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The Drowning Girl
- Narrated by: Suzy Jackson
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
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Publisher's summary
Award-winning author, narrator, and screenwriter Neil Gaiman personally selected this book, and, using the tools of the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), cast the narrator and produced this work for his audiobook label, Neil Gaiman Presents.
A few words from Neil on The Drowning Girl: "As with all "Neil Gaiman Presents" titles, it's very important to me to find the voice that comes closest to the voice in the author's head; for Caitlin, for this book, that was Suzy Jackson. It was not until the second round of auditions that we found someone who sounded young but not naïve, someone who could catalogue the sharp detail of Imp's carefully observed daily life but also convey the blurred edges of her reality. Caitlin and Suzy kept in touch during the recording, and the result is a reading that is precise but not "stagey", a literary but accessible reading of the novel."
India Morgan Phelps - Imp to her friends - is schizophrenic. Struggling with her perceptions of reality, Imp must uncover the truth about her encounters with creatures out of myth - or from something far, far stranger....
Winner of the 2013 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel.
Learn more about Neil Gaiman Presents and Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX).
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Stained glass artist Juno McKay is forced to confront the events that shattered the intense friendship between herself, her best friend, Christine, and her husband, Neil, when she discovers, after years of absence, that Christine is to deliver a lecture at their college reunion. Despite her misgivings, Juno finds herself compelled to attend the lecture about the history of one of Penrose College's most hallowed works of art.
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Read in print.
- By Susan on 10-14-12
By: Carol Goodman
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Trigger Warning
- Short Fictions and Disturbances
- By: Neil Gaiman
- Narrated by: Neil Gaiman
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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In this new anthology, Neil Gaiman pierces the veil of reality to reveal the enigmatic, shadowy world that lies beneath. Trigger Warning includes previously published pieces of short fiction--stories, verse, and a very special Doctor Who story that was written for the fiftieth anniversary of the beloved series in 2013--as well as "Black Dog", a new tale that revisits the world of American Gods, exclusive to this collection.
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It Triggered Me to Stay Up Late and Listen
- By Jan on 02-10-15
By: Neil Gaiman
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Galilee
- By: Clive Barker
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 23 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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The Barbarossa family’s roots are far more ancient and ethereal, but they are bound to the Gearys by a shared history of murder, insanity, and adultery. When Rachel Geary and Galilee, the seductive prince of the Barbarossa clan, fall in love, they unleash powerful enmities that could destroy both dynasties. Shorter and more conventional than some of Barker’s other work, this novel is especially rich with complex, passionate, three-dimensional characters, lush settings, and elegant language.
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An Audiophile's Dream
- By Joseph on 09-01-11
By: Clive Barker
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A Fraction of the Whole
- By: Steve Toltz
- Narrated by: Colin McPhillamy, Craig Baldwin
- Length: 25 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Stewing in an Australian prison, Jasper Dean reflects on his relationship with his dead father and recounts the many zany adventures they shared together.
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A Funny and Thought-provoking Tale of Human Nature
- By Asha Ember on 01-27-10
By: Steve Toltz
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The Best Horror of the Year, Volume 4
- By: Ellen Datlow - author/editor, Stephen King, Peter Straub
- Narrated by: Meredith Mitchell, Rebecca Mitchell, Michael Healy, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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With tales from Laird Barron, Stephen King, John Langan, Peter Straub, and many others, and featuring Datlow’s comprehensive overview of the year in horror, now, more than ever, The Best Horror of the Year provides the petrifying horror fiction readers have come to expect - and enjoy.
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Only a few decent stories in this bunch.
- By Jerry on 12-06-14
By: Ellen Datlow - author/editor, and others
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Priestdaddy
- A Memoir
- By: Patricia Lockwood
- Narrated by: Patricia Lockwood
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Father Greg Lockwood is unlike any Catholic priest you have ever met - a man who lounges in boxer shorts, who loves action movies, and whose constant jamming on the guitar reverberates "like a whole band dying in a plane crash in 1972". His daughter is an irreverent poet who long ago left the church's country. When an unexpected crisis leads her and her husband to move back into her parents' rectory, their two worlds collide.
