The Albatross
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The Albatross
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Narrated by:
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Lin Yin
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By:
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Nina Wan
About this listen
'The albatross is just about the rarest thing in golf - two shots on a par 5. A hole-in-one, anywhere on the course, is just a random event, a fluke. It's not your own doing. But an albatross . . . It's a thing of beauty. One. Two. It must be very deliberate, very thoughtful, one superb shot followed by another. You can say it's got to take a degree of belief. You've got to really want it, and aim for it, and try for it.'
When Primrose makes an unplanned detour into a dilapidated suburban golf course called Whistles, she has no idea that the past will come rushing back at her, bringing every detail of her life into stark focus.
At 36, her marriage is teetering from illness and infidelity. A visit from her commanding brother-in-law looms ominously on the horizon. And by a twist of fate, Peter, the boy she loved twenty years ago, is now living across the street.
Primrose cannot escape the increasing demands to make a choice, between her first love and her marriage, duty and desire, fear and freedom. Slowly, the grounds of Whistles, and a sport she proves to be terrible at, become her meditation and cure.
From a sparkling new Australian voice, The Albatross is a big-hearted, beautifully written and utterly engaging novel about first love, second chances and the most elusive shot in golf.
Critic Reviews
'The Albatross is a sinewy, compelling vine of a novel, twining into unanticipated crevices and captivating the reader until the very last page. Brilliant. This is a spectacularly good book; funny, tense, observant, and equipped with a truly memorable heroine.' Annabel Crabb
'The first thing you want to do when you finish The Albatross is find the nearest rooftop and shout, "Primrose!" It's an understatement to call her the narrator of this smart, beguiling novel. Its warmth and humour are her warmth and humour, as are its disquieting undertones... [This is] is a study in the art of the swerve - into Primrose's marriage, into her past, into brilliant discussions of potential and belonging and the everyday question of being happy, or not. There are secrets beneath all this, and the final mix is that rare book that manages to be both surprising and subtle - a quality that's utterly Primrosian.' VPLA Unpublished Manuscript Prize judges report
'Nina Wan's shining debut has captivated both my mind and heart. It is such an important novel that should be widely read. It has been days since I have finished this book but Primrose Li remains alive to me and I know she will live on in many more readers to come.' Hannah Bent, bestselling author of When Things Are Alive They Hum
What listeners say about The Albatross
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
- Anonymous User
- 04-02-2024
poignant, subtle, richly human
I loved The Albatross... as an Anglo-Australian it was a privileged view onto the inner experience of a Chinese-Australian narrator.
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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
- Jo
- 16-05-2023
Excellent
Beautiful writing - well worth a listen. Australian fiction, set in Melbourne. Touches on lots of contemporary themes.
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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
- Susan Langston
- 14-05-2023
Complex and engrossing.
I loved this book. Wonderful writing and a plot full of twists and turns.
Believable characters.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Danie
- 06-06-2023
Golf??
Who would think that a story about golf would grab my attention AND hold my attention for the rest of the book. I didnt love the ending I hated Terence with passion
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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
- Anita
- 18-06-2023
Surprising
I was a bit nervous that I would need to be a golf enthusiast or at least know something about golf to get this book. All false. This was a great story with complex characters and interesting view points on racism. I enjoyed it more than expected. I was particularly engaged by the deep thinking Primrose who sought to protect herself from her own thoughts by being outwardly bland and agreeable but actually created inner angst through dissonance and suppressed communication..
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Carolyn
- 06-02-2024
I feel like I'm missing something
A lot of people I respect have said great things about this book but I don't get it. I listened to about two thirds before giving up. I found the narration and dialogue awkward and stilted. I found the characters unlikable. I just couldn't make myself care what happened next. Clearly there are others who disagree though, so who knows.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Jess Cassidy
- 23-06-2023
Not good. Doesn’t have an ending.
I did not enjoy this book at all. Persevered to the end only to be disappointed.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Miranda
- 24-01-2024
Meh…
I found it hard to connect with the protagonist and generally found the story full. It definitely touched on racist themes accurately and I knew from the start of a conversation that a R was about to happen cause the creepy vibes were very well described, but overall it didn’t feel that interesting to me. Mostly because I just didn’t like the main character. Or most of the characters really.
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