Enlightenment

A Novel

By: Sarah Perry

Narrated by: Alex Jennings

Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE

“Like A.S. Byatt’s Possession, Enlightenment is a baroque, genre-bending novel of ideas, ghosts and hidden histories. A richly layered epic....a heartfelt paean to the consolations of the sublime, where religion and science meet."—Telegraph

"Read it, then read it again. This is a book full of unexpected wonders."—Literary Review

From the author of The Essex Serpent, a dazzling novel of love and astronomy told over the course of twenty years through the lives of two improbable best friends.

Thomas Hart and Grace Macaulay have lived all their lives in the small Essex town of Aldleigh. Though separated in age by three decades, the pair are kindred spirits—torn between their commitment to religion and their desire to explore the world beyond their small Baptist community.

It is two romantic relationships that will rend their friendship, and in the wake of this rupture, Thomas develops an obsession with a vanished nineteenth-century astronomer said to haunt a nearby manor, and Grace flees Aldleigh entirely for London. Over the course of twenty years, by coincidence and design, Thomas and Grace will find their lives brought back into orbit as the mystery of the vanished astronomer unfolds into a devastating tale of love and scientific pursuit. Thomas and Grace will ask themselves what it means to love and be loved, what is fixed and what is mutable, how much of our fate is predestined and written in the stars, and whether they can find their way back to each other.

A thrillingly ambitious novel of friendship, faith, and unrequited love, rich in symmetry and symbolism, Enlightenment is a shimmering wonder of a book and Sarah Perry’s finest work to date.

©2024 Sarah Perry (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

Oddly uncompelling

A frustrating novel, filled with many ridiculous coincidences as the characters tracked down evidence of a 19th century female astronomer. I often couldn’t figure out why it was written in the way it was, historical artifacts discovered in ridiculously unbelievable moments. Deus ex machina, but to no satisfying effect. I also found many of the characters underwritten. Nathan—does he have any substance? Why is Maria from Romania? And why so many injuries to characters? I appreciated the book’s approach to loneliness and solitude. I got a glimpse of what the author was trying to accomplish, but I was frequently distracted by the odd qualities of the plot, and don’t feel it succeeded as the epic tale it hoped to be. Excellent narration.

Insightful and lush story

Beautiful story full of life’s loves, Triumphs, and disappointments. Well worth a listen. Enlightening for sure with a historical fiction kind of twist.

Beautiful writing unique story, might relisten to parts

This audiobook seems very unique to me. The basic idea of a protagonist in one timeline getting drawn into a mystery in the past where slowly that past story is revealed is not unique but the people involved in the story are very unique in their own stories and the way they become involved with each other. The writing is just amazing. At times just wonderfully richly descriptive both in terms of how physical settings are described and how people are described. It’s also often thoughtful , creative, insightful almost meditative in places , especially in the parts that are given as excerpts from the newspaper column about astronomy written by the main protagonist, Thomas. Woven throughout is the nuanced exploration of what love is and what is worth having faith in. This review doesn’t do justice to the book which I loved. I will say that I read one review which said the writing felt almost 19th century in tone and I can see why that person said that. The writing is very rich and detailed and nothing in this story moves quickly although there is more than one surprising and unexpected event. In my listening, I realized for me this is a book where you want breaks to digest things so I like that this the three large sections were divided into into smaller mostly hour long- ish chunks. I would take a break after each chunk often not returning until the next day. More than once, I found myself relistening to pieces of this but enjoying the relisten because the writing is so beautifully crafted. But for me because of the richness of it it wouldn’t work as a book for a day at the beach or an airplane trip. It needs breaks for digestion!!!

So lost

in spite of the gay character; I'm gay, I just couldn't stay with this long enough to see where that part of the story would go. I really wanted to hang in, but the story left me feeling uncomfortable for some strange reason. it had an odd style and I sometimes wondered it the performance; the interpretation, was the problem,

The reader of this profound story is excellent!

Sarah Perry writing is deep and melodious. Hard to understand so I found the audible version much easier. Loved it.