Brilliant

Would you listen to A Place of Greater Safety again? Why?

Yes - the book contains so much historical detail that listening to the whole book again will bring out the bits that I missed the first time around (and just be a great pleasure).

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Place of Greater Safety?

I love the way that Hilary Mantel uses language; I am constantly surprised and delighted by her ability to capture the essence of a character or scene in just a few perfectly chosen words.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I have not studied this period of history and so I found the development of the characters and the way in which the progression of the revolution is described really fascinating.

Any additional comments?

I loved the narrator - I found his voice incredibly soothing and the range and diversity of his characterisations was unbelievable.

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30 people found this helpful

a bit too much

What did you like about this audiobook?

The second half was more engaging than the first.

What did you find wrong about the narrator's performance?

Overall quite good narration.

Do you have any additional comments?

Hillary Mantel has obviously developed her own style and I loved her other books. To my mind she overdoes it a little bit especially in the beginning of this work. Changes of perspectives, developing too many strands and also adding a fair share of unnecessary linguistic acrobatics I nearly decided to stop listening about 8 hours into the book. I made it to the end and overall I am glad I did but if ever Hillary Mantel decided to take my advice it would be : Sometimes less is more

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18 people found this helpful

The Revolution in more details

What did you like most about A Place of Greater Safety?

Learnt more about the French Revolution than I thought possible.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Camille often ignored by history books bringing all the protagonists together.

What three words best describe Jonathan Keeble’s performance?

Well acted but awful pronunciation of all French words - made my ears ache and sometimes could not even understand who he was talking about.

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1 person found this helpful

too long and unfocused.

I know a little about the French revolutionolition but you will need a PhD to follow this. The exciting story of the revolution is buried under the solipsistic, selfish annoying chatacters. Not Robespierre but the other characters are not worth following. The audiobook dosent focus on the main events which is what I signed up for! I just about made it to the end but I shouldn't have bothered. The narrator is the best and gives the book flair. Plot 1\5, writing style 3\5 narrator 5\5. It also ends about two months early in the revolution. Again so frustrated.

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Great narration

Jonathan Keeble is excellent. This is a book I’ve never managed to read because I couldn’t keep track of the “cast of thousands “. Keeble makes each character quite distinct and, thank goodness, doesn’t use a silly falsetto for the female characters. I wish he had done the Wolf Hall trilogy. I will look out for him in future.

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A true epic

A long and complex story but thoroughly entertaining throughout. Aided greatly by brilliant narration, without which it would have been much harder to follow.

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Wonderful but a fair bit too long for its own good

Amazing narration. Enjoyed the story. Just could have been more acutely edited. The end section ran on a bit.

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Well worth the time

I enjoyed this book very much. It was good to hear the story of the main characters of the Revolution from a different perspective. I think it’s a perfect choice for Audible.

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Wonderful.

I’ve had this in actual book form for 25 yrs. I’ve tried to read it at least 10 times but never been able to get past the first bit due to a combination of the complexity of the families and the tiny font! I’m a huge Hilary Mantel fan (read all her other books) so it was bugging me. It’s hailed as a masterpiece and it is a masterpiece.
I totally loved it. It was great to just absorb it and listen.

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Humane, intelligent, deeply researched and gripping.

A magnificent reading of this complex novel, with a shrewd sense of character and drama.

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