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Audiobooks, ratings, reviews (beta)

Happiness by Aminatta Forna

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a fox running around the city

Author: Aminatta Forna –


Publisher: W. F. Howes Ltd –


Genre: Fiction –


Overall rating: 5/5 –


Writing: 5/5 –


Duration: 13:09h (long) –


Narrator: Robin Miles –


Narrator/performance: 5/5 –


Impressions: 5/5 –


Performance errors: 1/5 –


Complexity/reading level: 2/5 –


Audience: General


Commentary/review

A deep yet feel-good piece of high quality literary fiction. The story takes place mostly in contemporary London and involves dedicated professionals. The novel covers phenomena which I care about – the well-being of animals, morality of our dietary habits, green spaces and plants in cities, overly controlled environments and societies, navigating cooperation and community, various meditations on happiness.

The book is written by a mature yet inventive writer, currently my very favorite. Her theories agree with me and I believe I understand her aesthetics. For me, such are the signs of a truly modern international author. I respect that scenes which could be hard to bear are provided in sufficient moderation. The book is eye-opening and rich in beautiful, masterful sentences. I believe this universally acclaimed book will survive for many years to come.

The audiobook is performed professionally and with noticeable acting skills. The characters are painted with varied and appealing voices. One of the main characters – Attila – is quite remarkable. Certainly an audiobook to recommend without reservations.

Happiness by Aminatta Forna audiobook cover
Aminatta Forna at the awards ceremony of the LiBeraturpreis 2008 for her book “Ancestor Stones”. Jürgen Matern released it under CC-BY-SA via Wikipedia

Lovely cover made with care and insight. The subject and its style accompany the general theme of the book ingeniously but without pretense.

Cover Photo by Jessica Moss on Unsplash