Borne

By: Jeff VanderMeer

Narrated by: Bahni Turpin

Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

In Borne, a young woman named Rachel survives as a scavenger in a ruined city half destroyed by drought and conflict. The city is dangerous, littered with discarded experiments from the Company - a biotech firm now derelict - and punished by the unpredictable predations of a giant bear. Rachel ekes out an existence in the shelter of a run-down sanctuary she shares with her partner, Wick, who deals his own homegrown psychoactive biotech.

One day, Rachel finds Borne during a scavenging mission and takes him home. Borne as salvage is little more than a green lump - plant or animal? - but exudes a strange charisma. Borne reminds Rachel of the marine life from the island nation of her birth, now lost to rising seas. There is an attachment she resents: in this world any weakness can kill you. Yet, against her instincts - and definitely against Wick's wishes - Rachel keeps Borne. She cannot help herself. Borne, learning to speak, learning about the world, is fun to be with, and in a world so broken that innocence is a precious thing. For Borne makes Rachel see beauty in the desolation around her. She begins to feel a protectiveness she can ill afford.

"He was born, but I had borne him."

But as Borne grows, he begins to threaten the balance of power in the city and to put the security of her sanctuary with Wick at risk. For the Company, it seems, may not be truly dead, and new enemies are creeping in. What Borne will lay bare to Rachel as he changes is how precarious her existence has been, and how dependent on subterfuge and secrets. In the aftermath, nothing may ever be the same.

©2017 Jeff VanderMeer (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Stunning

This book brought up a lot of questions for me in regard to what it means to be human, what it means to be a mother and how much we really know about one another. The narration from Bahni Turpin really brought the book to life!

“AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY”

good could've been better

it really made you feel. some interesting twists. lame ending.could've really been better but good

Brilliantly Apocalyptic

A great twist on humans destroying their environment and then trying to live with the mess we've created. The story was touching and twisted at the same time. The morbid humorous take on what life would be like in that situation make the story and environment come to life with a palpable quality. I loved the narration. I thought Ms. Turpin did a great job. She was able to reliably switch tone with the characters in a way that I felt I knew the characters true voices. Overall, Vandermeer has an amazingly fresh take on how civilization will end but the world will continue to flourish.

uniquely refreshing

The rhythm and pacing of this story are somehow part of the narrative, it feels honest and as though we get a less obstructed view of what it is to be a "person" thru the way the story is told.

the performance and style are great, it took me a bit to get into the way the story is told, but the payoff is amazing for buying into the narrator's view of her world, informs so much about how we can view our world (s).

So incredibly powerful. The brutality of nature and humanity is VanderMeer’s turf.

Much like the Area X trilogy, there are a lot of similar themes of brutality and beauty in nature. There’s parts in this that are hard to get through, from how brutal they actually are. But Jeff says “Hey buddy, here’s some optimistic and poetic existentialism to take the pain away.” and somehow that makes it better. BUT if you find that this book isn’t your thing, then please at least check out Area X.

Very imaginative and perfectly read

This book was such a fun listen. A story about love, and survival, and parenthood, and ptsd, and all kinds of weighty emotions but then set in a delightfully colorful post apocalyptic world of strange beasts and wild beauty and deadly danger. The reader was exactly right for the narration I felt, I’ve rarely heard a better match.

Interesting view

Borne an interesting view on dystopian life. Although the story was pretty fluid, the details were lacking to allow myself to sink in. The story arc was a bit shallow, with a scattering of depth. Overall good story, that could go a little deeper.

Decent book, awful narration

Definitely play the sample before spending credits in this. The narrator sounds like the machine-voice of a GPS guidance system, which is a surprising choice for a novel about a scrappy female scavenger in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

As for the rest of the novel it is interesting, but Vandermeer keeps the pace a bit too brisk at times. I would have welcomed more time spent on Rachel exploring the city, with or without Borne, but instead we get told a lot more about the city than we are shown, which is limiting. Suspicions that this was written ultimately for the screen are confirmed in the Acknowledgements when the author thanks Hollywood producer Scott Rudin for his input and creativity. Why sell people just a movie when you can sell them a pseudo-novel and a movie ticket down the line?

Something Different for Dystopian Lit.

Narrative voices are spot on for each character and are very immersive and engaging. The story's characters are unique lovable and fun. Thee novel's concepts are usually very abstract, but they make for a wild ride that seems completely new and original. The only downside is that a lot of information and secrets are revealed right at the end, so the end seems a bit rushed.

Just enough mystery

A lot of authors give it away for free, right at the beginning. VanderMeer makes you wait for it, and see it in the light of all the clues he's given you along the way. The story is hard to believe as you go along. Almost mythical. But it feels like a solid work that was meant as a cohesive whole.

I don't know what to say Turpin other than she was the perfect personality that I wanted for the protagonist. I can't imagine reading it in paper and missing her performance.