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A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better

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A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better

By: Benjamin Wood
Narrated by: Joshua Higgott
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About this listen

 The acclaimed author of The Ecliptic, Benjamin Wood writes a novel of exceptional force and beauty about the bond between fathers and sons, about the invention and reconciliation of self – weaving a haunting story of violence and love.

For 20 years, Daniel Hardesty has borne the emotional scars of a childhood trauma which he is powerless to undo, which leaves him no peace.

One August morning in 1995, the young Daniel and his estranged father Francis – a character of ‘two weathers’, of irresistible charm and roiling self-pity – set out on a road trip to the North that seems to represent a chance to salvage their relationship. But with every passing mile, the layers of Fran’s mendacity and desperation are exposed, pushing him to acts of violence that will define the rest of his son’s life.©2018 Benjamin Wood. All rights reserved (P)2018 Simon & Schuster, UK. All Rights Reserved. Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction

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Critic reviews

‘Wood takes the passing, shabby details of mundane landscapes and makes them jitter and throb with yearning and menace. A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better is his best work yet - a novel written from the gut, and with a correspondingly visceral power. A superbly unsettling account of trauma and cautious recovery’ (Sarah Waters, author of The Paying Guests)
‘Tenderly dissecting the limits of love between parent and child while wriggling with a rich, thrilling tension, this palpably atmospheric story found its way beneath my skin and now lives there. Tell anyone who’ll listen, Benjamin Wood is one of the best novelists in Britain’ (David Whitehouse, author of Mobile Library)
‘A shocking account of extreme violence and its complicated after-effects. It is a vivid and unsettling novel filled with surprises and insights’ (Ian McGuire, author of The North Water)
All stars
Most relevant  
I am often guilty of skim reading but this book so captivated me a chapter in that I went back and started at the beginning again. Beautifully narrated, genuinely suspenseful, a truly original story. Loved it.

Wonderful

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Absolutely terrible book.
Utter drivel.
Narrator makes a boring, pointless book even worse than you can imagine. Calling the performance drippy is an insult to all things wet.
Glad I got it on audible as if I’d read it I would owe an apology to my eyes for putting them through such a tortuous ordeal.

Appalling

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I've read previous books by this author and enjoyed them. I was looking forward to listening to this audiobook, but in the end I gave up. It failed to engage me despite my perseverance. Maybe I'd enjoy it more as a book to read, but I doubt it. The narration did little to enhance the content - I'm afraid I can't recommend it.

Disappointing

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