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Terrible narration--read, don't listen
- By Penelope on 08-06-17
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Insomniac City
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- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Bill Hayes came to New York City in 2009 with a one-way ticket and only the vaguest idea of how he would get by. But, at 48 years old, having spent decades in San Francisco, he craved change. Grieving over the death of his partner, he quickly discovered the profound consolations of the city's incessant rhythms, the sight of the Empire State Building against the night sky, and New Yorkers themselves, kindred souls that Hayes, a lifelong insomniac, encountered on late-night strolls with his camera.
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Touching and Intimate Portrait
- By Amazon Customer on 01-18-19
By: Bill Hayes
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Darling Jim
- A Novel
- By: Christian Moerk
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye, Justine Eyre
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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When two sisters and their aunt are found dead in their suburban Dublin home, it seems that the secret behind their untimely demise will never be known. But then Niall, a young mailman, finds a mysterious diary in the post office's dead-letter bin. From beyond the grave, Fiona Walsh shares the most tragic love story he's ever heard---and her tale has only just begun.
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Great Story
- By Book Worm on 05-28-09
By: Christian Moerk
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The Seduction of Water
- By: Carol Goodman
- Narrated by: Christine Marshall
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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For Iris, he sudden impulse to write a piece about her mother leads to a shot at literary success. The piece recounts an eerie Irish fairy tale her mother used to tell her at bedtime - and nestled inside is the sad story of her mother's death, a strange, untimely end in a fire 30 years ago. When Iris returns to the remote Hotel Equinox in the Catskills, the place where she grew up, to write her mother's biography and search for her mother's missing manuscript, she unravels a haunting mystery that threatens to envelope her.
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Disapointing
- By Susan Delaney on 02-19-09
By: Carol Goodman
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Autumn
- By: Ali Smith
- Narrated by: Melody Grove
- Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Fusing Keatsian mists and mellow fruitfulness with the vitality, the immediacy, and the color hit of Pop Art, Autumn is a witty excavation of the present by the past. The novel is a stripped-branches take on popular culture and a meditation, in a world growing ever more bordered and exclusive, on what richness and worth are, what harvest means.
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Incredible use of language
- By Mary on 03-06-17
By: Ali Smith
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Your Voice in My Head
- A Memoir
- By: Emma Forrest
- Narrated by: Emma Forrest
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Emma Forrest, a British journalist, was just 22 and living the fast life in New York City when she realized that her quirks had gone beyond eccentricity. In a cycle of loneliness, damaging relationships, and destructive behavior, she found herself in the chair of a slim, balding, and effortlessly optimistic psychiatrist--a man whose wisdom and humanity would wrench her from the dangerous tide after she tried to end her life.
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Great, quick read
- By Amazon Customer on 02-12-21
By: Emma Forrest
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I Really Enjoyed It
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Niki Ky spends her days in a medicated haze, haunted by the ghosts of those she left behind 10 years ago after a confrontation against an unspeakable evil that left her shattered. To find peace, Niki must return to the house on the side of Red Mountain in Birmingham, Alabama-to face creatures no human should ever have to face.
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2nd Attempt
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When the Imagine Network commissioned a documentary on mermaids, to be filmed from the cruise ship Atargatis, they expected what they had always received before: an assortment of eyewitness reports that proved nothing, some footage that proved even less, and the kind of ratings that only came from peddling imaginary creatures to the masses.
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A good companion piece
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What listeners say about The Drowning Girl
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kelly
- 11-23-14
Intriguing, mysterious, multi layered hauntings
What made the experience of listening to The Drowning Girl the most enjoyable?
The wealth of knowledge that Caitlin injected into the story - especially re: mythology, psychology and history.
What did you like best about this story?
The idea of being haunted by things other than ghosts - e.g. ideas, people, works of art, memories etc. Also, how all the little hauntings tied into the main haunting.
