The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye

Name: The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye
Brand: Recorded Books
Availability: InStock
Author: A.S. Byatt
ISBN: 9781461809630

Author: A.S. Byatt

Narrator: Virginia Leishman

Unabridged: 6 hr 21 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 06/10/2011

Categories: Fiction, Short Stories

Synopsis

Glowing with narrator Virginia Leishman's finely tuned phrasing, The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye is the perfect introduction to A.S. Byatt, an author who continues to receive international awards and acclaim. Her wondrous fairy tales are iridescent stories full of spells, marvelous creatures, and beautiful princesses. The title tale focuses on Dr. Gillian Perholt, a narratologist. The sturdy, middle-aged scholar travels the world, speaking at international conferences about the art of storytelling. She immerses herself in the study of fabulous, archetypical heroes: patient Griselda, lovely Scheherazade, brave Gilgamesh. But when she is given the fairy tale's three wishes-chances to alter her own story, the choices she makes are both timeless and surprisingly unique. A.S. Byatt, whose imaginative novels sparkle with layers of imagery and drama, focuses on the magic that is created each time a storyeller speaks. The five stories that comprise The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye are as fascinating and finely crafted as ivory puzzles.

About A.S. Byatt

A. S. Byatt is famed for her short fiction, collected in Sugar and Other Stories, The Matisse Stories, and The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye. Her full-length novels include the Booker Prize-winning Possession, The Biographer's Tale, The Shadow of the Sun and the quartet of novels including The Virgin in the Garden, Still Life, Babel Tower, and soon to be completed by A Whistling Woman. She has also published es of critical work, of which On Histories & Stories is the most recent. She lives in London.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Hannah on January 04, 2019

Four short stories precede The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye, and they are fairy tale works of wonder with glittering language and bewitching imagery. "Dragons' Breath," in particular, reads as if it were penned by Tolkien. The titular story comprises the second half of the book, a novella that imp......more

Goodreads review by Zanna on January 10, 2019

Reading this reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend recently about the films of Wes Anderson and Jim Jarmusch, how I love their artistic sensibilities but yearn in vain for, as my friend said, an intersectional lens. I love these stories but I can't put away my ideological discomfort abou......more

Goodreads review by Майя on April 28, 2022

Speaking of Antonia Bayette, we mean, of course, intelligence, erudition, stylistic sophistication. The ornate redundancy of descriptions combined with a clear and precise formulation of thought. That's right, but first of all, the cavalier Lady Bayette is a feminist, and each of her books is a cont......more

Goodreads review by Janelle on June 09, 2022

This book moved up my library list after I saw the trailer for the film ‘Three Thousand Years of Longing’ based on the title story. (It stars Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba!) The first four stories are fairy tales ; sleeping beauties, dragons, princesses, quests, etc, some dark elements with magical wr......more

Goodreads review by Althea on April 13, 2013

I read this for the Mythic Fiction book group here on Goodreads, but never got around to going and posting about it over there... A collection of 5 stories - 4 very short, and one novella-length (the title story). The first 4 stories were excellent - but 4.5 stars for the first half of the book, and......more