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The Trick Is to Keep Breathing  By  cover art

The Trick Is to Keep Breathing

By: Janice Galloway
Narrated by: Siobhan Redman
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Publisher's summary

Janice Galloway's inventive first novel is about the breakdown of a 27-year-old drama teacher named Joy Stone.

The problems of everyday living accumulate and begin to torture Joy, who blames her problems not on her work or on the accidental drowning of her illicit lover but on herself.

While painful and deeply serious, this audiobook holds great warmth and energy: it's the wit and irony found in moments of despair that prove to be Joy's salvation.

©2015 Janice Galloway (P)2015 Audible, Ltd

Critic reviews

"A real achievement; its dialogue sparks and its voice is true. For Janice Galloway the trick is simply to keep writing." ( Scotsman)
"An account from the inside of a mind cracking up...its writing is as taut as a bowstring. From brilliant title to closing injunction, it hums with intelligence, clarity, wit; and, its heroine's struggle for order and meaning seduces our minds, exposes how close we all of us are to insanity. Joy, as Galloway's heroine reluctantly lets us know that she's called, is simply that dangerous step or two nearer the edge." ( Listener)
"Claustrophobic but extraordinary." ( Sunday Times)

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What listeners say about The Trick Is to Keep Breathing

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A good listen

A tough but intriguing and heartfelt story, beautifully read. Gives the listener a lot to think about.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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The Trick Is To Keep Reading

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend it to some friends--it's not an easy book to get into as it's narrative jumps around quite a bit. If you keep at it, eventually you kind of get into the flow. Based on some reviews I read, I wonder if it would work better as a "regular" book instead of an audiobook, as I understand there are some visual clues in the book (italics, other changes in type) that indicate flashbacks or other changes in narration. It might be easier to track in text. That's not to say I didn't think the reader did a fine job, but some things can't be replicated in audiobook form.

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Poetic brilliance.

The work of a great writer. Pure poetry. Siobhan Redmond's reading/interpretation/performance is nothing short of brilliant.

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