What about Suzy Jackson’s performance did you like?
I was intrigued with how she could change her voice to sound like someone else, and wondered if there were other narrators (and wished that there were - or at least, that she used the deeper voice used for Imp's girlfriend - as I found her teenage sounding voice grating.) All in all, she did a great job with such a complex story.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No crying, laughed a little, but mostly intrigued, with "a-ha" moments here and there. Learned quite a lot - so the experience was doubled for me: a novel and a textbook! (I always fancied myself as a mythology/psychology/history/art buff - but was pleasantly surprised to be afforded the opportunity to learn more!)
Any additional comments?
The only criticism I could possibly have with this novel would be that it needed more editing - re: tightening the story. It does tend to meander a bit - but on the other hand, that is in keeping with Imp's erratic frame of mind. I became annoyed with the "Imp typed" interruptions.
However, it is one of the few stories I have read in my life that has "haunted" me - so, well played, Caitlin! No matter what, it was very much worth the meager credit and I would've been happy to pay more for the experience of having my psyche infiltrated by such interesting characters and experiences.
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- Treb
- 12-26-22
Among my favorite stories
Caitlin R Kiernan is among my favorite authors and this is among my favorite works of hers alongside the Red Tree
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- Ashley Moore
- 02-17-20
Haunted in Providence
My main draw to this title initially is it's placement in Providence, which has since it's settlement, left wanderers of it's strange hills, streets, and waterways with a piqued imagination and florid, flowery writing. Just within my first few months of living here, I felt it's ghostly reach into my dreams and waking thoughts...and a series of questionable (and often regrettable) relationships. Every person I have met here, an ambassador for the city, singing its praises and in the end, leaving me alone.
This story takes place in Providence's West End, a neighborhood I know well, as I've lived right off of Parade, just a few streets down from the main character, for a few years now. She described the place with mathematical detail, giving exact addresses and dates for her comings and goings. She was just trying to get the facts out. I understand, needing to get the dates right, the places correct, freeing you up to pore over the way the heat felt in the third floor walk-up, dead of July, your clothes clinging, sweat dripping, frustration and ferocity growing as you are just trying to keep it together, falling in love and losing your mind at the same time.
IMP's story and Kiernan's writing left me questioning my own sanity. Suzy Jackson's youthful voice hitting every mark, precocious, open, controlled, yet full of abandon. She gave an excellent performance. The story itself was a little confusing, but it's tone was clear. It's timing was strange, which added to its creepy affect. And if Neil Gaiman says jump, I'll certainly take a look around and ask "Come again?" and reread The Sandman series. I can see IMP reminding him of Delirium, and occasionally Death, and probably Eva of Desire.
If you are in a questionable mental space (and/or living alone in Providence) you may want to hold off on this one till you are in a better space, otherwise you are in for a ride. Don't take your time with it, this is best experienced over the course of a week. The thread could get lost, as it's a particularly windy story, that includes stories within (which are excellent themselves).
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- Irina M. Flowers
- 06-09-15
Dumbfounded
Any additional comments?
I really not sure what to think of this book. I did like the writing, and even enjoyed the story in places... but somewhere in the middle of the book I wished it would end!. Yet, it just dragged on and on, without any new twists or... anything really. I mean, I can't say, "what a horrible book", because it is not, and the author has created a believably crazy character. However, it bored me to the point of not wanting to listen to it.
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- AT
- 05-18-16
Deeply stunning work of the gothic weird
Two summers ago I listened to this book on headphones while walking back and forth from the library in Holyoke, MA - an old New England mill town set with abandoned brick buildings and sooty sidewalks, much like old parts of Providence, RI described in the novel. I was struggling with poverty and mental illness like the narrator, and found in this listening experience a rare world where I felt I belonged. Caitlin R. Kiernan’s work often does that for me. I see myself reflected in her protagonists more than any other author’s. They are often queers, goths, outsiders, and artists, struggling to survive against deep horrors that the rest of the world doesn’t acknowledge as real - horrors that threaten their lives and sanity, and that are intertwined with old, deep traumas.
