in the Japanese internment camps, which killed both her parents but left her with a lust for survival and an affinity with the Far East. No wonder she is attracted to Filth's hated rival at the bar - the brash, forceful Veneering. Veneering has a Chinese wife and an adored son - and no difficulty whatsoever in demonstrating his emotions....

How Elisabeth turns into Betty and whether she remains loyal to stolid Filth or is swept up by caddish Veneering makes for a pause-resisting plot in a perfect novel which is full of surprises and revelations as well as the humour and eccentricities for which Jane Gardam's writing is famous.

©2009 Jane Gardam (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Contemporary Fiction Genre Fiction Fiction China Heartfelt

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All stars
Most relevant  
this & the first of the trilogy & was immensely enjoyable .. the characters come to life before your eyes & the narration is sublime . Bill Wallace will be in my top 10 of narrators from now on .
I will be saving the book 3 for a long journey though Jane Gardam has written other stories & i’ve no doubt they too will be in my library soon .

A must read .. i was transported to another time & place

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I read this novel several years ago; beautifully written, it provided a fascinating reconfiguring of the events described in Old Filth and listening to it has been a total delight.

Wonderful

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A perceptive account of the life long suffering of of the children made orphans by the demands of Empire

A beguiling tale redolent with what reads like memories of Hong Kong 🧰.

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Fantastic story, loved the extra layers revealed after Old Filth and can’t wait to discover what is coming next in last friends.. what a wonderful writer Jane Gardam is, such a delicate touch. using brush strokes of subtle humour to highlight different aspects of life as orphans of the Raj, growing old, friendships and marriage with a back drop of the machinations of English Law in Hong Kong.

Loved it!

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Fills ina lot of the gaps in Book1. Very well read by Bill Wallace. Looking forward to Book 3.

Old Filth Book 2

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A sad story of people that were never emotionally honest. A Wonderful, meandering listen through time.

Beautifully written

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Beautifully written and so beautifully read, it captures the lives of the characters and draws the reader into their world. It is such a compassionate book, full of understanding of that generation and each word and sentence worth listening to.

beautiful and spellbinding

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The essential sequel to Old Filth. An homage to ex-pat life and an admission of a rootless existence where British class snobbery thrived and choked cultural appreciation and the potential for real relationships.

It fills the gaps left in Old Filth,

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‘Old Filth’ has been in my top 3 for years so it was with trepidation that I decided to listen to the sequel, unnaturally anxious that it might disappoint. I finished it yesterday and desperately wanted to write a review but where do you start when words fail you? As the last few lines were spoken I found myself rooted to the spot, so utterly caught up in the characters and their lives I was suspended in time. As I was, unfortunately, about to serve dinner I had to put my feelings on hold and then wait 5 hours until I climbed in to bed that night to pick up where I left off.

Just so you know, I don’t cry but the minute my thoughts returned to Filth and Betty I started to weep uncontrollably and couldn’t stop. I have never read any book that made me ache so much. To say that ‘Wooden Hat’ is poignant, heartfelt and honest does not do it justice. It resonated with me in several ways so I guess I was destined to have a strong reaction to it but I am unapologetic about that. Jane Gardam’s masterpiece touched my heart, for which I am eternally grateful.

READ IT!

Heart achingly good

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Jane Gardam creates such wonderful bitter sweet characters.
Brilliantly narrated by Bill Wallis, just perfect.

Just wonderful

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