Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
We Spread
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
£0.00 for first 30 days
We Spread
Buy Now for £12.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Summary
Initially, surrounded by peers, conversing, eating, sleeping, looking out at the beautiful woods that surround the house, all is well. She even begins to paint again. But as the days start to blur together, Penny – with a growing sense of unrest and distrust – starts to lose her grip on the passage of time and on her place in the world. Is she succumbing to the subtly destructive effects of aging, or is she an unknowing participant in something more unsettling?
At once compassionate and uncanny, told in spare, hypnotic prose, Iain Reid’s genre-defying third novel explores questions of conformity, art, productivity, relationships, and what, ultimately, it means to grow old.
‘I loved this book and couldn't put it down – a deeply gripping, surreal and wonderfully mysterious novel. Not only has Reid given us a brilliant page turner, but a profoundly moving meditation on life and art, death and infinity. Reid is a master’ Mona Awad, author 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl and All's Well
Listeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
'In We Spread Iain Reid masterfully gets into the psyche of his characters and readers all at once. What a gift' Alma Har'el
'I loved this book and couldn't put it down--a deeply gripping, surreal and wonderfully mysterious novel. Not only has Reid given us a brilliant page turner, but a profoundly moving meditation on life and art, death and infinity. Reid is a master' Mona Awad
'With this latest hypnotic transmission, Reid delves into the strange substructures of psychology, where individual minds blur and a more undifferentiated kind of life teems. With tenderness and mastery, he offers us great insights on the nature of aging and the vertiginous experience of being human' Alexandra Kleeman
'As with all the finest weird fiction, We Spread is infinitely more than just a horror story. Its deceptively simple, deadpan delivery – like the ostensibly similar pieces of Hilbert’s Pando Puzzle – is a screen behind which a multiplicity of interpretations and possibilities, both horrific and mundane, lie cunningly concealed' Guardian
'Reid combines magnetic character development with clipped, eerie prose in this masterfully crafted psychological thriller that will keep the reader guessing until the very last word on the final page' Booklist
'[An] exquisite novel of psychological suspense . . . [Leaves] readers contemplating their own mortality and primed to see the sinister behind the mundane . . . This deep plunge into fears about growing old and losing control is unforgettable' Publishers Weekly
What listeners say about We Spread
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ed
- 16-01-23
Better read than listened to?
I think the reading didn’t do justice to the story, or it is possibly one that is better read than listened to, it is a subtle story so probably hard to strike the right tone on audio book. I did not find you got pulled into the atmosphere, just felt like a series of things happening. It had brilliant moments, hence 3 stars for the audio.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Will Lakeman
- 30-01-23
Not sure I got the point: would have been fine as a shorty story
Disappointing. A decent science fiction writer would have knocked this story out in 30 pages
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 31-07-23
Would make a great horror movie
Has the typical style where it lures you in with mundane slice of life drama untill your kinda like 'this isn't a thriller' and then hits you over the head with strangeness. Key thing though and that's that it feels to short and you see the twist a mile off. not as clever as his other books or as scary.
it did have some very real and clever insight into old age and dementia and I love an older protagonist, I just felt it had more it could have done and gone to greater depths. The ending was ver abrupt and just felt like the story wasn't ready to end. mabey that's apt for the take I don't know.
not to give to much away but I like that many things were left open ended. definitely had some good spooky moments and I think it would make a fantastic movie as it's simple enough to be condensed, as a book it wasn't to my taste.
just worth a go, but I probably wouldn't read it again.
if you like the vibes from things like Coraline, The shinning and insomnia by Steven king this book may be just up your street :)
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- russ
- 26-11-22
another good one from iain
I really like his books, another good one with ambiguity and thought provoking ideas. thanks
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- amy
- 07-11-22
magnificent
In true Iain Reid style the reader is kept on the edge of their seat. The sense of Otherness is palpable in this short novel of an old ladies disquieting monologue.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Gee Tee
- 18-12-23
not for me
Great performance. Despite the good writing style the story was bleak, consuming me with anxiety and dread.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!