Scan barcode
kteddycurr's review against another edition
3.0
The writing was stunning. Quinn's mental ticks and history of tragedies was delicately unwrapped. The constant changes of time kept the still stories of the past relevant to the Quinn's adult life, doing a beautiful mimic of cycling memories.
But the plot was nonexistent. At the end, no one has changed and there's no hope that anyone will change.
But the plot was nonexistent. At the end, no one has changed and there's no hope that anyone will change.
jugglingpup's review against another edition
4.0
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
So I grabbed this book just because the author that had a last name that started with Z and there was an octopus on the cover. High criteria was made clearly.
So I knew nothing of this book or anything about the author. I do however know that this was a good choice, maybe, I am still lost. I read this book where nothing happened, but everything happened. It was a complete mind fuck type story. Most of the plot happened in the past and was heavily alluded to. The current plot was just the ramifications of what happened when the main character experienced.
Just the whole situation of how her little sister died messed with me. It is still messing with me. When I first read it I had to put the book down and I couldn’t read for a few days. It was intense, but I also felt very distant and removed from the situation since it happened in the past and it didn’t quite register as having happened. It was just beautifully written and I really want to read more by this author now. The mind games that were played were excellent.
I would love to read more about what happened when she was in the band, but I also feel like the story was fully told. While I want more details, the story feels complete. A lot of the book had me feeling two conflicting things. I just can’t get over that. This book was just amazing. I really want to read it again and again.
So I grabbed this book just because the author that had a last name that started with Z and there was an octopus on the cover. High criteria was made clearly.
So I knew nothing of this book or anything about the author. I do however know that this was a good choice, maybe, I am still lost. I read this book where nothing happened, but everything happened. It was a complete mind fuck type story. Most of the plot happened in the past and was heavily alluded to. The current plot was just the ramifications of what happened when the main character experienced.
Just the whole situation of how her little sister died messed with me. It is still messing with me. When I first read it I had to put the book down and I couldn’t read for a few days. It was intense, but I also felt very distant and removed from the situation since it happened in the past and it didn’t quite register as having happened. It was just beautifully written and I really want to read more by this author now. The mind games that were played were excellent.
I would love to read more about what happened when she was in the band, but I also feel like the story was fully told. While I want more details, the story feels complete. A lot of the book had me feeling two conflicting things. I just can’t get over that. This book was just amazing. I really want to read it again and again.
natesea's review against another edition
5.0
Finally, some magic. I haven't read a book this magic since Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. Leni Zumas' dream-like book is lucid enough to put you in the reality of her characters and plot, but with sentences and prose that glimmer in the subtle ways of our unconscious world. The Listeners tells the story of a tragedy of our tribes - family and friends - wrestling with demons imagined and real, and forging a path forward despite yourself and the obstacles of the past. This is a beautiful novel. Read it.
victoriad702's review against another edition
4.0
This is an odd, nontraditional, nonlinear novel. It took me a while to figure out what was going on, but in the end, I wound up really enjoying it. At the core, is a family, with three siblings, two elder girls and one youngest son.
whitneyborup's review against another edition
5.0
Not the right book to read when I've been so nauseous lately. So body-obsessed and rotten. Even though the specific plot details of the book were foreign to me, I feel that I was on the verge of a lot of these emotions and relationships. It's like if my high school self had been 5 years older (thank God she wasn't).
kellycavolo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
directorpurry's review against another edition
2.0
I'm a little conflicted about this book. I've had it for a long time; I actually got it when the author was a guest at a writing camp I attended in high school. But maybe it was too avant-garde for my taste.
Towards the end, with building up to a revelation in the climax, it reminded me a bit of Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle (A book I love.) but I didn't feel like it had the same force or inevitability of that novel.
One of the most frustrating things about this book is the way characters are introduced. Which is to say, they aren't. Names are mentioned frequently but it took me well past page 150 to really understand who ANYONE attached to the names was.
I give this book pretty good points for synesthesia in the sisters and I thought it conveyed that well - but now I'm going to take away a few of those points for the reliance on shock prose. I HATE media that relies solely on shock. In my personal opinion, the worst was about a third of the way in. At the beginning, there are some excerpts from fan letters people had sent to Quinn's band in the past. One of them is from a neo-Nazi group but is never again addressed. I did not understand the reason or need for the inclusion of anti-semetic language and it played no part in the story or message as far as I could tell. It was pretty upsetting to see, to be honest.
Towards the end, with building up to a revelation in the climax, it reminded me a bit of Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle (A book I love.) but I didn't feel like it had the same force or inevitability of that novel.
One of the most frustrating things about this book is the way characters are introduced. Which is to say, they aren't. Names are mentioned frequently but it took me well past page 150 to really understand who ANYONE attached to the names was.
I give this book pretty good points for synesthesia in the sisters and I thought it conveyed that well - but now I'm going to take away a few of those points for the reliance on shock prose. I HATE media that relies solely on shock. In my personal opinion, the worst was about a third of the way in. At the beginning, there are some excerpts from fan letters people had sent to Quinn's band in the past. One of them is from a neo-Nazi group but is never again addressed. I did not understand the reason or need for the inclusion of anti-semetic language and it played no part in the story or message as far as I could tell. It was pretty upsetting to see, to be honest.
whats_margaret_reading's review against another edition
4.0
Quinn, the subject of The Listeners is a synesthetic anorexic ex-band member, with plenty of trite issues that would have fallen flat if she had been in the hands of an author other than Leni Zumas. The author's intense and inventive style is what makes this novel worth discovering, and the reader invested in Quinn and her actions. The points of view alternate between times in the plot, and between a more hazy memory/recollection to first person narration of events. Quinn's early tragic life events in addition to her bizarrely relatable neuroses make her a memorable narrator, and The Listeners an impressive overall first novel for Zumas.
dani_geigs's review against another edition
5.0
Really fantastic prose novel. Beautiful yet often disturbing imagery, and heart-breaking, too.