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An Imaginary Life
- Narrated by: Paul English
- Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins
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What listeners say about An Imaginary Life
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Patrick Zircher
- 02-11-24
A literary, stream of consciousness novel
The self-indulgent poet Ovid is exiled to the harsh Roman frontier where he wins the trust of a feral boy. This premise sounds plot-oriented but this is an introspective novel about accepting fate, aging, the pros and cons of a primitive life, superstition, & becoming a better human being.
It's very good though I'm not sure Malouf establishes the 'cause' while writing primarily about the 'effect'.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Gail N.
- 02-05-21
Overly intellectual with a fussy narrator
Despite his critical acclaim, David Malouf seems to always fall short of expectations. This short novel is no exception. Although the author has chosen Ovid's exile as his starting point, the story has very little to do with Ovid as a character based in his historical reality. The story is monotonous and long winded. The narrator is fussy and prissy but totally suits the prose he is reading. I kept hoping things would improve and for a short while in the middle and again at the end, I felt engaged. But otherwise, it was a slog.
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