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The Book of George

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The Book of George

By: Kate Greathead
Narrated by: Kate Handford
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About this listen

We all know a George. He's the kind of guy who's brimming with potential but incapable of following through; he doesn't know if he's in love with his girlfriend, but he certainly likes having her around; he's distant from—but still reliant on—his mother; he swears he'll finish his novel one day.

Sure, you might find him disappointing. But no one is more disappointed in George than George himself.

As funny as it is astute and as singular as it is universal, The Book of George is a deft, unexpectedly moving never-coming-of-age for anyone who has ever been a reluctant mother, cleaner or therapist to a George of their own.

©2024 Kate Greathead (P)2025 W. F. Howes Ltd Literature & Fiction Satire Funny
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This was an excellent novel, enjoyable, relevant, and thought-provoking, and very well read by the narrator. It follows an essentially ordinary man from a young age to near forty through a series of segments each detailing a different part of his life. For example, in one chapter you’ll read about George in college, and in the next a few years will have passed and he’ll be working a temporary job, or looking for somewhere to live in New York. It’s a very effective way of covering a large portion of time, leaving the reader to discern through implication and suggestion what may have occurred during the intervening periods.
The writing is excellent throughout, very readable, with fun yet unflinching character portrayals and energetic dialogue. All characters are vivid and memorable, but the novel’s main drive is its penetrating examination of the highly flawed, sometimes exasperating, lead character. The fact that George is so imperfect is the novel’s principal strength: it examines honestly, but not unkindly, a particularly modern type of male, one who is not incapable or untalented, but is nonetheless unable to thrive in any situation, be it work-based or social. Perpetually unmotivated, George is hindered by his own contrary and disruptive character traits, often offends and sometimes hurts those closest to him, and seems unable to properly address these tendencies in order to adjust them (if adjustable they are). That Kate Greathead manages to make him engaging and not off-putting is testament to her talent, and to me shows how important it is to have fiction that thrives on ordinariness rather than sensationalism or extremes of plot in order to better illuminate the modern complexities and contradictions we all live with, while at the same time remaining bright and enjoyable to read throughout.

Well observed and enjoyable

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As i said it was well written but his character was unloveable . I hoped he would eventually become so, but he did not.

sorry , but did not love him as a character

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