Good Behaviour cover art

Good Behaviour

A BBC 2 Between the Covers Book Club Pick – Booker Prize Gems

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Good Behaviour

By: Molly Keane
Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
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About this listen

 A BBC TWO BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK (BOOKER PRIZE GEMS)

'Molly Keane is a mistress of wicked comedy' VOGUE

'She was . . . marvellous' GUARDIAN

'Dark, complex, engaging . . . a wonderful tour de force' MARIAN KEYES

I do know how to behave - believe me, because I know. I have always known . . .

Behind the gates of Temple Alice, the aristocratic Anglo-Irish St Charles family sinks into a state of decaying grace. To Aroon St Charles, large and unlovely daughter of the house, the fierce forces of sex, money, jealousy and love seem locked out by the ritual patterns of good behaviour. But crumbling codes of conduct cannot hope to save the members of the St Charles family from their own unruly and inadmissible desires. This elegant and allusive novel established Molly Keane as the natural successor to Jean Rhys.

'I have read and re-read Molly Keane more, I think, than any other writer. Nobody else can touch her as a satirist, tragedian and dissector of human behaviour. I love all her books, but Good Behaviour and Loving and Giving are the ones I return to most' MAGGIE O'FARRELL©1981 The Estate of Molly Keane (P)2021 Hachette Audio UK Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction

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All stars
Most relevant  
One of my favourite books, so acidic and psychologically satisfying. The character of Aroon is so well written.

Great narrator

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Books lend sympathy to the protagonist,, but really she is an unlovable character. Well delivered but was thankful to get to the end.

Boring and uninspiring

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I've never read any Molly Keane before, so I didn't know what to expect. This is a book of its time, with some outdated views, but it's beautifully written and hugely entertaining. I found it very enjoyable, especially the twist at the end. I'd strongly recommend it to those interested in the ways of a previous era and the lives of gentry who have the expectations of their class, but not the money to support them!

Entertaining and very enjoyable!

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Too much about horses and dogs; too much about who said what but the underlying idea was good and that's why I stuck with it. However, I can't understand why this novel was picked for the Booker-prize list and will definitely not be investing my time in this author again. It's not often that I take against anything quite so categorically.

Aoife McMahon was excellent but I missed her Irish accent.

Not my thing

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Excellent narration of what is an alternatively very funny and very sad tale of an impoverished upper class Irish family.

Compelling tale of family apart

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It was chosen as a book club book. And it was just disappointing. I struggled through and at the end didn't really know what had happened. It failed to grab me on any level.

Frustrating and Slow

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