The Listener Audiobook, by Shira Nayman Play Audiobook Sample

The Listener Audiobook

The Listener Audiobook, by Shira Nayman Play Audiobook Sample
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Read By: Jefferson Mays Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc. Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 8.00 hours at 1.5x Speed 6.00 hours at 2.0x Speed Release Date: March 2010 Format: Unabridged Audiobook ISBN: 9781440790850

Quick Stats About this Audiobook

Total Audiobook Chapters:

20

Longest Chapter Length:

59:52 minutes

Shortest Chapter Length:

31 seconds

Average Chapter Length:

36:01 minutes

Audiobooks by this Author:

1

Publisher Description

Critically acclaimed author Shira Nayman has been praised by School Library Journal for her "breathtaking storytelling" and her ability to write with "stunning clarity." Nayman's debut novel, The Listener is a tale of madness and passion set in a psychiatric hospital just after the end of WWII.

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"Loved it! I could hardly put this down. Well written and a great psychological thriller. I don't understand the low ratings for this book as the plot was so complex and interesting. Read it!"

— Heidi (5 out of 5 stars)

Quotes

  • “The Listener explores with great subtlety and perceptiveness the issues of trama and quilt, illustrating the complexity of the way in which a mind that has experienced horrors—whether as perpetrator or victim—may create elaborate defenses that are paradoxically self-destructive.” 

    — Charles Palliser, author of The Quincunx and The Unburied
  • “Nayman turns a jaundiced eye on her own profession…The line between sanity and insanity and the questioning of the rules that govern the patient-doctor relationship are consistently intriguing.” 

    — Booklist
  • “Vividly imagined and evoked.” 

    — Kirkus Reviews

The Listener Listener Reviews

Overall Performance: 2.26315789473684 out of 52.26315789473684 out of 52.26315789473684 out of 52.26315789473684 out of 52.26315789473684 out of 5 (2.26)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 2
3 Stars: 6
2 Stars: 6
1 Stars: 5
Narration: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Story: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Write a Review
  • Overall Performance: 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5

    " Bah. Read it for book club and couldnt finish it. I felt like I didnt really care about the main character and he was more creepy than anything. I felt like the author was trying too hard to write from a man's perspective and just could not deliver. There was nothing holding me to stay with this book. Good book club discussion though. "

    — Risapopelka, 2/7/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " I really enjoyed this book--the writing and the story--right up until the end when I had NO IDEA what happened! The book was obviously building up to have a mysterious twist and I thought I'd had it figured out--but I guess not. Can anyone explain it to me? "

    — Karen, 2/2/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Had the potential to be really good, but i just got confused... "

    — Elizabeth, 2/1/2014
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " I had very high hopes for The Listener, the blurb made the book appear exciting and with lots of twists and turns. The first two parts of the book lived up to expectation. The psychology was riveting and the characters were well shaped. However the third part of the novel just crawled along to an easily predictable conclusion. "

    — Katie, 1/13/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " A funny book - I found it absorbing, even though I wasn't sure if it was a good book. I have noticed that books about psychiatrists often portray them as creeps, or not so astute as they are supposed to be, or messed up people. I'd love to hear others' thoughts about it. "

    — Merry, 1/12/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Interesting plot but the writing was disjointed. The most interesting character in the book, Bertram Reiner, is the one you end up learning about the least. I wish the flashbacks and jumping from scene to scene had been more seemless. "

    — Kt, 1/10/2014
  • Overall Performance: 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5

    " Boring & contrived. "

    — Laura, 1/4/2014
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " A strange story of madness. Takes place in a private asylum in New York in 1948 which caters to men with war neurosis. You have to "stay sharp" while trying to figure out this book. I found the effort not worth it. Nothing was clear cut. Everything was filled with ambiguity. "

    — Donna, 12/21/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " North Side Book Club (NSBC) selection for April 2010 "

    — Kat, 10/12/2013
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Really tried to like this book, but just couldn't stay interested. "

    — Mindy, 10/2/2013
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " I know this book did not get a lot of positive reviews, but I liked it. It posed a lot of moral questions about behavior in war & madness. "

    — Joye, 9/29/2013
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Excellent psychological thriller "

    — Lori, 9/27/2013
  • Overall Performance: 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5

    " predictable, story itself was eh "

    — Jess, 4/7/2013
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " This book was disappointing for me. It started off strong and interesting but about one third of the way through the plot started getting lost in its own muck and mire. It just seemed to degenerate into torpor. "

    — Bridget, 2/4/2013
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " I never like it when the narrator's sanity is in question. I feel like that's cheating. A crazy narrator gives the author license to write anything and there is nothing for the reader to hold on to that's rational or reasonable. "

    — Melissa, 12/11/2012
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " I thought this book started out strong but halfway through lost itself. The plot became oddly rushed halfway through and the payoff was, in the end, not worth it. What a shame, as I was completely enthralled for the first half, but ultimately I would not recommend it. "

    — Joanna, 10/2/2012
  • Overall Performance: 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5

    " It is very unusual for me to not understand a book, but this one got me. It left me confused, and it wasn't very good to begin with. "

    — Sarah, 10/5/2011
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Started good, then i got bored and didn't finish. "

    — Barbara, 5/3/2011
  • Overall Performance: 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5

    " i got almost halfway through and realized the book was boring me. "

    — Abigail, 3/1/2011

About Shira Nayman

Shira Nayman is a writer and psychologist/consultant. She also teaches literature and fiction writing. She is the recipient of the Cape Branch Award for an Emerging Woman Writer and of three grants from the Australia Council for the Arts. Born in South Africa, she grew up in Australia, has lived in Israel, Mexico, and France, and currently lives in Brooklyn. 

About Jefferson Mays

Jefferson Mays, an Earphones Awards-winning narrator, is also an award-winning theater and film actor. In 2004 he won a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, an Obie Award, and a Theatre World Award for his solo Broadway performance in I Am My Own Wife, a Pulitzer Prize–winning play by Doug Wright. He holds a BA from Yale College and an MFA from University of California–San Diego.