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The Accident on the A35

By: Graeme Macrae Burnet
Narrated by: Geoffrey Breton
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Summary

From the author of His Bloody Project, short-listed for the Man Booker Prize 2016.

There does not appear to be anything remarkable about the fatal car crash on the A35. But one question dogs Inspector Georges Gorski: where has the victim, an outwardly austere lawyer, been on the night of his death?

The troubled Gorski finds himself drawn into a mystery that takes him behind the respectable veneer of the sleepy French backwater of Saint-Louis.

Graeme Macrae Burnet returns with a literary mystery that will beguile fans of His Bloody Project and The Disappearance of Adele Bedeau. Darkly humorous, subtle and sophisticated, The Accident on the A35 burrows deep into the psyches of its characters and explores the forgotten corners of small-town life.

©2017 Graeme Macrae Burnet (P)2018 Audible, Ltd
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What listeners say about The Accident on the A35

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Easy listen but not as good as His Bloody Project

The characters were well rounded and the atmosphere in the little French town in which the story is set was also well described. The story was quite good but I expected a bit more from the author of 'His Bloody Project' which was really gripping. This story lacked depth compared to that but is OK but nothing special.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The same as 'Disappearance' - therefore superb

The continuation of a great idea - look forward to number 3 (only recently discovered)

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting.

A quiet and gentle story, although there is a murder involved. But is it fiction or fact? We may never know! But for me it has the distant ring of truth.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it

Really enjoyed this second Gorski book, I felt like I was there in the town watching the story unfold. Brilliantly narrated.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

crafty

In the surface it's a well structured and rather old fashioned mystery with strong characterisation that makes you want to know how it will end. Once the foreword and notes are included it seems more mysterious. Is it history or fiction? Does it matter? Is Burnet author or translator? Taken on either or both levels, it's an engrossing read/listen (I wish there was a better verb for audiobooks) and I'll buy his next novel/translation eagerly.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

It's not a story - it's a character study

To quote from Audible's summary - "The Accident on the A35 burrows deep into the psyches of its characters and explores the forgotten corners of small-town life". And, with considerable success, that's about as far as it goes.

Unless I fell asleep and missed it, there is no conclusion to the story - it is simply a slow-moving examination of the wide variations in human existence. I woke up during the closing essay about the novelist's freedom to create truth where none exists.

The book is a masterpiece of descriptive writing and I fell under its spell but I am reluctant to give it more than three stars because I think lots of people will be disappointed.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Another peculiarly entertaining offering

If you haven't read the Disappearance of Adele Bedeau, you should read that first. The style and quality are very similar and both are well worth reading though neither quite matches the brilliance of His Bloody Project. Narration is excellent.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Rubbish

The question isn’t whether the story is true of not but whether it’s any good. It’s not! Like. GMB’s other books ... boring, boring, boring .... pretentious.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Tedious!

I found this incredibly boring and disappointing on all levels. Kept listening as I was hoping it would improve. Sadly not the case.
The essay at the end about the author’s background and autobiographical influences only served to highlight it’s shortcomings. The characters didn’t come alive at all, for me, and the narration was on one level throughout, so didn’t help. What a tedious waste of time!

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2 people found this helpful