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What a Shame

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What a Shame

By: Abigail Bergstrom
Narrated by: Heather Long
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About this listen

Adults meets little scratch in this bold, funny and tender debut, which captures the pain of heartbreak and the universal heat of female shame through a very unique journey towards self-acceptance.

The idea of a curse was divisive, but the assertion that I had, for some time now, been 'laden with something dark' was disconcertingly unanimous.

I wondered if this was something you also saw in me, if that was why you left.

There is something wrong with Mathilda.

She's still reeling from the blow of a gut-punch breakup and grieving the death of a loved one.

But that's not it.

She's cried all her tears, mastered her crow pose and thrown out every last reminder of him.

But that's not helping.

Concerned that she isn't moving on, Mathilda's friends push her towards a series of increasingly unorthodox remedies.

Until the seams of herself begin to come undone.

Tender, unflinching and blisteringly funny, What a Shame glitters with rage and heartbreak, an offers up the joy of self-acceptance through an extraordinary rite of passage to overcome the prickly heat of female shame.

©2021 Abigail Bergstrom (P)2021 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd Coming of Age Dark Humour Fiction Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction Heartfelt Funny Comedy

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Critic reviews

"Absorbing and clever, I fell in love with Mathilda." (Cathy Rentzenbrink)
All stars
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Whilst listening to this book, I had to go back a few times because the similarities with Mathildas life and mine were, eery. I was in advertising, I liked copy over art direction but dabbled in a few, and the heart break I experienced was sudden and unexpected.. and the grief I held for a loved one mixed withtrauma at 17 and all of the things she tried to do, curses, spiritual journey etc.

I feel this book was written beautifully. I only wish I had read this at the start of my heartbreak grief because I’m finally where she was at the end of the book. I grieved a life I thought was going to be mine and I was already grieving a loved one so it would have been nice to have felt like I wasn’t a strange person for it taking so long to be in the headspace Mathilda was at in the last few chapters, to move forward.

A book I wish I read at the start of heartbreak

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I was particularly enamoured with this book because it takes place mostly in Hackney, where I live, in places I frequent. I listened to the audiobook as I was walking around the borough a lot, and it was lovely to hear and experience the story at once!
Also, the characters and story felt incredibly close to experiences myself and friends have had/are having, and that horrible feeling of being in a dark hole that your friends do weird and wonderful things to try and pull you out of. I loved this book, and I must mention how great the narration was! Like listening to a radio play by one person. Excellent all round.

Excellent performance and relatable angst

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The narrator is fantastic. You could almost be watching a movie with all of the different voices, dialect and sound effects. A welcome change from some of the books on audible that sound like they are being read by a sat nav!

Best audio book ever!

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I loved the narration of this, it kept me captivated and able to follow the story with her slight changes in tone or voice that were just right to help set scenes or differentiate between characters. I have recommended this audio book to others, an easy listen, comic at times and a simple story in a way, but with depth and subject matters that hit hard as you feel like you really know the main character throughout and are sat right there with her on the journey.

such brilliant narration!

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Such a little gem of a book about the ebbs and flows of friendships and life pain and I got such a lot to think about in relation to my friendships and my own pain and even got some courage. Really witty too ….!
Those who say it didn’t get going simply missed the point

Beautifully written and narrated

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The characters in this story are likeable and I liked the narrator. There were some funny bits and some sad bits but mostly there’s not much happening. Underwhelmed and disappointed.

Didn’t hate but didn’t love it either

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It’s a lovely little story with heartbreak and some parts that are relatable. But almost too much of a nothing thing. Not particularly memorable and I couldn’t honestly tell you most of what happened because it was so easy to stop listening to it.

Kudos to the performer though. She has a lovely voice.

Doesn’t ever really get going

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I liked the way the narrator portrayed each character and told the story. a thought provoking story about friendship and self recognition.

Love the characters.

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This book is beautifully written and performed. I loved the premise and wish I could finish it. I genuinely mean this as constructive feedback if the author or her team see this - there was no trigger warning for r***/SA on audible (I can’t speak for anywhere else as I haven’t looked) but as an audible user there are none. As a survivor I have to be in the right mindset to tackle such subjects and with no prior warning I was very triggered when the main character was r***d. It was very unexpected and I have returned the title without finishing as I don’t know what to expect going forward. Again this is not meant to be negative or a complaint, just a plea to please add trigger warnings in the description for others, so they can have a choice. I am sure many others will love this and I hope it does well as a debut, very promising!

Amazing, but needed trigger warnings

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Loved the different types of friendships and how they support different parts of the main character. Feel like you bond with the characters, lovely story about the process of healing deep wounds.

Great story

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