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)

Fair Warning

For those who have seen A Boxcar Named Desire, this will make sense. Throughout the book, in a young Marlon Brando voice, I kept silently screaming "Stellaaaaaaa!!!" Doesn't detract from the book at all, but it seems important to note.

Wonderful!

I love listening to Ian read. This story really drew me in. I don't know how to describe it without spoilers. It was a very good story, well thought out and told perfectly.

craziest love story I've ever heard

boy am I gobsmacked!!! I really enjoyed this book. damn what did Edgar have?? I can imagine him looking like Leo dicaprio maybe yummy...

Fascinating world

From the very beginning, this story pulls you in. You want one thing and one thing only: to know what happens. The narration style is unique: it's first-person, but for a great deal of the story, the narrator is only an observer/bystander. At first it seems like it's going to be necessarily detached, and impossible to get into the characters' heads, but you end up primarily identifying with the narrator. He is, after all, the one who thinks rationally and seems to tell the story without bias. You're watching from the outside, yes, but it feels more like sitting down with the narrator and listening to him tell the story. You're an old friend of his, and he's telling you about this intense experience for him.

don't worry everybody's crazy

this was my first adventure with this author and narrator this was a eccentric Aventure indeed

Not what I expected

Definitely not what I thought it was going to bt, but that made it all the more enjoyable. Sir Ian McKellen's performance really adds a layer or believability to the story and keeps you wanting to know whay happens next. I definitley recommend this book.

Captivating

A very accurate account of romantic obsession... some episodes reminded me of feelings in my past. A wonderful job was done in the telling by Ian McKellen.

Good story but…

So as much as I love sir Ian McClellan. He is not very diverse when it comes to voicing characters. But I could listen to him talk all day. It was a good story. Somewhat slow. But a nice read overall. Freaking Stella.

interference

there was a lot of interference, almost like a record scratching. made listening difficult.

Intriguing

This book presents a twisted plot - a dark story line. I usually don’t listen to fiction, but this one was a nice surprise. The reader was also excellent.