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  • The Crimson Petal and the White

  • By: Michel Faber
  • Narrated by: Jill Tanner
  • Length: 41 hrs and 32 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (1,166 ratings)

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The Crimson Petal and the White

By: Michel Faber
Narrated by: Jill Tanner
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Publisher's summary

NOW A MAJOR BBC DRAMA starring Romola Garai, Chris O'Dowd, Gillian Anderson, Richard E. Grant, Shirley Henderson, and Mark Gatiss.

'Watch your step. Keep your wits about you; you will need them....' So begins this irresistible voyage into the dark side of Victorian London. Amongst an unforgettable cast of low-lifes, physicians, businessmen, and prostitutes, meet our heroine Sugar, a young woman trying to drag herself up from the gutter any way she can. Be prepared for a mesmerising tale of passion, intrigue, ambition, and revenge.

©2011 Michel Faber (P)2011 W.F. Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"A big, sexy, bravura novel...wildly entertaining." (The New York Times)
"Irresistibly readable." (Ruth Rendell)
"Faber is the master of the spine-tingling page-turner, while creating a wholly believable universe." (Dazed and Confused)

What listeners say about The Crimson Petal and the White

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    574
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Slap in the face!

If I had read this book and gotten to that ending?!?!?! I would have LOST MY SH*T! I only listened to 32hours and still wanted to scream at the end!!!! R U kidding me?!?!?! 32 hours and THAT was the end?? Had I known that it would end in that manner I NEVER would have listened! It started great!! A cool story being told in a 3rd person perspective… lots and lots of build up…. Then…. NADA, NOTHING!!! Ugh!!!!! The narrator was great. The idea of this story was great….

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

WHAT??????

let me start off by saying that the writing it terms of vocabulary and turn of phrase was amazing, i was really impressed with the introduction and the first half of the story. the introduction,because it was so impressive, led me to have high expectations for the rest of the story dispite the reviews warning me that it ends abruptly ( i don't mind as long as i enjoy the journey) but the second half of the story left me so disappointed with the characters. so many decisions made by sugar especially in the last 8 hours of it MADE NO SENSE in regards to her character. I also didn't appreciate the use of the word nigger being used literally 8 times in the last 13hrs alone. 18th century or not i felt the writer could have been a bit more creative. dispite the book being so lengthy with dialogue and inner thoughts, NOTHING was given to the reader as an explanation for the decision sugar made in the end, which is annoying. overall i give the stoy a 3 because i loved the first part so much and also the narrator DESERVES THE WORLD, no two characters sounded the same (in a book with a dozen characters that's pretty impressive) and she did great sound effects for the cat, smile-inducing observations as a narrator. will definitely try to read more works read by her in the future.

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

Add my name to the list of devoted fans!

What a brilliant book. I hung on every word of this amazing tale. I thought I would be less than pleased with the ending, but it felt just right to me. I'm so glad I took a chance on it. It will be one of my favorite "re-reads" in years to come. Michel Faber is a genius. And Jill Tanner does him proud!

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13 people found this helpful

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

Keeps you interested, but no driving force.

The book starts off in a peculiar format that is intriguing for the reader, but as it progresses there is no real driving force to the plot. This isn't so bothersome if you are content just to listen about various stories of general life, but if you are looking for more of a plot, find a different book. The characters are fairly well developed which is good since the entire book focusses on learning more about them. The ending leaves much to be desired though.

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3 people found this helpful

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

Wow!

I must say considering how long the book is, at no point is it not intriguing. However, it abruptly ends, but that's how life is I suppose! You won't regret this book!

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1 person found this helpful

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

Excellent narration, lazy ending

What a ride! Such a beautifully written book, narrated so brilliantly.....

Though the ending is so lazy and unsatisfying that it is making me reconsider how much I enjoyed the book!!!

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

Too explicit for my taste.

The story could have been told without being so vulgar. Very disappointed. I will avoid this author in the future.

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

intriguing plot

I really liked the concept of the main character. she was strong then weak then strong again. The narrator was great.

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

Excellent Book!

I liked seeing the real size of old London! I first read the book, then watched it on TV, and now finished the audiobook! Gets better every time I read it!

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

Disappointing ending

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

It's a good story, very well narrarated.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters were enjoyable to follow, though some of them needed some additional background.

Any additional comments?

The ending was disappointing. Instead of wrapping up all the threads to a cohesive ending, the main character just "disappeared" with no ending to her thread. It made you wonder if it was done to prepare for a sequel, but the sequel never happened.

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