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Elidor

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Elidor

By: Alan Garner
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
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About this listen

"Towers - like flame. A candle in darkness. A black wind."

Roland Watson wasn't expecting to see things like that when he kicked a football into a condemned church. But once inside, he is taken from the slums of Manchester to the ruins of a magical kingdom. And only he can bring back the light to Elidor.

With his brothers and sister, Roland has to solve ancient riddles and brave dark forces to save the mythical land. But he has to prevent those same forces destroying their own world, too.

Brilliantly mixing myths and fantasy with spare and acute reality, Alan Garner's third novel secured his place at the forefront of children's writing, with his work also appealing greatly to adult readers.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2006 Alan Garner (P)2009 Naxos Audiobooks Classics Growing Up & Facts of Life Literature & Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy

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Editor reviews

Elidor, by British writer Alan Garner, first breathed life as a radio play. Following that success, it was expanded into a short children’s novel and published in 1965. Now, in this audiobook, it has returned to form as a piece to be heard. Focusing on a group of children who must have distinct voices, the audiobook makes great demands on performer Jonathan Keeble, who handles the job with agility.

Elidor borrows from C. S. Lewis by imagining a group of children who find a portal to another world. The comparison ends, however, when that world is a borderline nightmare which follows the characters back to the world we all know. Drawing heavily on folkloric sources, this audiobook is appropriate for children, but interesting to any adult.

Critic reviews

"This fantasy brims with classic components of the genre." ( Publishers Weekly)
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Elidor was one of my favourite books as a child and it is just as beautiful today as ever. This narrator could have been perfect, but the children’s voices made them sound like old ladies! Shame, as it really could have been avoided, in which case it would have been five stars all round!

Accents overdone

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This is a great story but I wish the narrator had not attempted to impersonate children's voices - they really detracted from the magic of the story.

Elidor

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the delivery is fine but the narrator is a bit samey with his voice for the children's voices

poor accents but not bad delivery

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The kids’ accents were a bit hammy. I’ve read this book many times and cannot imagine their accents like this, sorry

Great story but

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Obviously I don't want to give any spoilers for anyone pursuing this book, but what I will say is I expected a better ending if I am truthful. The story took a lot to get into but when it did get into it it was fine unfil the end, by which point I was left thinking "is that it, that was a boring ending"

Ending is not as good as I would have expected

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Far better than any of Alan Garner's other books. Vivid, exciting and wonderful. Works at several levels and
nostalgically evokes growing up in 1960s Manchester

A low Fantasy Masterpiece

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Like all Alan Garner books at times this was hard to follow but on the whole enjoyable.

Enjoyable

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Not only is this a tale of magic and adventure, but its setting in last century Manchester gives a fascinating insight into family life in the 'old days'

fabulous fairytale

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This is great story, a classic of its type. It's an assured performance that maintains the wonder felt when first reading

Great reading of a classic

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A nicely paced story and well performed by Jonathan Keeble. While The Owl Service remains my favourite of Alan Garner's tales, I really enjoyed listening to Elidor and found it more accessible than the Brisingamen trilogy.

A gripping tale

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