Preview

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

The Gentleman from Peru

By: André Aciman
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.95

Buy for $14.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

A dazzling new story from the New York Times best-selling author of Call Me By Your Name.

It’s been 10 years since a group of college friends made a vow: that the first to get rich would rent a boat and invite the others on a cruise. Now, the friends find themselves marooned at a luxurious hotel on the Amalfi Coast in Italy. While their boat is being repaired, they can’t help but observe the daily routine of a fellow hotel guest - a mysterious, white-bearded stranger who sits on the veranda each night and smokes one cigarette, sometimes two.

One evening, the stranger approaches their table and places a hand on the shoulder of Mark, a member of the group who recently suffered an injury to that very shoulder. In an instant, Mark’s pain miraculously evaporates. The group is stunned, eager to find out more about this stranger’s healing powers - everyone but Margot, who is suspicious of this man and reluctant to join her friends’ enthusiasm.

Soon, though, even Margot finds herself enchanted by his mystical powers, and she allows Raúl to introduce her to simple pleasures like fresh fish seasoned with peppery olive oil and swimming in the sea in midafternoon light. She also allows him to tell her things about herself - testing his unnerving clairvoyance - until she realizes that they may have already met and that this is neither the beginning of their love story nor the end.

Written by André Aciman and performed by Edoardo Ballerini, two master storytellers at the height of their own otherworldly powers, The Gentleman from Peru is a sultry and spellbinding tale of love, self-discovery, and past lives.

©2019 Andre Aciman (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Interview: André Aciman Asks: What Lies Beyond Love?

'...I do believe that a human being is not just one person. We are a cast of characters'
-0.00
  • The Gentleman from Peru
  • '...I do believe that a human being is not just one person. We are a cast of characters'

About the Creator

André Aciman was born in Alexandria, Egypt and is an American memoirist, essayist, novelist, and scholar. He is the New York Times best-selling author of Call Me by Your Name and Find Me as well as of Out of Egypt and Eight White Nights, Harvard Square, False Papers, and Alibis. Homo Irrealis, his latest collection of essays, will appear in January 2021. Audible will soon release his novellas The Gentleman from Peru and Mariana. Aciman is the director of The Writers’ Institute and teaches Comparative Literature at the Graduate Center, CUNY. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, The New York Times, The New Republic, Condé Nast Traveler, as well as in many volumes of The Best American Essays.

Edoardo Ballerini

About the Performer

Edoardo Ballerini has narrated over 250 audiobooks and appeared in over 50 films and television series, including The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire. His 2013 recording of Jess Walter’s Beautiful Ruins was named Audible’s Audiobook of the Year and earned him the Audie Award for Best Solo Narration. He won a second Audie Award for Best Male Narrator, for his reading of Dean Koontz’s Watchers in 2019. He recently completed work on Karl Ove Knausgaard’s My Struggle, which has garnered international acclaim. He lives in New York.

Featured Article: The Best Audiobooks for Mystery Lovers and Hopeless Romantics


Both romantic stories and mysteries can cause your heart to beat a bit faster—so naturally, the two make a perfect match! Filled with tension and suspense, the audiobooks on this list will keep you guessing about both the mystery itself and when the lead will end up finding the person of their dreams. Whether you prefer contemporary novels or a bit of historical fiction thrown into the mix, here are the very best mystery romance listens to get your pulse racing.

What listeners say about The Gentleman from Peru

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,409
  • 4 Stars
    966
  • 3 Stars
    483
  • 2 Stars
    169
  • 1 Stars
    67
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,747
  • 4 Stars
    664
  • 3 Stars
    224
  • 2 Stars
    74
  • 1 Stars
    31
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,190
  • 4 Stars
    824
  • 3 Stars
    452
  • 2 Stars
    169
  • 1 Stars
    89

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful

Cette histoire est venue me chercher d'une emotions pas atteint cela fait longtemps. J'avais aucune idee de ce que cette histoire etait pour etre. J'ai vraiment aimer. J'adore la voix de Edoardo Ballerini

I had no idea what this book was going to be and im left with so many questions, it was a free on Audible and I had a quick trip to Minneapolis to do. I enjoyed the love, the caring, the traveling.
Its going to have to be re read some other time and now I am curious about the author even more!
Beautiful story, the idea of that the reality is not actually the reality it is right there!
The voice of Edoardo Ballerini is fantastic!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Man From Peru

Beautiful and full of visualization. Like Time Travels. Well done and rather unexpected! I enjoyed it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

good short story

didn't take long to listen. Wish it had been a longer story with a better ending.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

For Just Another Single Point in Time

This is a story about living a life in losing and searching for "the one"... again. As much as the concept is too old, overused and simply doesn't apply to this world. I still think this one is a decent story, specially when there's a caveat to it - a fantasy aspect where soul is involved. Honestly, the part where the story is simply heartbreaking but at the same time, happy.
But I wouldn't want anyone's life to be lived in such. There's so much in this world to love.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Lacking

I find that this book has the whimsy of a Japanese literature's magical realism yet lacks proper execution. There are so much in the story that was left unsaid and it became nothing more than a fleeting memory. It was underwhelming.

The narration was good. It gave a sense of regality to the listener and it was effective in portraying the old man from the story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a wonderful story

I absolutely adored this book and am so sad it is over. It was not nearly long enough....but then it was the perfect length. The narrator was amazing and set the perfect tone for the book. I could listen to him read forever. This book touched my heart and made me think. I can not say enough about the story and the longing it left me with!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mesmerizing

Soooo different... I could listen to this narrator all day long. His voice is downright dreamy. Super heartfelt story and thought-provoking theme. I didn't want it to end!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

The Gentleman From Peru

This book was a lovely and romantic story, but I think it was too short.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fresh topic

A very easy read. The character development was plausible and extremely easy to picture.
As for me a believable tale.
But you decide.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Longing and Love.....

Even though it’s never said....

What a beautiful and lyrical story of a stranger who meets up with a group of youths

Wonderfully voiced by Edouardo Ballerini

Glad I gave it a listen

It’s a story that will stay with you long after you’re done.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!