The Secret Chord

The Australian Bestseller

De: Geraldine Brooks

Narrado por: Paul Boehmer

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of PEOPLE OF THE BOOK, YEAR OF WONDERS and MARCH comes a unique and vivid novel that retells the story of King David's extraordinary rise to power and fall from grace.

1000 BC. The Second Iron Age. The time of King David.

Anointed as the chosen one when just a young shepherd boy, David will rise to be king, grasping the throne and establishing his empire. But his journey is a tumultuous one and the consequences of his choices will resound for generations. In a life that arcs from obscurity to fame, he is by turns hero and traitor, glamorous young tyrant and beloved king, murderous despot and remorseful, diminished patriarch. His wives love and fear him, his sons will betray him. It falls to Natan, the courtier and prophet who both counsels and castigates David, to tell the truth about the path he must take.

With stunning originality, acclaimed author Geraldine Brooks offers us a compelling portrait of a morally complex hero from this strange age - part legend, part history. Full of drama and richly drawn detail, THE SECRET CHORD is a vivid story of faith, family, desire and power that brings David magnificently alive.

'a masterly reworking of what fiction and history have afforded Brooks' vibrant and questing imagination' - THE AGE on MARCH

'A single shard of historical fact, a well-worn artefact ... can send her off to the archives to coax fiction from the seams of history in ways that seem almost miraculous to fans and critics alike.' - NEW ZEALAND HERALD

Australian-born Geraldine Brooks is an author and journalist who grew up in Sydney's western suburbs. In 1982 she won a scholarship to the journalism master's program at Columbia University in New York. Later she worked for the WALL STREET JOURNAL, where she covered crises in the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. In 2006 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in fiction for her novel MARCH. Her novels CALEB'S CROSSING and PEOPLE OF THE BOOK were both NEW YORK TIMES bestsellers, and YEAR OF WONDERS and PEOPLE OF THE BOOK are international bestsellers, translated into more than 25 languages. She is also the author of the acclaimed non-fiction works NINE PARTS OF DESIRE and FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE. In 2011 she presented Australia's prestigious Boyer Lectures, later published as THE IDEA OF HOME. In 2016 she was appointed Officer in the Order of Australia for her services to literature, and THE SECRET CHORD was shortlisted for the Indy Awards, chosen by Australia's independent booksellers.

Geraldine Brooks lives in Massachusetts with her husband, author Tony Horwitz, and their two sons.

lyrical, haunting, compelling

What did you love best about The Secret Chord?

it transports the reader to a time long past and reaquaints with characters that are familiar and archetypal. However, these characters are not merely shadowy images, but compelling men and women who struggle with the bloody whims of their their time. Beautifully written and great story telling.

What did you like best about this story?

Have you listened to any of Paul Boehmer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I will seek out other performances - it was superb

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

David's realisation of the gravity of his wrongdoing

A Boaring Dirge.

What disappointed you about The Secret Chord?

Historically well researched with rich characters but the story line was disjointed and difficult to follow.

Has The Secret Chord turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, I love historical books so long as they are not written in such a boring way.

Have you listened to any of Paul Boehmer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Very disappointed as the premis seemed so promising.