The Story of the Forest cover art

The Story of the Forest

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Story of the Forest

By: Linda Grant
Narrated by: Anna Cordell
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

 SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL FICTION 2023

'Epic and marvellously entertaining... There's a furious energy to the novel, which constantly moves forward even as it looks sorrowfully back'
FINANCIAL TIMES

'Magnificent... I want to press a copy on everyone I know'
NIGELLA LAWSON

'Epic, magnificent, beautiful... I couldn't put it down'
PHILIPPA PERRY

'Jewel-like clarity... exceptional'
RICHARD COLES

'Exquisite writing [and] a triumphant, elegant ending'
MAIL ON SUNDAY

'An intelligent family saga... ambitious and moving and funny'
TESSA HADLEY

It's 1913 and a young, carefree and recklessly innocent girl, Mina, goes out into the forest on the edge of the Baltic sea and meets a gang of rowdy young men with revolution on their minds. It sounds like a fairy tale but it's life.

The adventure leads to flight, emigration and a new land, a new language and the pursuit of idealism or happiness - in Liverpool. But what of the stories from the old country; how do they shape and form the next generations who have heard the well-worn tales?

From the flour mills of Latvia to Liverpool suburbia to post-war Soho, The Story of the Forest is about myths and memory and about how families adapt in order to survive. It is a story full of the humour and wisdom we have come to relish from this wonderful writer.

Orwell Prize for Political Fiction Award Ceremony - 22 June 2023©2023 Linda Grant (P)2023 Hachette Audio UK Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Jewish World Literature War

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Paris Girl cover art
Furies cover art
The Black Madonna of Derby cover art
A Bird in Winter cover art
Watch Us Dance cover art
The Dog of Tithwal cover art
The Trouble with Secrets cover art
Went to London, Took the Dog cover art
The War Nurses: A Moving Wartime Romance Saga Full of Heart cover art
Collected Stories cover art
The Great Fire cover art
Mad Hatter cover art
The Eighth Life cover art
The Secret Vow cover art
The Brigandshaw Chronicles Box Set cover art
All stars
Most relevant  
I expected more from this book having heard it recommended on radio4
I found the narration lacking , it was dreary and flat
I am sorry not to be able to recommend this one because the subject is one that interests me greatly

Disappointing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What a story! Absolutely loved every moment in this. Left me in awe at the end.

Outstanding

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Approaching it with no expectations, I really enjoyed this book. What could easily have been a family drama, relying on tropes, becomes a story about storytelling. Yet it remains interesting and believable, stepping in and out of different points of view and points in time deftly. No problem with narration for me.

Works on many levels

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved the strong feisty women and great storytelling that gave me insight into Jewish culture and commentary.

Fascinating insight into Jewish life and characters across a century.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As a native of south liverpool the endless mispronunciation of local words jarred. Also the names of people who I knew were badly read. Didn't anyone check on these?

Very badly narrated.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Avid Linda Grant fan but this narrator and her ridiculous accents are ruining the experience. It’s as if she is reading a bedtime story. Have we not moved on from faux Yiddish accents? Returning this. Don’t waste your time

Appalling narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.