The Party
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The Party
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Narrated by:
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Greg Wagland
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Stephanie Racine
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By:
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Elizabeth Day
About this listen
**Elizabeth Day’s new novel Magpie is available to pre-order now.**
AN OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR
A gripping story of betrayal, privilege and hypocrisy, set in the unassailable heart of the British establishment.
‘A terrifying, hilarious, brilliantly written original with a wit to die for’ Phoebe Waller-Bridge
‘As the train pressed on, I realised that my life was in the process of taking a different direction, plotted according to a new constellation. Because, although I didn't know it yet, I was about to meet Ben and nothing would ever be the same again.’
Martin Gilmour is an outsider. When he wins a scholarship to Burtonbury School, he doesn’t wear the right clothes or speak with the right kind of accent. But then he meets the dazzling, popular and wealthy Ben Fitzmaurice, and gains admission to an exclusive world. Soon Martin is enjoying tennis parties and Easter egg hunts at the Fitzmaurice family’s estate, as Ben becomes the brother he never had.
But Martin has a secret. He knows something about Ben, something he will never tell. It is a secret that will bind the two of them together for the best part of 25 years.
At Ben’s 40th birthday party, the great and the good of British society are gathering to celebrate in a haze of champagne, drugs and glamour. Amid the hundreds of guests – the politicians, the celebrities, the old-money and newly rich – Martin once again feels that disturbing pang of not-quite belonging. His wife, Lucy, has her reservations too. There is disquiet in the air. But Ben wouldn’t do anything to damage their friendship.
Would he?
‘The twists and turns that the novel takes are never predictable and the novel becomes as unsettling as it is involving. One of those books that a person reads in one day because you absolutely have to know how it turns out’ John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
©2017 Elizabeth Day (P)2017 HarperCollins PublishersWhat listeners say about The Party
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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Story4 out of 5 stars
- finnea
- 05-12-2022
Clever psychology
i think the bad reviews of this are overly harsh. The characters aren't "likeable" but Martin and Lucy are written from a sympathetic perspective. i found the psychology of Martin very convincing. As with 'Magpie', Elizabeth Day is in her element with those whose childhood neglect leads to radical self doubt and emotional confusion.
i was a little disappointed that the end fizzled out but it's a good meaty character-driven narrative with some subtle touches.
i always think it's a bit gratuitous when people complain about the free sample of the next book at the end. i mean, you can just not listen, right? But i'm going to whinge about this one. i was hungry for another Elizabeth Day but the reading of the Paradise City sample was horrible. The Party ends with an indictment of snooty entitled upper classes, then up pops an irritating Sloaney voice (okay, so that's called for) who totally blows the know-it-all personna by fumbling words (Chutzpah is not pronounced chootspa)....Anyway, stick with The Party -- it's read well.
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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
- Crazy Cat Lady
- 17-02-2018
Disturbing and drawn out yet somehow gripping
This book has some disturbing content, which sneaks up on you all of a sudden as you explore the drawn out exposition of a single night and the events that precede and follow it. Somehow, it's engaging and makes you get drawn in and invested in the characters. All of the characters are deceptive and surprising in their own way. It's unexpected and yet somehow not. People are not how them seem.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- ELIZABETH
- 07-01-2018
One Trick Pony
What did you like best about The Party? What did you like least?
Intriguing set up. Drawn out narrative
What could Elizabeth Day have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
Made it into an excellent short story
What about Greg Wagland and Stephanie Racine ’s performance did you like?
They both sounded very convincing and really lived their parts.
Did The Party inspire you to do anything?
Go for a drink.
Any additional comments?
There was really only one issue in the novel and that was drawn out. Even after the less than astounding denouement the story plodded on for much too long.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- rachel power
- 06-06-2018
Unreliable + nasty
I listened on and on, despite my immediate dislike, hoping for something within this narrative to justify the nastiness of its unreliable narrator, but I was disappointed. The Party is a story of unrequited homosexual love, in which the author has no sympathy for her protagonist. The writing is overly florid, descriptions often absurd. Do not recommend!
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Ingrid
- 15-09-2017
Unlikeable characters
Couldn't get into this, the characters were so unlikeable. It needed to move a bit quicker too.
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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
- Anonymous User
- 23-02-2018
Thought this would be good from all the reviews
It wasn't I've tried to listen to this book 3 times now and can't make it more than a few hours in with out giving up I would not bother purchasing it.
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