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Lamb: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.03) - 441 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Lamb traces the self-discovery of David Lamb, a narcissistic middle-aged man with a tendency toward dishonesty, in the weeks following the disintegration of his marriage and the death of his father. Hoping to regain some faith in his own goodness, he turns his attention to Tommie, an awkward and unpopular eleven-year-old girl. Lamb is convinced that he can help her avoid a destiny of apathy and emptiness and even comes to believe that his devotion to Tommie is in her best interest. But when he decides to abduct a willing Tommie for a road trip from Chicago to the Rockies, planning to initiate her to the beauty of the mountain wilderness, they are both shaken in ways neither of them expects.
Lamb is a masterful exploration of the dynamics of love and dependency that challenges the boundaries between adolescence and adulthood, confronts preconceived notions about conventional morality, and exposes mankind's eroded relationship with nature.
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"The story of middle-aged David Lamb and Tommie, an eleven year old girl with whom he steals away, LAMB the strangest of love stories. It reads like a cross between LOLITA and a Sam Shepard play, though Tommie lacks any of Lolita's charisma or guile, and David Lamb's pedophilia is incidental to his own narcissistic insecurities. What a disturbing novel...but I liked it. I really, really liked it."
— T. (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Lamb is one of the most powerful and original novels I have read in years. Beautiful, evocative, and brilliant.”
— T. C. Boyle, New York Times bestselling author -
“Beautifully written.”
— More Magazine, Editor’s Pick -
“Only an immensely promising young writer could bestow such grace on such troubled characters.”
— Boston Globe -
“In this stunning debut, Nadzam takes a lot of risks, and the results are thrilling.”
— Cleveland Plain Dealer -
“A beautiful book. Nadzam’s sentences are admirably clipped and controlled, nesting the emotional turmoil of its two subjects within the stability of their natural surroundings.”
— Minneapolis Star-Tribune -
“Nadzam deserves credit for her convincing portrait of a middle-aged male burnout…[Lamb] is difficult and beautiful, and though it may not be normal, it feels very real.”
— Time Out New York -
“An accomplished first novel deserves an accomplished reading, which is precisely what Lamb receives from Earphones Award winner Tavia Gilbert. An experienced actor and producer, Gilbert brings her estimable skills to the fore in this gripping, highly original story.”
— Amazon.com (audio review) -
“Lolita gets a twenty-first-century spin in this gripping debut…Storytelling as accomplished as it is unsettling.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“A disturbing and elusive novel about manipulation and desperate friendship.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“Lamb is a wonder of a novel. Bonnie Nadzam has offered an exploration of interpersonal and sexual manipulation and power that left me reeling. This is a novel about responsibility, complicity, blame, neglect, and finally love.”
— Percival Everett, author of I Am Not Sidney Poitier and Erasure -
“Every sentence in Bonnie Nadzam’s Lamb teaches us about love, necessity, and the mysteries of the heart. I am haunted by her two protagonists, and by the journey they take together. This utterly compelling novel has launched a major new voice in American fiction.”
— David Mason, author of Ludlow -
“Bonnie Nadzam’s debut is gripping, gorgeous, and utterly original. The disturbing story resists easy categorization, challenging what we think we know about childhood, adulthood, pain, beauty, and love. This book will jolt you awake.”
