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FAKE
- A Startling True Story of Love in A World of Liars, Cheats, Narcissists, Fantasists and Phonies
- Narrated by: Claudia Karvan
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
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FAKE
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Publisher's Summary
Women the world over are brought up to hope, even expect, to find the man of their dreams, marry and live happily ever after.
When Stephanie Wood meets a sweet, sophisticated man who owns land and businesses, she embarks on an exhilarating romance with him. He seems compassionate, truthful and loving. He talks about the future with her. She falls in love. She also becomes increasingly beset by anxiety at the lavish three-act plays he offers her in the form of excuses for frequent cancellations and no-shows. She begins to wonder, who is this man?
When she ends the relationship Stephanie switches back on her journalistic nous and uncovers a story of mind-boggling duplicity and manipulation. She also finds she is not alone; that the world is full of smart, sassy women who have suffered the attentions of liars, cheats, narcissists, fantasists and phonies, men with dangerously adept abilities to deceive.
In this brilliantly acute and broad-ranging book, Wood, an award-winning writer and journalist, has written a riveting, important account of contemporary love and the resilience of those who have witnessed its darkest sides.
2020, Mark & Evette Moran Nib Literary Award, Longlisted
What listeners say about FAKE
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Neil
- 10-07-2019
Interesting story but scattered and lacking sound engagement
I liked the book. But for a lot of the time I felt I was meandering down a lane going nowhere.
I listened to this as an audiobook but I’m finding that podcasts on similar situations more compelling and more engaging because of the different sound edits that podcasts use.
I reckon if this audiobook used sound edits like podcasts it would be a winner. Thank you
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9 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
- Sue
- 01-09-2019
What a con!
I really liked this book, well narrated by Claudia Karvan (by the way, where are you Claudia? Haven't seen you on the screen for ages, miss you :-) ) . Just goes to show what some males will do to fill their ego buckets up, at the expense of lovely women who are just looking for a mate. So glad 'Joe' comes undone, though, probably changed his name and is still swindling and conning the lives of more women! Must have been such hard work keeping on track with all his lies, exhausting even. What a prick....
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3 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
- Vanessa
- 27-06-2021
Fascinating.
Found this book very helpful as I too have experienced a narcissist. The calm narration by Claudia Karvan makes this important story very easy to listen to.
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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
- Reader X
- 14-09-2020
A matriarch of books
So real, I could hear you swallow your sorrow. Let’s make this world very difficult for such charmers to breathe freely. Thank you, Stephanie, for your truths. Your courage and fine writing makes accepting my own an empowered-bizarre, I know-joy. Makes me proud to also swim beyond the breakers.
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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
- 02-10-2020
Compelling read
This was the book I needed to read to understand the past. Well written with good information. The story of the author tells of anxious heartbeat leading to full gaslighting and compulsive lies told to her by her lover.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Wendy Champion
- 29-07-2024
Interesting
The story was interesting & well researched, but lacked continuity & flow.
In addition, although Claudia has a lovely speaking voice, her repeated mid sentence pauses (was she turning the page?) & the lip smacking, swallowing sounds made me cringe & distracted from the story.
Could those things not have been edited out?
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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
- 07-08-2024
Highly recommend this to anyone
This book was eye opening! I could not stop listening to it. Such an interesting tale and look into human behaviour.
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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
- Lisa Brown
- 09-07-2019
Personal, factual & poetically visual
A beautifully vulnerable story of strength & resilience. A must read for anyone on the dating merry-go-round.
Fascinating & riveting I couldn’t put down!
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3 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
- 19-11-2019
This book calls out the bullshi**ers FINALLY!
Stephanie’s story is a tale that every female should be educated about. If her story hasn’t touched you directly, it will have touched someone close to you. Her words of narcissistic behaviours, fakes and liars echo this insidious plague of uncomfortable proportions for everyone to see what it really is. A highly manipulative con-job. OMG I feel her pain. It’s brilliant, clearly communicated and beautifully written. Thank you for sharing Stephanie.
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1 person 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
- LyndaG
- 13-07-2024
Brilliant Insights
I listened to this audiobook because I had just watched the Asher Keddie series on Paramount. This book takes you far deeper and you just can’t put it down. Claudia Karvan is a fantastic and empathetic narrator.
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1 person found this helpful