Sacred Country

By: Rose Tremain

Narrated by: Harrison Knights

Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's Summary

We're all something else inside....

1952. Standing in a cold Suffolk field with her family, six-year-old Mary Ward has a revelation: I am not Mary. That is a mistake. I am not a girl. I'm a boy.

So begins Mary's heroic struggle to change gender. Moving from the claustrophobic rural community of the 1950s to London in the swinging '60s and beyond to the glitter of America in the '70s, Sacred Country is the story of a journey to find a place of safety and fulfilment in a savage and confusing world.

©2011 Rose Tremain (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

Transphobic author writing about trans issues

This is a warning to anyone struggling with their gender identity to be careful with reading this book as it is written by a transphobe and I found this deeply upsetting. Please read what I've written below.
My mum recommended this book to me as I am someone who is struggling with my gender identity and she thought it was interesting. I listened almost to the end of the book and thought..I wonder whether Rose Tremain is trans, or if she spoke to many trans people when writing this book...a quick Google search brought up a 2018 interview with her, which I had to pay to read, so I'll put some quotes in hear so you don't have to bother:
The title quotes Rose Tremain as saying "Everyone is rushing to their own identity corner. It divides society.".. The article goes on to say: She can't explain why more children are identifying as transgender.."It's not something I ever thought I'd live to see... Possibly there is a certain contagion about it. It's quite an interesting thing to do: I'm not a girl after all, I'll try being a being a boy for a bit". But she worries about gender self identification. The idea of transgender inmates being put in women's prisons is "just plain scary. I think if it's putting other people in danger - which that is-then it's gone too far"...
She goes on to say a few more iffy things, you can go and have a full read of the article if you like. If you're the sort of person who agrees with what she's saying then sure, go ahead and read this book I'm sure you'll love it. But if you're actually experiencing these issues for yourself then you might find this book extremely upsetting, as I did.
Audible, please do not reject this review, it is extremely important for people who may be affected by this to understand the views of Rose Tremain so that they can make their own decision on whether or not this book is safe for them to read, as for some it may be damaging to our mental health.

Surprisingly uplifting tour de force

Having expected a rather colourless tale of gender reassignment, I was delighted to be presented with a wide-ranging, nay, rollicking romp through the first 30-odd years of the current queen’s reign. Startlingly enjoyable!🐝

OK

It's not as engaging as her historical novels and I found it hard to like any of the characters. It's a poignant story and not an uplifting one. The narrator's efforts to rerecord lines haven't been edited out.

An interesting listen

Listening to this book, you would think it was hundreds of years ago. The story of a young boy, trapped in a girls body. It charts his life, plus his family and friends. It’s very slow going, but with huge issues.
It gave me a new found sympathy of what transgender people have to deal with.
But it made me very sad about all the mental health issues everyone had.
Definitely worth a listen, for a glimpse back in time, with very dysfunctional families

Rather Long

The story itself is good. But I felt that the telling of it was just too long and drawn out. Far too much waffle, that made it quite hard to keep going with listening to it. I did finish it but I was willing it to end sooner. Which is a shame as I feel if it was compressed somewhat, it would be a great book.

perform wise, I enjoyed it.

Narrator’s voice hard to listen to

Story is quite good, but narration not the best. I got used to it in the end

An important book about mental health

This was interesting and relevant, but not necessarily an enjoyable read. I didn’t like this as much as some of the writer’s other novels. I wasn’t too keen on the narration.

Sacred country

The introduction to this book was too longwinded and unnecessary and nearly put me off continuing with the book. The reader was rather miserable and droney undermining the adventurous emotional dilemma of the characters. The story was brave and considered.

Dire narration

The narration is so slow and dull, I've given up with it, so I can't really rate the story

Brilliant Book

This book is a must for everyone to read, it is about a transgender girl , but the whole book is excellent. Everyone involved is interesting, The story sweeps you along and is recommended. It will change your views about people born in the wrong body. Harrison Knights is absolutely brilliant at reading the book.