Letters from an Unknown Woman, Gerard Woodward
Letters from an Unknown Woman, Gerard Woodward
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Letters from an Unknown Woman
A Novel

Author: Gerard Woodward

Narrator: Davina Porter

Unabridged: 10 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/01/2012


Synopsis

With her children evacuated and her husband at the front, Tory Pace is grudgingly sharing the family home with her irascible mother, working at the local gelatin factory—to help the war effort, and generally doing just about as well as could be expected in difficult times. Her quiet life is thrown into turmoil, however, when her prisoner-of-war husband, Donald, makes an outrageous demand for sexual gratification. He wants a dirty letter! Horrified, at first, that Donald is being turned into some sort of monster by the Nazis, Tory's disgust gradually gives way to a sense of marital duty, and taking in the libraries, bookshops, public conveniences, and barbers' shops of South-East London, she begins a quest to master the language of carnal desire—a quest that takes a sudden and unexpected turn into far more dangerous territory. Beginning with an act of unintentional cannibalism, and flirting with a scheme to end world hunger by the use of protein pills, Letters from an Unknown Woman ranges widely across the continent and yet always returns home: to family, to people, to relationships. Woodward offers a prescient examination of the ways in which we both nurture and consume each other in the face of adversity.

About Gerard Woodward

Gerard Woodward is the author of a number of novels, including Nourishment and an acclaimed trilogy comprising August (shortlisted for the 2001 Whitbread First Novel Award), I’ll Go to Bed at Noon (shortlisted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize), and A Curious Earth. He was born in London in 1961 and published several prizewinning collections of poetry before turning to fiction. His collection of poetry We Were Pedestrians was shortlisted for the 2005 T. S. Eliot Prize. He is professor of creative writing at Bath Spa University.

About Davina Porter

Davina Porter is an actress and an award-winning narrator who has more than 400 audiobooks to her credit. Her narrations have garnered more than 20 AudioFile Earphones Awards, and her reading of Written in My Own Heart’s Blood earned a Voice Arts Award for Best Voiceover in Fiction.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Rachel on April 27, 2015

Gerard Woodward is able to take the thoughts of ordinary people and the minutiae of their everyday lives and make them extraordinary. It's a talent he shares with Rachel Joyce, Elizabeth Taylor and Barbara Pym. He's also come up with a new angle on the WW2 home front novel and on the aftermath of wa......more

Goodreads review by Katherine on December 15, 2011

Read a plot summary of this book, and it sounds really racy. As it turns out, it's not very explicit (is that good news or bad?). If you're worried about it making you squirm, or about your family members being horrified to discover your true reading taste, don't. I appreciated the quirkiness that p......more

Goodreads review by Oh dear on June 15, 2024

What the hell......more

Goodreads review by Adrienne on September 25, 2021

Smart, witty, fun, sad, and beautifully written.......more

Goodreads review by Louise on May 04, 2015

I loved the humour in this book, which one wouldn't expect to find in a World War II setting! The opening chapters, about Mrs. Head and what happens after the local butchers is bombed during a raid, is most memorable - and not for the reason you might think! And then there are the letters... A truly......more


Quotes

“A sharp corrective to the stately-homes lens through which Americans often view the historical Brits…a setting quite dreary and sick-making, yet pierced with brutal shafts of beauty, humor and heartbreak.” The New York Times

“A comic sensibility closer to Alan Bennett or Tom Sharpe. Woodward’s rueful amusement isn’t frivolity, it’s a world view.” Financial Times

“Woodward’s brilliant exploration of ordinary lives caught in extraordinary circumstances showcases an imaginative wit, pointed insight, and a flare for the unexpected.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Readers who enjoy the unexpected and stories with a skewed comic sensibility should seek out this novel.” Library Journal