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The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year

Written by:
Sue Townsend
Narrated by:
Caroline Quentin

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
83
Narrator
31
Release Date
March 1, 2012
Duration
10 hours 26 minutes
Summary
Winner of the Audiobook of the Year – Specsavers National Book Awards
What happens when a duvet day turns into a duvet year?
The day her twins leave home, Eva climbs into bed and stays there. For seventeen years she's wanted to yell at the world, 'Stop! I want to get off'. Finally, this is her chance. Her husband Brian, an astronomer having an unsatisfactory affair, is upset. Who will cook his dinner? Eva, he complains, is attention seeking. But word of Eva's defiance spreads. Legions of fans, believing she is protesting, gather in the street. While Alexander the white van man brings tea, toast and sympathy. And from this odd but comforting place Eva begins to see both herself and the world very, very differently. . .
‘Hilarious and totally Townsend. There were parts where I laughed until I cried' Daily Mail
'Laugh-out-loud . . . a teeming world of characters whose foibles and misunderstandings provide glorious amusement. Something deeper and darker than comedy' Sunday Times
‘Full of colour and glows with life' Independent
'Touching and hilarious. Bursting with witty social commentary as well as humour' Women's Weekly
'A funny, poignant look at modern family life' Daily Express
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Reviews
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Katie W.

I kept going through the book even though I did not find any character particularly likeable but I hoped perhaps the ending could tie all these characters together. That did not happen. I got this as the VIP book so I don’t mind however I would be very annoyed with myself if I had used a credit to get it

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Roxie Y.

What a crazy book! When I saw the title I was instantly drawn to it. I could understand the need to “regroup” I also understood the Asperger theme both diagnosed and undiagnosed. But the inability/unwillingness to go to the bathroom, so much so that the character asked others to help clean her while she lay in bed, crossed a line for me. There were funny parts to the book.

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Yvonne N.

Caroline Quentin is the queen of neurotic shouting - she really made the audiobook so entertaining. Got a bit unexpectedly depressing towards the end, but other than that a fun, ridiculous and easy to listen to book which made me laugh out loud.

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Suzy C.

Fun, light read that kept me captivated the whole way through. I could relate to her getting fed up.

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Anonymous

Found it funny, frustrating & sad. Could relate to wanting to give up & have someone else look after everything, especially in a household where you're dealing with the challenges of family members on the spectrum. It ended with a whimper, but that's life isn't it? Sometimes the grand plan turns into something rather pathetic.

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Anonymous

An interesting what-if exercise, but I lost interest about a quarter through the book. I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likeable, nor was there a driving plot—more like several disconnected events and a few characters we never heard about again.

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Kathryn S.

My first listen to a Sue Townsend title and it was great! Caroline’s narration was outstanding, really brought the characters to life.

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Anonymous

good listen. kept me entertained from start to finish

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Claire B.

Sit com style brought to life by an excellent narrator. Ridiculous scenarios, which were over the top farcical and just silly. I found many of the characters very racist which wasn’t dealt with by the author, and not much was to like about all of them.

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Anonymous

This was a terrible book.

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Lois K.

This is only the second or third book I have wanted to return on the decade plus that I have been a member.

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Kelly S.

Moving and funny

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Ding47

This was a fun and amusing story about a wife and mother who had just had it with her family and her role. Going to bed for a year brought her all kinds of new adventures!

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Sandra S.

It could have been a 30 minute book!

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Alison E.

Very disappointing.

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Jill V.

Lost me at times. Enjoyed the message.

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