Hot Milk

By: Deborah Levy

Narrated by: Romola Garai

Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

"I have been sleuthing my mother's symptoms for as long as I can remember. If I see myself as an unwilling detective with a desire for justice, is her illness an unsolved crime? If so, who is the villain and who is the victim?"

Sofia, a young anthropologist, has spent much of her life trying to solve the mystery of her mother's unexplainable illness. She is frustrated with Rose and her constant complaints, but utterly relieved to be called to abandon her own disappointing fledgling adult life.

She and her mother travel to the searing, arid coast of southern Spain to see a famous consultant - their very last chance - in the hope that he might cure her unpredictable limb paralysis. But Dr. Gomez has strange methods that seem to have little to do with physical medicine, and as the treatment progresses, Sofia's mother's illness becomes increasingly baffling. Sofia's role as detective - tracking her mother's symptoms in an attempt to find the secret motivation for her pain - deepens as she discovers her own desires in this transient desert community.

©2016 Deborah Levy (P)2016 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Protagonist's journey of self

This book waxes poetic in a way that is lyrical, but sometimes a little too obtuse. If you can stick with it, you'll find adequate reconciliation of the main characters. The pace however, is maddeningly slow in some parts as well as the protagonist's transformation. I found myself wanting to push her through her mental malady much faster than Gomez. You'll love this though, if you're into languid scenes that leave no detail undescribed or underdescribed, and if hyper self-awareness interests you.

Somnambulistic

The book seemed like it had potential, but I had to stop after about 120' into it for fear I would fall asleep at the wheel if I continued to listen. The narration was ponderous, and the story just was not compelling enough to continue listening. If the narrator was trying to embody the voice of a depressed protagonist, she achieved her goal. Perhaps I missed something by not persevering, but there's too many other great books on Audible to listen to.

Superbly narrated.

The story is captivating. Well structured novel with evocative descriptions. So far my favourite Deborah Levi

Clueless Spanish pronunciation

This story is set in Spain. Snippets of the language pepper the text. They could at least hire a reader with some sort of grasp on the language.

Dull story, duller narrator

I think the narrator took the title of the book literally, speaking with a tone that threatened to put me to sleep with every sentence. I kept listening because the book had some good reviews and I thought there must be a method behind the madness. Alas, there was not. The narration style did not lend anything to the text, which I also found bleak and dull. Being set in my beloved Spain could not redeem this story for me. None of the characters were remotely likable. Not. One. They were quirky and a bit demented - which normally would sell me - but they were not interesting in the least. I kept hoping the protagonist would do us all a favor and do herself in. Then her mewling mother would have something legit to whine about. Maybe I'll give another of the author's books a go. The writing is not horrible, but this particular book was not my cup of tea at all... not even with hot milk.

Great narration for a mediocre story

Any additional comments?

The story line was creative with a mysterious disease, the travel through Spain and Greece made it somewhat exotic, and the main character had a lot of self exploration to do throughout the novel professionally, spiritually and sexually. All of that should make for an exciting listen....But the plot moved slowly and the preoccupation with the mother's illness and her ungrateful poor manners were annoying and irritating for long periods of time detracting from the great parts of the story