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At Hawthorn Time
- Narrated by: Helen Ayres
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
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At Hawthorn Time
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Summary
LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILEYS WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2016
Four-thirty on a May morning: the black fading to blue, dawn gathering somewhere below the treeline in the east. A long, straight road runs between sleeping fields to the little village of Lodeshill, and on it two cars lie wrecked and ravished, violence gathered about them in the silent air. One wheel, upturned, still spins.
Howard and Kitty have recently moved to Lodeshill after a life spent in London; now, their marriage is wordlessly falling apart. Custom car enthusiast Jamie has lived in the village for all of his nineteen years and dreams of leaving it behind, while Jack, a vagrant farm-worker and mystic in flight from a bail hostel, arrives in the village on foot one spring morning, bringing change. All four of them are struggling to find a life in the modern countryside; all are trying to find ways to belong.
Building to an extraordinary climax over the course of one spring month, At Hawthorn Time is both a clear-eyed picture of rural Britain, and a heartbreaking exploration of love, land and loss.
Critic reviews
"A magical, hypnotically strange book of love and dreams, tragedy and myth, At Hawthorn Time sent shivers down my spine. Soaked deep in hedgerows and fields, it is a profoundly unsentimental yet deeply compassionate meditation on searching for myth and meaning, on our need to belong and the place of history in the history of place. Harrison is writing us a new kind of modern pastoral: peopled, raw, messy and shining." (Helen Macdonald, author of H Is for Hawk)
"At Hawthorn Time is intensely moving, a book overshadowed by disaster but still careful, precise and hypnotically beautiful." (Evie Wyld)
"A heartbreaking exploration of love and loss." (Viv Groskop, Red)
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What listeners say about At Hawthorn Time
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- D L
- 12-03-23
Great book but let down by narration
Really enjoyed the nostalgic images of the countryside and the way the plot was gradually peeled away. I was intensely irritated by the narrator who mispronounced words and, I felt, didn't get the tone right for the characters' speech.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Georgina
- 30-08-23
Poor narration
I couldn’t really appreciate the story because the narration is so poor - lines run over, there are strange emphases, wooden dialogue, and mispronounced words. Goshawk and glutinous (pronounced gluttonous) were two of the clangers. It really stopped me from enjoying the story and if I were the author I would be very upset.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Lynne M Shepherdson
- 29-11-22
Marred by Reading Errors
This is the second book I have read by this author and once again I am moved and amazed by her deep love and knowledge of the English countryside. But my enjoyment was marred by the strange emphases occasionally placed on words by the reader which changed the meaning of sentences and suggested Helen Ayres did not always fully understand what she was reading. Did no-one listen to this before it was released and identify passages that needed re-recording? This is the only Audible recording where I have found this problem. Helen Ayres voice, in itself, is pleasant enough and a suitable choice for the text, but the recording overall is unprofessional.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Annie
- 11-08-23
Poor narration
This was sadly spoilt by the poor narration and mispronounced words which was very annoying
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Audrey
- 23-01-24
Very badly read
Not a good choice of reader. A childish sounding pronunciation of certain words
and misreading of several words meant it jarred and detracted from the story
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 18-09-22
Disappointing narrator
Having read and loved this book I wanted to remind myself so purchased the audio version. I was shocked at the appalling narration. Emphasis is frequently misplaced leading to confused meaning of sentences. Pronounciation of well known words like Goshawk and Changi was glaringly wrong. I wonder who edits and checks these things. The author would be horrified.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Peter C
- 28-10-22
Amazing narrator!
Wow! I love the narrators voice for this audiobook and I've listened to many! Her voice is so clear and full of character when needed yet soft and charming.
I think her emphasis and diction are perfect for this piece. Thanks to her narration I have fallen in love with this story :)
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