Family Album cover art

Family Album

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Family Album

By: Penelope Lively
Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
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About this listen

A big shabby Victorian suburban house, the smell of raincoats and coq au vin in the hall, the six mugs for the children slung from the kitchen dresser hooks: for destructive Paul, difficult Gina, elegant Sandra, considerate Katie, clever Roger and flighty Clare, Allersmead was the perfect place to grow up. But was it?

Now grown-up and off in different directions, one by one the children return to Allersmead, to their home-making mother and aloof writer father and a house that for years has played silent witness to the secrets of a family, and one particular secret of which no one speaks.

©2009 Penelope Lively (P)2009 Isis Publishing Fiction Historical Fiction Romance

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All stars
Most relevant  
I loved this book. Anna Bentinck’s narration is outstanding bringing all the characters to life for me. I particularly loved her portrayal of Alison, brilliant.
I will listen to this book again and again.

Excellent

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A richly observed and wonderfully told story of a large family that is not as it seems. The narrator is superb. I couldn’t put it down.

Beautifully read and compelling

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The cover of the book is delightful and eye catching. I bought it years ago and lent it on, so decided to try the audible version and I’m glad I did. It is narrated perfectly with Alison exactly as I imagined her. The long story is full of human interest and believable people. I loved it.

Relevant, enjoyable family saga

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I bought this book too long ago to return it, wish I had listened to it earlier. I did like the storyline, but the narrator delivered all words as though firing bullets from a gun! Story would have been so much more enjoyable had it been read properly

Awful Staccato Narration

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What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A proper storyline.

What could Penelope Lively have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Written a story with a plot in the past tense!

Would you be willing to try another one of Anna Bentinck’s performances?

Yes

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Family Album?

All of it.

Any additional comments?

I have read and enjoyed other books by Penelope Lively but what was she thinking when she wrote this? It is utter drivel, written in the present tense, it is just a series of thoughts running on and one could believe that it had been written by a child. She must have been playing on her past successes as this book is nonsense from the word go. There is no story line. I couldn't finish it. Awful.

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