Happy New Year! OK, we’re a few months in, but I’m finally getting round to reviewing all of the audiobooks I’ve listened to in 2024. A little over a year since becoming an audiobook convert, I’ve finally listened to my first novel and – spoiler – it was fantastic! Though initially worried that I wouldn’t be able to take in and visualise a novel told orally, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship.
THE PLOT: ‘One of the Good Guys’ is a mystery novel about violence against women. Desperate to escape the ghosts of his failed marriage, Cole leaves London for a remote coast, relishing the respite from the relentless careerism that curdled his relationship. Leonora has made the same move for similar reasons. She’s living a short walk from Cole’s seaside cottage, preparing for her latest art exhibition. When two young female activists raising awareness about gendered violence disappear while passing through the area, Cole and Leonora suddenly find themselves in the middle of a police investigation – and they quickly realize that they don’t know each other that well after all.
RATING: What a rollercoaster! This is the first novel I’ve ever listened to on audiobook and it was a fantastic choice. With a full cast, there are different voices for each of the main characters and mixed media is portrayed in such a clever way (e.g. different voices or sounds for news reports, tweets, whatsapp conversations etc.). But, let’s move away from the format. This book is all about plot, with so many escalations, I literally screamed when a crucial twist was revealed.
I have to be very wary of spoilers, but I found it a great exploration of violence against women, and an impressive cultural critique about social media activism. For example, even “trusted” sources such as the Women’s Rights Charity’s comments about violence, their repeated assertions about pornography demonstrate that every organisation or individual has an agenda.
I don’t usually read this genre and I think regular thriller readers might be disappointed if they’re looking for explicit tension and murder-moments. However, the brilliance of this book is in the conversation it creates around violence against women and the patriarchy, and the tension is in the relationships between characters and different opinions on the same events. Ultimately, the reader cannot trust any of the characters’ and nothing can be taken at face value, which is what makes the book so bloody brilliant.
Thank you to Sabs, Debs, Busby, Claire, Katie and Katie for buddy reading this one with me.
THE PLOT: ‘Unruly’ is a history of England’s monarchs from King Arthur to Elizabeth I. Comedian David Mitchell explores how early Kings and Queens were a bunch of lucky sods who begged, borrowed and blackmailed their way to stealing off us poor peasants. It’s a tale of narcissists, excessive beheadings, and at least one total Cnut, dissecting how a handful of people came to own all of the land, and how the rest of us were conned into bowing and paying taxes to a “divinely anointed” King.
RATING: As a nerd who frequently listens to podcasts on medieval history, this was right up my street. It has exactly the right amount of detail to engage someone who is familiar with the subject matter but not too much to overwhelm those new to the topic. It’s also hella funny, with tons of silly history jokes delivered in Mitchell’s trademark deadpan style. As an anti-capitalist, I love how it shines a light on the invention of social and political structures that we accept as tradition (and implicitly signals that we can get rid of them if they no longer serve us). If you’re a fan of Hilary Mantel and Philippa Gregory, I’d highly recommend you dive into this non-fiction to learn a bit more about the historical figures and context behind your favourite monarchs.
THE PLOT: ‘Sapiens’ is non-fiction about the evolution, biology and history of homo-sapiens and what it means to be human. From examining how homo-sapiens diverged from and dominated other hominids, to exploring the rise of farming, religion, and industrialism, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives about how we came to be “modern humans”.
RATING: OK, this book started well. I enjoyed the first few chapters about pre-historic homo-sapiens and how we evolved in specific ways compared to other human species. There were also interesting arguments about the agricultural revolution and how the change from hunter-gatherers to farmers was not a great development. However, he completely lost me with the second half of the book. Most of his arguments seemed very one-sided, whereas I would’ve preferred proper consideration of alternative viewpoints (even if just to refute them). His arguments didn’t seem very scientific and the whole book became random assertions rather than based on historical or archaeological evidence. To be honest, I sort of hate-listened to the last few chapters of this book. It’s a strong no from me.
Amina's Bookshelf 