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The Invisible Crowd
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh, Ben Onwukue, Ellen Wiles
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
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The Invisible Crowd
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Summary
‘A fierce, big-hearted novel.’ Joe Treasure, author of The Book of Air
‘Pushes us to find our kinder selves.’ Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, author of Harmless Like You
‘A wonderful book.’ Maurice Wren, Chief Executive of the Refugee Council
One of the Guardian’s Readers’ Books of the Year
Long listed for Not the Booker Prize
Awarded the Victor Turner Prize in 2018
2nd March 1975
In Asmara, Eritrea, Yonas Kelati is born into a world of turmoil. At the same time, on the same day, Jude Munroe takes her first breath in London, England.
Thirty Years Later
Blacklisted in his war-ravaged country, Yonas has no option but to flee his home. After a terrible journey, he arrives on a bleak English coast.
By a twist of fate, Yonas’ asylum case lands on Jude’s desk. Opening the file, she finds a patchwork of witness statements from those who met Yonas along his journey: a lifetime the same length of hers, reduced to a few scraps of paper.
Soon, Jude will stand up in court and tell Yonas’ story. How she tells it will change his life forever.
Fearless, uplifting and compelling, The Invisible Crowd is a powerful debut novel about loyalty, kindness – and the brief moments which define our lives.
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Critic reviews
'A wonderful book – brilliantly vivid and human, and I was completely taken up by the story. The characters felt real and the depiction of the shadow world of refugees and how we regard them rang true. I'm so glad to have read it and hope it reaches many people.' Maurice Wren, Chief Executive of the Refugee Council
‘The Invisible Crowd is primarily a portrait of Britain and of what British people do when confronted with difference. It is a plea for compassion. It pushes us to find our kinder selves.’ Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, author of Harmless Like You
'A compelling contemporary story that shines a light on the lives of migrants and refugees and our search for common humanity'. Sita Brahmachari, author of Artichoke Hearts
‘A fierce, big-hearted novel that celebrates the power of compassion and the resilience of the human spirit. It takes a special gift to explore an issue so urgent and so complex in such an emotionally satisfying way. Ellen Wiles has this gift.’ Joe Treasure, author of The Book of Air
‘A sensitive, affecting novel, which looks behind the headlines to explore the experience of an asylum seeker in the UK’ Francesca Rhydderch, author of The Rice Paper Diaries
'A deeply felt novel using a technique that literally 'gets behind the headlines' on asylum' Tim Finch,author of The House of Jounalists
‘A brilliant novel that gives voice to those often silenced or dispossessed' Paul Burston, author of The Black Path
'I absolutely loved it. It's beautifully written, fascinating, emotional, serious, brilliant'. Gemma Seltzer, author of Speak to Strangers
What listeners say about The Invisible Crowd
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ms Janine C Thompson
- 18-12-17
Excellent
A thought provoking and emotional listening experience. Enlightening and well written book with a few twists and turns along the way.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bridgitt Sanders
- 15-09-20
Outstanding, essential listening.
Excited to soon become a student of Ellen Wiles. This story brought both tears and laughter.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kari
- 13-06-18
Touching story
Loved this book. Captures stories & viewpoints rarely heard; vividly read. A definite must-read/listen!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jessica Russell-Mitra
- 01-12-17
A mediation on being human: love, loss, grief and greatest of all, hope...
Multi-voiced novel which guides the reader through an asylum-seeker’s journey - that is many people’s stories woven together- to create a criss-cross tableau of what it is to be lost and found, to despair, to learn and most of all to hope. Each chapter narrated by a character- some you live with and develop over many chapters, others you meet for a tantalisingly brief time as they cross the protagonist’s path and change it and are changed by him. Even the briefest of characters has a warmth of individuality and uniqueness that stops them being stereotypes and those characters who remain are richly and deeply imagined: full of contradictions and background stories. The book is generous and big-hearted-taking its readers with it- informative and witty- never superior. It’s a sustained emotional tour de force that challenges and moves the reader. An extra dimension is created in the audiobook by the extraordinary cast of voices with accents that never grate and a measured fluent pace. So realistic you feel you are in the coffee shop sharing each of their stories. It is almost a radio play in its interaction between characters. An inventive, daring, consummate novel that shares a real insight into human lives and your own heart.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 23-01-18
Great listen
Different characters voices are effectively portrayed by different people which makes the story very real. Book deals with difficult subject of immigration without compromising reality but with sympathy and finds uplifting moments of humour.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- O.O
- 17-08-21
Significant substance
This is a book I would have liked to read as assigned class reading.
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