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The Zone of Interest

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The Zone of Interest

By: Martin Amis
Narrated by: Sean Barrett
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About this listen

What happens when we discover who we really are? And how do we come to terms with it? Can we even meet each other's eye, after we have seen who we really are? Fearless and original, The Zone of Interest is a violently dark love story set against a backdrop of unadulterated evil, and a vivid journey into the depths and contradictions of the human soul.

©2014 Martin Amis (P)2014 W F Howes Ltd Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Political War & Military Military War

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Critic reviews

Praise for the author:
"An electrifying writer who likes to shock his fans and share his sharply contemporary concerns... Amis is a maddening master you need to read - the best of his generation" ( Mail on Sunday)
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This is a difficult read/listen. Not only because of the subject matter, but also the structure of the book (narrated by three characters) requires your full attention to ensure you are keeping track. In addition a love story set in a concentration camp is a brave move, especially as the protagonists are the Kommandant's wife and a very active member of the Nazi war machine. Martin Amis doesn't shirk from describing the horrors and deprived behaviour, however it is the poignant moments, such as a small girl taking charge of her baby brother before being murdered, that will stay with you forever. Dare I say there is even some dry humour, for example the Kommandant's pathetic attempt to maintain authority while sporting two black eyes of dubious origin. Above all there is the visceral description of the overwhelming smell of rotting flesh and of Berlin, described as a city with halitosis. One again Martin Amis maintains his reputation as one of our leading writers and the narrator does full justice to the material.

A stench you will never forget

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A striking take on love and hate. And beautifully, wittily written, as ever. Splendidly read.

Mesmerising

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An exploration of the dark side of human nature, scattered with moments of love and humanity.

Challenging

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It’s pretty rare that I give up on an audible book and buy the kindle version (having already paid once) but I just could not listen to this performance. The voice is oleaginous to the point where it is physically unpleasant to listen to. I could not follow his renditions of the French and German excerpts as he’s clearly not a speaker of either.

The voice is actually painful

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As usual the narrator was excellent.well done Mr Barrett. The story was okay once I got into it.

To begin confusing then settled.

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it took me a minute to get my head around the structure, and to get used to the narration which occasionally breaks into German words, but, once I found my footing, this was a gripping, darkly comic, beautifully written and utterly bleak tale of a love affair amidst the corpse-rotting stench of the Holocaust.

A love story set in hell

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Excellent book true Amis
This is obviously a sad & grim subject matter
Though the Nazis are made to look grotesque ( as if they could look anything else!)
It's also wickedly funny in places
7 chapters each told from the perspective of ......
1 young blonde blue eye nazi who's uncle is Martin Boorman ( spelling)
2 a camp kamandant a repulsive man
3 a Jewish man who is forced to help in the final solution
The narration is great
Best book this year and I fly through books

Amis I wish I had your mind

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This is a tough listen. Expertly told, wonderfully narrated, a hideously real tale from within a nazi death camp. Despite the painful images, you really must persevere with the story. I told myself it was important not to flinch from truth...but I feel scarred by this book.

You have to grit your teeth and get through it.

I don't think I am any closer to understanding why or how, but I feel I know more of the what.

There is no humour here. You will not be soft soaped.

Listen. Learn. Don't let it happen again.

Grim

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I recommend this book very highly. Amis & Barrett are both on tremendous form.

Superb reading of distressingly entertaining novel

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A deeply dark story set in and around a Nazi death camp. The grotesque nature of life, where the everyday "job" is mass murder, is not for the squeamish. And yet, and yet....

Martin Amis has written a remarkable and compelling novel about a subject beyond most people's imaginings. This audiobook version is brilliantly read by Sean Barrett. Highly recommended..

Dark and compelling

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