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The Persistence of Vision

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The Persistence of Vision

By: John Varley
Narrated by: Peter Ganim
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About this listen

 On the surface, this Hugo and Nebula Award-winning classic is about a drifter who comes to stay in a New Mexico commune founded by a group of deaf-blind people. But beneath the story, author John Varley examines deep, universal issues. What is the nature of communication? What does an individual gain - or lose - by subsuming himself to the whole? Can an outsider ever truly "belong"?

Varley says that he has had more response to this story than anything he has ever written, that some readers have even told him it changed their lives. Listening to The Persistence of Vision, it is easy to understand why.

©1978 Mercury Press, Inc. (P)2008 Audible, Inc. Anthologies & Short Stories Science Fiction

Critic reviews

  • Hugo Award, Best Novella, 1979
  • Nebula Award, Best Novella, 1978
  • All-Time Best Novellas (Locus Magazine)
All stars
Most relevant  

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No

What did you like best about this story?

I have been a fan of John Varley for about 30 years, and love the depth and uniqueness of this story about one man's search for himself in a deaf/blind community.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

It sounds like he was reading it a word at a time, rather than reading ahead. Very stilted

Was The Persistence of Vision worth the listening time?

Yes

Brilliant story, spoilt by the narrator

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