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The Past

By: Tessa Hadley
Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
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Summary

Three sisters and a brother meet up in their grandparents' old house for three long, hot summer weeks. The house is full of memories of their childhood and their past, but now they may have to sell it. And under the idyllic surface, there are tensions. Secrets are uncovered, and passions erupt as a way of life - bourgeois, literate, ritualised - winds down to its inevitable end.

©2015 Tessa Hadley (P)2015 W F Howes Ltd
Fiction
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Critic reviews

"Hadley is a writer of exceptional intelligence and skill and, for all the apparent conventionality of her vision, hers is a subtly subversive talent." ( Observer)
"There is something reassuring yet deliciously unexpected about a Tessa Hadley novel." ( Daily Telegraph)

What listeners say about The Past

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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meaning, slowly,revealing itself.

For me, the slow discovery of meaning, and underlying causes, that revealed itself to the reader, while getting pulled into the subtleties of each character, rang very true to life!
Becoming aware of the underlying patterns of ones life, and that of others, requires patience. This might feel boring to some, but to me it felt very accurate!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Neil Curry

But....

The writing is remarkable; vivid descriptions of places and sensitive understanding of people and their feelings and motives, but what a pity she didn't have a story to tell . The "events" are left to the closing pages, but it's a bit late then.

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1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for M. H. Costeris

Beautifully read but the story is a bit thin

I love Tessa Hadley’s style and it is almost enough to just spend time in her perfectly described nuanced world, but after Late in the Day, which fascinated me, not enough happened in this book to really satisfy.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for HRR

Loved it

The womb-like atmosphere of extended family congregating in a long-known place of history and tradition rang true for me. A story of subtleties rather than pace. I enjoyed being lulled into it's claustrophobic atmosphere.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Charlotte Daly

Awful

This is by far the worst book I have ever read/listened to. I lived in the hope something would happen, but the story is just utterly pointless

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5 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Boring

Very boring, slow and uninteresting. Very little happens and I was not interested in any of the characters.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Susana Martin

disappointing

Struggled to finish. Felt nothing for any of the characters. Couldn't see the point to the story. I will not read any more of her books given the style of writing

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for y pope

I just didn't get this one at all

I kept expecting the story to go somewhere. unfortunately for me, it was dull. Maybe there was a message I missed.

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Profile Image for nicola

So.disappointing.nothing happens.

Regrettable purchase
Kept waiting for a storyline of sorts. Only positive was.the use of language.

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