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Ordinary People

Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction

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Ordinary People

By: Diana Evans
Narrated by: Jennifer Saayeng
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About this listen

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Ordinary People by Diana Evans, read by Jennifer Saayeng.

'Diana Evans is a lyrical and glorious writer; a precise poet of the human heart' Naomi Alderman


‘You can take a leap, do something off the wall, something reckless. It’s your last chance, and most people miss it.’

South London, 2008. Two couples find themselves at a moment of reckoning, on the brink of acceptance or revolution. Melissa has a new baby and doesn’t want to let it change her but, in the crooked walls of a narrow Victorian terrace, she begins to disappear. Michael, growing daily more accustomed to his commute, still loves Melissa but can’t quite get close enough to her to stay faithful. Meanwhile out in the suburbs, Stephanie is happy with Damian and their three children, but the death of Damian’s father has thrown him into crisis – or is it something, or someone, else? Are they all just in the wrong place? Are any of them prepared to take the leap?

Set against the backdrop of Barack Obama’s historic election victory, Ordinary People is an intimate, immersive study of identity and parenthood, sex and grief, friendship and aging, and the fragile architecture of love. With its distinctive prose and irresistible soundtrack, it is the story of our lives, and those moments that threaten to unravel us.

Family Life Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature

Critic reviews

Diana Evans is a lyrical and glorious writer; a precise poet of the human heart (Naomi Alderman, author of The Power)
Thoughtful and intelligently observed... Evans's delicate prose weaves issues of racial identity and politics into the narrative so that they never feel heavy-handed...a deftly observed, elegiac portrayal of modern marriage, and the private – often painful – quest for identity and fulfilment in all its various guises
Ordinary People...is very insightful… a detailed, well observed description of modern marriage (David Nicholls)
It could easily be reimagined for the screen, though the film would not capture the sheer energy and effervescence of Evans’s funny, sad, magnificent prose
Diana Evans’s fiction is emotionally intelligent, dark, funny, moving. The sheer energy in her novels is enthralling. A brilliant craftswoman, a master of the form, she makes the reader ask important questions of themselves and makes them laugh at the same time (Jackie Kay)
Achieves a moody, velvety atmosphere, as though events were unfolding under amber-tinted bulbs...offers a precise sketch of the British black middle class, with a daring fifth-act twist (Katy Waldman)
Evans gives us romance going cold with just as pitiless a precision as Flaubert in Madame Bovary... Evans's prose is magnificent: it's as if she measured each sentence, trimmed the excess weight, then fitted it into place
One of the very many things that makes this book exceptional is the even-handed sympathy and unflinching fidelity with which Evans charts the changing weather both of her protagonists’ emotions and family life. She excels at dialogue and she’s also a soulful lyrical chronicler of London in all its moods and guises
I’m currently very much enjoying Diana Evans’s novel Ordinary People, which takes a forensic look at the pleasures and perils of marriage and parenting and modern London living (Sarah Waters)
Ordinary People offers a unique insight into the complexities and the challenges of modern life, identity and that lovely little thing we call love. From the moment I started to read it I was absolutely gripped - that’s how good it is. It is a beautifully crafted, honest exploration of how relationships are forged and deconstructed, and how the everyday and the remarkable can exist side by side.
All stars
Most relevant
Not the narration accents were always reflective of the characters but a fab, enjoyable listen.

The characters were fully formed and plain to see. a very accessible book.

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Love this novel and it is read really well - great delineation between characters. looking forward to A House for Alice, the sequel

Great novel and performance

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I thoroughly enjoyed this story and looked forward to hearing more of it each time I was driving or cooking. The characters were fully developed and believable but there was a mystical aspect to the narrative. Although based very much in everyday life, the otherworldly theme left room for a sense of being carried along to an unknown conclusion. Particularly enjoyable, though painfully astute, were the moment by moment accounts of intimacy and failures of intimacy that happened at key moments in the relationships. Accutely familiar, they felt like descriptions of moments I'd known. Lastly, as a white person from very much a white background, I appreciated the 'ordinary'-ness of the lives, loves, feelings, preoccupations and confusions of the black and mixed heritage characters. I am choosing to read fiction by writers who are black, indigenous, and people of colour in order to learn allyship. This book has been important. Thank you.

engaging and enjoyable

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Great recommendation from Mark. sums up life, marriages, children and attempting havin it all.
excellent

Thanks Mark Adderley

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I really enjoyed Diana’s story of Melissa, Michael and their friends trying to find home and love in themselves and each other. It’s set in early 2000s South London, and explores the intersections of race, class, gender, as they grapple with new parenthood, relationships and how to be happy and free. Beautifully narrated.

Rare and beautiful story set in South London

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