Listen

On Music, Sound and Us

By: Michel Faber

Narrated by: Nathaniel Priestley

‘I’m not here to change your mind about Dusty Springfield or Shostakovich or Tupac Shakur or synthpop. I’m here to change your mind about your mind.’ There are countless books on music with much analysis given to musicians, bands, eras and/or genres. But rarely does a book delve into what’s going on inside us when we listen. Michel Faber explores two big questions: how we listen to music and why we listen to music. To answer these he considers biology, age, illness, the notion of ‘cool’, commerce, the dichotomy between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ taste and, through extensive interviews with musicians, unlocks some surprising answers. From the award-winning author of The Crimson Petal and the White and Under the Skin, this curious and celebratory book reflects Michel Faber’s lifelong obsession with music of all kinds. Listen will change your relationship with the heard world.

Critic reviews

Michel Faber wrote this book just for you (ROBERT FRIPP)

Praise for Michel Faber: Faber's writing is so dizzyingly accomplished (KATHRYN HUGHES)

You are unlikely to regret a single hour, day or month spent in Faber's diverting, exuberant and intelligent company

A truly gifted writer, an addictive storyteller with a nuanced command of language

Faber writes superbly

Faber has shown that he can write in a breathtakingly wide range of styles