Bookends Cassette

Having worked her way up to the stressful top of a London ad agency, Cath yearns to open her own book shop. As luck would have it, Lucy, wife of Cath's old uni friend Josh, longs to run a café. Together they find a suitable site and Bookends is born. Although the café/shop gives the book its title, it is something of a minor sub-plot. The main focus of Bookends the novel is on the single malcontents Cath and Si, their circle of friends and their lives, hopes and dreams. Life is not always as straightforward as they might have hoped but the deep bonds of friendship prove unshakeable. Hadyn Gwynne is the perfect choice for the voice of the striving North London thirtysomething, her interpretation of the characters is both convincing and unforced. Listening to this audio book is, at times, like becoming illicitly absorbed in someone else's conversation--the listener is allowed real insight into the lives and changing fortunes of a group of old friends. Gwynne is especially good in the moving exchanges between Cath and Si, evoking real pathos as the two characters come to terms with some shattering news. Bookends is not a perfect novel but this audio adaptation is thoroughly entertaining and unexpectedly moving. --Sarah CrawfordDuration approx 3 hoursRead More