— Anna North, author of America Pacifica
Awards
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Winner of the 2011 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize
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Selected for the September 2011 Indie Next List
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A 2011 More Magazine Pick for Hottest Fall Novels
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Winner of the 2011 Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize
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A 2011 O Magazine’s Reading Room Pick of Riveting Reads
Lamb Listener Reviews
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" This is one of the best novels I've read in years ~ unlike anything I've ever picked up before. Ms. Nadzam gave me a character and a situation I will contemplate for a long time to come. I'm still coming to terms with the plot. I could not stop turning the pages, scared to keep reading and surprised by my own reaction to the characters and the plot. I can't wait to read more from this author. "
— didaink, 2/4/2014 -
" a doozie debut novel. A troubled "successful" lawyer sort of kidnaps an 11 year old girl and takes her to a mountain cabin hideaway. Fantastic tension of "father/daughter" binding with humbert humbert sexual yearnings (and consummation?!?). A must for early spring/ mid-life crisis illicit love affairs lovers. "
— Tuck, 1/2/2014 -
" Disturbing. Spent the whole thing trying to decipher how horrified to be. Beautifully written. "
— Liz, 12/28/2013 -
" This book made Lamb's character uncomfortably sympathetic, I found it difficult to read. A good look at how some people can delude themselves about their own behaviour and motives. "
— Louise, 12/26/2013 -
" Very well written, but plain pointless. Probably the most pointless book I have ever read. "
— Tatiana, 12/22/2013 -
" Weird, really weird. The writing is pretty good, but the content seems like a study of the beginnings of one man's journey into pedophelia. What will he do to the next girl? "
— Bea, 12/7/2013 -
" I thought that this was a very unsettling book but very well written I'm not sure exactly how I feel about it after having read it but I don't regret the experience. "
— Jack, 12/1/2013 -
" Disturbing, but fascinating . . . . "
— Julie, 11/30/2013 -
" Disturbing and brilliant. I couldn't put this down. The prose is absolutely gorgeous. David Lamb, 53, newly divorced, with his job in jeopardy because of an affair with a young coworker, picks up 11-year-old Tommie to teach her a lesson and becomes obsessed with her. "
— Constance, 11/18/2013 -
" a rather strange, intricate little book. i give it a 4 for it's art of capturing a rather bizarre situation, that should feel criminal, and making it simply human. "
— Lori, 11/10/2013 -
" Winner of the Center for Fiction's 2011 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize "
— Noreen, 10/17/2013 -
" Pardon me but WTF?? I found this story hard to follow and when I did feel like I knew what was going on, it didn't make sense. Weird. Creepy. "
— Michelle, 10/4/2013 -
" This book was just creepy, and not in a good way. "
— Scottp, 2/3/2013 -
" This is a very creepy book, but with a lot to discuss. It definitely held my interest. "
— Jennifer, 10/12/2012 -
" This book was disturbing and sad both... "
— Sharon, 3/17/2012 -
" Absolutely captivating and compelling - could not put it down. The best of prose resides here. Now the winner of the Center for Fictions's Flaherty-Dunnan debut novel of the year! "
— Jeff, 3/17/2012 -
" This book really got under my skin, I was just really creep-ed out by David Lamb. I found myself wanting to strangle this man for screwing with the mind of such a young girl. David Lamb is a liar and needs mental help! This is a tough novel to rate and most definitely is not for everyone. "
— Teresa, 12/11/2011 -
" This book was just creepy, and not in a good way. "
— Scottp, 10/25/2011 -
" Very odd book. The author's descriptive ability s superb, however the lack of character definition was off-putting. "
— Kathy, 10/22/2011 -
" Pardon me but WTF?? I found this story hard to follow and when I did feel like I knew what was going on, it didn't make sense. Weird. Creepy. "
— Michelle, 10/14/2011 -
" Creepy. But not in an interesting way. "
— Sarah, 9/16/2011 -
" A wonderful book. Takes it to the edge with content that is dangerous and interesting at the same time. You will be in suspense all they way through and unable to put the book down. "
— Mark, 9/12/2011
About Bonnie Nadzam
Bonnie Nadzam is an author whose first novel, Lamb, won the 2011 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize, the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and was long-listed for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction. It has been translated into several languages and was made into an award-winning film in 2016. She is also the coauthor, with Dale Jamieson, of Love in the Anthropocene and has published fiction and essays in many journals and magazines, including Granta, Harper’s, Epoch, Orion, the Iowa Review, and the Kenyon Review.
About Tavia Gilbert
Tavia Gilbert is an acclaimed narrator of more than four hundred full-cast and multivoice audiobooks for virtually every publisher in the industry. Named the 2018 Voice of Choice by Booklist magazine, she is also winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She has earned numerous Earphones Awards, a Voice Arts Award, and a Listen-Up Award. Audible.com has named her a Genre-Defining Narrator: Master of Memoir. In addition to voice acting, she is an accomplished producer, singer, and theater actor. She is also a producer, singer, photographer, and a writer, as well as the cofounder of a feminist publishing company, Animal Mineral.