Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.
Title: Death of an Owl
Author: Paul Torday, Piers Torday
Narrator: Leighton Pugh
Format: Unabridged
Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
Language: English
Release date: 04-14-16
Publisher: Orion Publishing Group
Ratings: 2 of 5 out of 1 votes
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary
Publisher's Summary:
Brought up in Switzerland, the only son of well-to-do parents, Charles Fryerne is somewhat unprepared for the world he meets when he goes up to Oxford University in the early 1980s. There he meets a fascinating social set, including a stellar young playwright, a student dubbed 'the future leader of the Conservative party' and a mercurial figure with ambitions to become the youngest prime minister since Pitt.
When they leave university, the characters go their separate ways. But as Charles' career as a journalist takes off, he finds himself once more in their orbit and observes firsthand the price of ambition and the inner workings of the political machine. And when the country's future leader accidentally hits an owl on a country road, there are difficult choices to be made....
Death of an Owl is a satire on political expediency and spin from the author of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.
Members Reviews:
Four Stars
A bit slow to start but intriguing.
Death of an Owl
I have always enjoyed Paul Tordayâs novels and was saddened by his death. This, his last novel, was completed by his son, Piers, and I am sure that his father would have been pleased it made it into print. The book begins in 1981, when Charles Freyne returned to England with his ex-pat parents. Charles comes from a large, but somewhat scattered, family; although they make great efforts to meet up for important events. At one such event, he first meets his distant American cousin, Caroline Woodchester.
Charles is soon at Oxford, where he is invited to join Merlinâs, a rather exclusive dining club, and meets the âCollege Swan,â Andrew Landford. The nickname comes from Andrewâs cool and collected outward demeanour, where everything he does looks effortless, while he is desperately paddling away beneath the surfaceâ Despite others reservations, Charles likes Andrew, and they meet up again some years later when, to his surprise, Charles finds that Andrew and Caroline are romantically involved.
I really liked the beginning of this book. The relationships between Charles and Andrew and Charles and Caroline worked really well. I was totally engrossed at the rise of Charles and his successful career and, in the background, Andrewâs rise to Deputy Leader of the Opposition and possible next Prime Minister. Of course, though, the whole novel revolves around the death of an owl â as the very title tells us. This takes place years after we meet the characters when Charles and Andrew, plus their respective wives, are going for a weekend at Andrewâs family home.
Throughout the years, Andrew has acted as an advisor for Charles and is renowned for his honesty. However, when Andrew is driving he hits, then kills, an owl. A minor tragedy, you might feel, but in Paul Tordayâs hands, this event is cleverly played. Andrew Landford is on a parliamentary committee which recently toughened up the Wildlife and Countryside Act; making it a criminal offence to kill an owl, even by accident. Now, Andrew finds himself in an awkward position and, when a neighbour finds the bird and reports the offence to the police, the situation begins to spiral out of control.
I found the end of this book quite disappointing, especially after a strong start.
