Asylum

By: Patrick McGrath

Narrated by: Sir Ian McKellen

Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

From our most celebrated writer of the psychological thriller comes this nerve-wracking yet eerily beautiful work of erotic obsession and madness. In the summer of 1959, Stella Raphael joins her psychiatrist husband, Max, at his new posting: a maximum-security hospital for the criminally insane. Beautiful and headstrong, Stella soon falls under the spell of Edgar Stark, a brilliant and magnetic sculptor who has been confined to the hospital for murdering his wife in a psychotic rage.

But Stella's knowledge of Edgar's crime is no hindrance to the volcanic attraction that ensues - a passion that will consume Stella's sanity and destroy her and the lives of those around her.

©1999 Patrick McGrath (P)2008 BBC Audio

Critic reviews

"The book is hypnotizing, with its own strange but darkly convincing pace and style; and the way in which nature and climate are woven into the fabric of the bizarre couple's strange love is masterly." ( Publishers Weekly)

Astonishingly good

The multiple layers of obsession and madness in Asylum are masterfully crafted right through its final sentence. Ian McKellen's narration is flawless, perfectly nuanced. I have well over two hundred books in my library, and I'd put Asylum high in the top five.

Shrink Patient Melodrama

Zero sympathy for Stella, ditto Peter the psychiatrist who violates every ethical boundary. I kept listening, hoping that the beautiful “slut”would get her comeuppance.

starts off good but drags on and just fizzles

a decent story, but it did tend to meander... without any clear direction. I struggled after chapter 7 - stayed with it just to see how it would end. I had a hard time staying focused on the characters because my attention waned in many places in the book.
Ending was very stupid, and about the worst choice the writer made. Any other ending would have been far more exciting to listen to than what the author ultimately chose.

Narration was well done. Soothing voice.

Amazing, subtle, crafty...

I was drawn in completely within minutes by this literary treat, and even as I was mesmerized by the lovely narration and the way the story subtly pulls your thoughts this way and that; yet I was completely slapped off my seat by some of the shifts, and not until the final part of the book did I get the biggest slaps of them all, coming one after another and leaving me blown away altogether.
This is literary fiction on another level. If you love a British narrator, an intelligent story, a subtle thriller...don’t hesitate to get this!

This book crossed all the lines!

Such a complex story! What is madness? when does love become toxic? Asylum is an intriguing ride through a love story set in the background of an asylum

Left my feeling conflicted

Superb narration, of course. Incredibly well written novel about a cast of characters who evoke no sympathy, no relatability , and no familiarity. It’s not that the work lacked character development, it is that the characters all lack humanity.

Take away message: life is meaningless

excellent narration.

the narrator was perfect. the story a bit too predictable with stereotypical characters. Still it was entertaining.

smart psychological thriller

I could not put this down. The psychological insights form the core of the narrative and flesh out the characters beautifully.

Great Narration

This is well worth a listen! Narrated beautifully with great tonation and inflection. Offers some good suspense and twists throughout.

Glad I read it…but I’m conflicted.

The book is well written. But it’s content is not a feel good read. It’ was quite a challenge for me to not set it down. I will think about this book for a long time.