
The Spire
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Narrated by:
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Benedict Cumberbatch
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By:
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William Golding
About this listen
Dean Jocelin has a vision: that God has chosen him to erect a great spire on his cathedral. His mason anxiously advises against it, for the old cathedral was built without foundations. Nevertheless, the spire rises octagon upon octagon, pinnacle by pinnacle, until the stone pillars shriek and the ground beneath it swims. Its shadow falls ever darker on the world below, and on Dean Jocelin in particular.
From the author of Lord of the Flies, The Spire is a dark and powerful portrait of one man's will, and the folly that he creates.
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What listeners say about The Spire
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Kate Hoole
- 03-29-15
Twisty and dark
Twisty and dark story with a building sense of doom. Wonderfully read by Benedict Cumberbatch, who employs a wide range of voices and creates the dean's character brilliantly.
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4 people found this helpful
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- P. C. Jorgensen
- 05-10-23
Horrifying study of ghastly man
This is a magnificent, immersive story of cathedrals, ego, and bloodless treachery. Brought to life by brilliant reading by Benedict Cumberbatch, this was both beautiful in its prose and architectural worship, and disarmingly terrifying in its interior viewpoint within a deeply horrible man, descending into madness and darkness. Just brilliant!
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- Leena
- 11-15-14
Power through for a deep exam. of a man's psyche
Where does The Spire rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This is a complicated book. I'm not sure it lends itself all that well to an audio version. But I'm still new to audio books, and find I like them best when I can be a tad bit distracted when listening to them. This is a not a book to digest while being distracted. It requires full attention.
What did you like best about this story?
I enjoyed the many levels this story exists on. It is a story, told from one (increasingly crazy) man about his desires, actions, and motivations.
What about Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance did you like?
I read this book as I listened, so I noticed he occasionally took small liberties. Jocelyn spoke with more contractions! So if you are a purist, know that. But the voices he infused the characters with were fantastic.
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18 people found this helpful
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- Cigdem
- 05-01-16
Powerful narrator meets powerful literature
Fantastic narrating from Cumberbatch, plus splendid literature from Golding. It is so immersive and such a music to my ears - it was truely striking
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- Anonymous User
- 08-10-19
worth reading
I liked the story, probably will come back to it.
The performance was great (not a surprise).
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2 people found this helpful
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- Barbara A Dignan
- 05-17-15
The Spire Inspires
Captivating story. The writing was exquisite-- practically poetry. Cumberbatch used his talents of creating accents to the fullest. Fabulous book!
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2 people found this helpful
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- billmccauley
- 06-23-23
Excellent book
The book is great but the performance is even better. Cumberbach outdoes himself. If he was reading the ABCs aloud he would be worth listening to.
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- Jenna
- 07-18-17
incredible performance, exceptional prose
not sure I would have enjoyed this quote so much if not for the enthusiastic, expressive, invested performance of the narrator.
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-15-17
Cumberbatch. Cumberbatch. Cumberbatch
May he take this up full time. I enjoyed this story on its own but the narration raised it quite a bit as well
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- Jacquelyn Koh
- 02-25-15
Enjoyable book
Where does The Spire rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Most others are stories, I'd say this should be required reading for Engineering students (especially those who will specialize in Project Management) in Freshman English class.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Spire?
The confrontation between Roger Mason and Jocelin, when Roger Mason shows how much he'd already done to try and make the Spire work and Jocelin's blind faith practically drives him to despair, though he still tries his best to find a solution.
Which scene was your favorite?
The memorable moment mentioned above.
If you could rename The Spire, what would you call it?
Watching a Train Wreck About to Happen
Any additional comments?
The performance by Benedict Cumberbatch was phenomenal. He inhabited his characters and the voices he created for each character made the book easy to follow and kept me riveted.
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5 people found this helpful