Willowman
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Willowman
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Narrated by:
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Andrew Martin
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Tim Potter
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By:
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Inga Simpson
About this listen
From the critically acclaimed author of Mr Wigg comes an enthralling literary novel about a batmaker and a gifted young cricketer, set around the time the game began changing. For fans of Chad Harbach's The Art of Fielding and Joseph O'Neill's Netherland.
Cricket has a willow heart. Batmakers around the world have tried everything, crafting bats from birch, maple, ash, even poplars... After two hundred years, cricket bat making is still beholden to a single species: Salix alba caerulea—or white willow
Reader Cricket Bats, one of the last traditional batmakers back in England, has a contemporary home in the Antipodes, with Allan Reader keeping the family business alive in a small workshop in Melbourne.
When Todd Harrow, a gifted young batter, catches Allan's eye, a spark is lit and Allan decides to make a Reader bat for him, selecting the best piece of willow he's harvested in years to do so.
As Harrow charts a meteoric rise to the highest echelons of the sport, leaving his equally talented sister's dreams in his wake, Allan's magical bat takes centre stage as well, awakening something in him. But can Allan's fledgling renaissance—hanging as it does on the magic of that bat—carry on after Harrow is stricken by injury and a strained personal life?
Set as the new short form of the game began to gain prominence, Willowman is a love letter to the art and beauty of cricket and a meditation on the inner lives of certain kinds of men and women, for whom it is a way of life. Award-winning author Inga Simpson writes exquisitely about a national sport you will never view the same way again.
©2022 Inga Simpson (P)2022 Hachette Australia Pty LtdCritic Reviews
"Joyous storytelling at its best. I was enthralled." (Sarah Winman, author of Still Life)
"I bloody loved this—a gorgeous, heartbreaking examination of so much more than cricket." (Robbie Arnott, author of Limberlost)
"Not since Jasper Jones have I been so utterly spellbound by the next ball, the state of the pitch and the intricacies of scoring." (Kate Mildenhall, author of The Mother Fault)
What listeners say about Willowman
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
- JR
- 12-11-2023
Unexpectedly delightful
For someone who is not a great cricket fan l learned so much! Beautifully written and narrated.
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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
- Ian
- 07-01-2023
What an awesome read
If you even have a slight attraction to the game of cricket or you have a partner or friend who is enthralled by the game and you want a deeper understanding of the history and awesomeness of the game read this book- a narrative and great storytelling will keep you engaged till the end when you’ll be sad it’s all over - a brilliant read
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 12-01-2023
Magic
Wonderful narration and magical interrelationships woven into storyline. Will not watch a game of cricket again without thinking of Willowman!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 17-01-2023
A love letter to cricket
A great read & narration. Inga Simpson has written a true love letter to Cricket & the Humble art of Bat Making
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jennifer H Lindsay
- 12-10-2023
lovely ode to the art of cricket
loved the descriptions of the games, the musicreferences and the bat making. a gentle,beautiful read
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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
- Jennifer
- 22-11-2023
I didn’t even like cricket, now I might give check it out
Inga does it again. Her character development is a crowd pleaser. I felt privileged as a reader to follow the trajectory of the talented Harrow and of the man whose passion for the game was truly in his blood. The story covers not just the game but some interesting cricketing history and trivia. I love that music, appreciation and respect of nature is brought into the story too. I loved listening to this story. Terrific narrators selected.
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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
- Tanya
- 05-01-2023
Loved it
Beautiful story, about cricket but not really about cricket…nature, art, expression of creativity, human endeavour, dreams and passions, psychology of high performance sport. love, family and a little bit of Aussie magic.
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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
- Mary Jordan
- 07-11-2022
Feels like being there
Hooked from the very start. The intertwined lives are captivating. So well written you feel the game and drama.
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1 person found this helpful
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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
- Anonymous User
- 16-01-2023
Great story
Fantastic story,
As a cricket purist however some of the glaring misunderstandings of the game became frustrating towards the end. Todd being on 116* not and their team chasing 120 in the last session yet him finishing on 139 not out an example of this. Overall a fantastic book just needed to be edited by someone who had sound cricket knowledge.
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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
- Anonymous User
- 23-03-2023
Not the ending I predicted
Love the cricket references in reverse & the interspersing of real cricketers like AB.
Loved the making of the bat -magical & major ‘character’ in the story. I have to wonder why he gave the bay away or why the bat maker didn’t just make Harro’s sister one. I guess a selfless act ultimately for his sister. But still why not make her a bat -seemed pretty simple!
A little bit too neat in plot direction - a few too many cliches to be honest.
Ultimately … if you have a history with cricket … overlook all the cliches and let the cricket take you away. Enjoyable overall.
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