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Elizabeth Finch
- Narrated by: Justin Avoth
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
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Elizabeth Finch
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Summary
From the award-winning novelist, a compact narrative that turns on the death of a vivid and particular woman and becomes the occasion for a man's deeper examination of love, friendship and biography.
The task of the present is to correct our understanding of the past. And that task becomes the more urgent when the past cannot be corrected.
Elizabeth Finch was a teacher, a thinker, an inspiration—always rigorous, always thoughtful. With careful empathy, she guided her students to develop meaningful ideas and to discover their centres of seriousness.
As a former student unpacks her notebooks and remembers her uniquely inquisitive mind, her passion for reason resonates through the years. Her ideas unlock the philosophies of the past and explore key events that show us how to make sense of our lives today. And underpinning them all is the story of J—Julian the Apostate, her historical soulmate and fellow challenger to the institutional and monotheistic thinking that has always threatened to divide us.
This is more than a novel. It's a loving tribute to philosophy, a careful evaluation of history, an invitation to think for ourselves. It's a moment to reflect and to gently explore our own theories and assumptions. It is truly a balm for our times.
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What listeners say about Elizabeth Finch
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 17-09-23
Stealth History Book
I love Julian Barnes but this descends into an opinionated history book and I could barely finish it. God knows what he was thinking. So boring. For fans only, I guess.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- James
- 25-04-22
Disappointing!
I found it difficult to finish towards the end. Nevertheless, it is probably worth re-reading and having a second try.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 20-05-22
Educational but borderline dull
I like Julian Barnes and have found him to be erudite and always worth a listen.
Despite reading a previous newspaper review (which was not flattering) I nevertheless thought I would give this a go.
Frankly, I found the overall experience dull, I initially wondered if my lack of knowledge concerning Julian had caused me to misunderstand or miss something…..but maybe not.
Don’t attempt it unless you are a fan, and certainly don’t if like me you like to listen whilst gardening or decorating, wish I’d stuck to radio 4!
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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
- Amazon Customer
- 03-06-23
EF
Apparently based on Anita Brookner an author I read a lot in the past. I preferred the parts about her to the Julian the apostate bits but I learned a fair amount.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 17-06-23
Tedious dull pompous reading
A dull story about a dull man studying an uninteresting woman read with equally dull and pompous voice
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- JulieH
- 26-04-23
If you like history - read it
But it wasn’t for me, despite trying really hard. I kept drifting off and ended up with no clue as to what was happening.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Crowsbow
- 25-04-22
Turns into a history book
I’ve got so far listening to the story about Elizabeth Finch it when it turned into a history lesson I’m afraid I stopped
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- r j carter
- 04-01-24
Julian Barnes forgetting to respect his readers
Julian Barnes parading his erudition forgetting to respect his readers by burbling on with his own musing presented as the thoughts of a stereotypical protagonist who he praises endlessly, thus aggrandising his own ideas and intellect. He literally lost the plot. As in so many of his noe Els he lacks insight in his characterisation of women. The essay section was deadly in presentation and far too long, the fascinating Julian did not come alive with the dull recounting of his work. The lists of quotes while interesting in themselves were simply listed passing out of mind instantly before the next was given. Too much was repeated in later sections. I gave up.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- James Osborn
- 30-09-23
Disappointing in the extreme
Huge fan of Julian Barnes but this is a history and philosophy lesson dressed up as a novel. It’s rather tedious with a huge essay which takes over the story. Hard to finish it
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