My own personal fondness for her characters aside, Caitlin R. Kiernan is one of the most critically acclaimed writers in the horror/weird fiction tradition. She's widely recognized, up there with Thomas Ligotti, as one of the premiere literary descendants of H.P. Lovecraft. Not in the sense that she writes with a Lovecraftian formula (though sometimes she plays with it in her short stories), but in the sense that she evokes Lovecraftian themes like cosmic dread, shaky sanity, deep time, and surreal beauty in modern day settings with her own unique voice.
This book, with its non-linear prose, deep water imagery, bouts of poetry, stories within stories, and impeccable historical research, is one of her masterpieces. It has strong echoes of Shirley Jackson and other influences I’m sure I’m not aware of. Suzy Jackson’s narration is absolutely fabulous. She worked extensively with the author to accurately capture the distinct voices of each character and the oscillations of the narrator’s mental state as she slips in and out of lucidity. I read a hard copy of the book after listening, and found that I preferred listening to this book over reading it.
If you’ve ever struggled with your sanity, doubted what is real, feared what that the rest of the world can’t see - or if you want to slip into an expertly crafted description of that experience; if you enjoy weird fiction, aquatic folklore, good horror or old New England gothica, I highly recommend this novel from one of the great living masters of the genre.
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- Jennifer
- 06-22-16
amazing
loved this book. India's mental illness is amazingly well portrayed. i found the book disturbing in that sense - I am not schizophrenic, but some of her thought processes and habits, both of thought and action, had a familiar resonance that made me have to take a break from the book for a bit.
the storyline is, given the viewpoint character's issues, predictably non-linear. and the book ends with a discussion of how the character will never know what really happened... neither does the reader. if that bothers you, this is *not* the book for you.
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- Kathy
- 07-18-13
Fascinating, moving, real.
Would you listen to The Drowning Girl again? Why?
Absolutely. This novel was very interesting and kept me guessing. I listened to it a few weeks ago and plan on listening to it again very soon. I loved the characters. I loved the way things were structured (and unstructured).
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Drowning Girl?
Imp's schizophrenia felt very real. It was haunting and powerful. It gave the listener insight into what goes through a malfunctioning brain.
Have you listened to any of Suzy Jackson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I've never listened to her other performances but this one was very good. I'd had some false starts with other audio books sounding too robotic and clunky. Suzy sounded human and warm, despite the harrowing text. She gave life to IMP and the others. Fantastic job.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
I was moved several times, but not huge drastic movements. It isn't like there is one moment where the author and reader moved a mountain deep in me. It was subtle movements, that, over time, demonstrated that a mountain had moved.
Any additional comments?
It was powerful and challenging. Some people find the lack of structure at times to be frustrating. I am not one of those people. If you find that unconventional story telling works for you, you'll likely enjoy this. If you need things to follow typical story formats, then maybe look elsewhere (or give it a shot and see what happens).
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- L.B.
- 04-10-13
Good Insight into Psychosis
What did you like best about The Drowning Girl? What did you like least?
Although the book intentionally blurs the line between what is subjective, and what is objective, the book is written as a first-hand account of experiences. In the writing style adopted by the author, the mental ticks and potholes of a mentally disturbed individual truly comes through.
Any additional comments?
Not surprising that this was written by the same author as The Red Tree.
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- Maggie Rae Cunningham
- 05-03-21
Second time through—beautiful book
One of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read and one I will constantly revisit throughout my life. This rendition is really excellent as well.
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- K. Pearson
- 02-18-21
I got lost
This wasn’t a bad novel, but I did find myself lapsing in concentration every now and then.
Sometimes the story just got too boring, that I actually thought about stopping where I was, however I kept listening and the story picked up, and I found I really wanted to find out what happened with Imp.
I loved the stories within the story.
The narration was great!
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