The Circumference of the World, Lavie Tidhar
The Circumference of the World, Lavie Tidhar
List: $16.95 | Sale: $11.87
Club: $8.47

The Circumference of the World

Author: Lavie Tidhar

Narrator: Maxwell Caulfield, Justine Eyre, Stefan Rudnicki

Unabridged: 6 hr 20 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/05/2023

Categories: Fiction, Science Fiction

Synopsis

Caught between realities, a mathematician, a book dealer, and a mobster desperately seek a notorious book that disappears upon being read.Only the author, a rakish sci-fi writer, knows whether his popular novel is truthful or a hoax. In a story that is cosmic, inventive, and sly, multi-award-winning author Lavie Tidhar (Central Station) travels from the emergence of life to the very ends of the universe.Delia Welegtabit discovered two things during her childhood on a South Pacific island: her love for mathematics and a novel that isn’t supposed to exist. But the elusive book proves unexpectedly dangerous. Oskar Lens, a science fiction–obsessed mobster in the midst of an existential crisis, will stop at nothing to find the novel. After Delia’s husband, Levi, goes missing, she seeks help from Daniel Chase, a young, face-blind book dealer.The infamous novel Lode Stars was written by the infamous Eugene Charles Hartley: legendary pulp science-fiction writer and founder of the Church of the All-Seeing Eyes. In Hartley’s novel, a doppelganger of Delia searches for her missing father in a strange star system. But is any of Lode Stars real? Was Hartley a cynical conman on a quest for wealth and immortality, creating a religion he did not believe in? Or was he a visionary who truly discovered the secrets of the universe?

About Lavie Tidhar

Lavie Tidhar is an acclaimed author of science fiction, fantasy, and graphic novels, as well as middle grade fiction. He has won the British Science Fiction, British Fantasy, and World Fantasy awards, among others. He is editor of the Apex Best of World Science Fiction series and a columnist for the Washington Post. His speaking appearances include Cambridge University, PEN, and the Singapore Writers Festival. He has been a guest of honor at book conventions in Japan, Poland, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, China, and elsewhere. He is a visiting professor and writer in residence at the American International University.

About Maxwell Caulfield

Maxwell Caulfield is a film, stage, and television actor best known for his roles as Michael Carrington in the 1982 film Grease 2 and Miles Colby in the television shows The Colbys and Dynasty. His other acting credits include the films Gettysburg, The Real Blonde, and Emmerdale. He has won six AudioFile Earphones Awards.

About Justine Eyre

Justine Eyre is a classically trained actress who has narrated many audiobooks, earning the prestigious Audie Award for best narration and numerous Earphones Awards. She is multilingual and known for her great facility with accents. She has appeared on stage, with leading roles in King Lear and The Crucible, and has had starring roles in four films on the indie circuit. Her television credits include Two and a Half Men and Mad Men.

About Stefan Rudnicki

Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than five thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than nine hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices in 2012.

Reviews

Goodreads review by The Speculative Shelf on April 26, 2023

Reading a new Lavie Tidhar novel is always a treat. You can count on engaging prose paired with an inventive story and The Circumference of the World certainly fits that bill. Jumping between seemingly unrelated narrative threads, Tidhar spins a tale about an elusive novel that galvanizes everyone in......more

Goodreads review by Shirin on May 08, 2023

7/10 "Is life as we know it a reconstruction? Are we no longer alive, but trapped inside the event horizon of a black hole? Is that what you believe?" This is a tale of individuals who share a common connection - a book penned by an American author in the 1950s. The book somehow came up with the true......more

Goodreads review by Trish on September 22, 2023

OK so. I picked this up after my wingman buddy-reader was going batshit over it. Never heard of the book before, never heard of the author before. What can I say about this book? First off: it's crazy. It's very imaginative and combines themes I never thought could be successfully combined. We have......more

Goodreads review by Christina on August 23, 2023

3.5 stars rounded up Lode Star, an elusive novel written by the pulp science fiction writer Eugene Charles Hartley, draws together an unlikely group of people: a mathematician, a book dealer, a mobster and a woman searching for her missing father and husband. But what is Lode Star? Is it a guide to......more

Goodreads review by Kara on September 23, 2023

Another story about stories, this time a metafictional romp through a Scientologyesque religion and the end of the universe. Lavie Tidhar’s The Circumference of the World is imaginative and, dare I say, quite a bit wacky; however, it never coalesced into something I would call enjoyable. Thanks to N......more

Quotes

“Expertly delivered by a trinity of talent…This collaborative effort results in a well-orchestrated listening experience.” AudioFile

“[A] melancholy, beautiful, and yet improbably light-touch narrative.” New Scientist

“Inventive, thought-provoking, audacious and, as ever with Tidhar, superbly readable, this is where his genius lies.” The Guardian (London)

“An ambitious and ambiguous book showing Tidhar at top form.” Chicago Review of Books

“Lyrically entangles scientific fact, mysticism, and mental illness. This is a knockout.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Tidhar’s rich portrayal of the pulpy golden age of science fiction, distinctive characters, and nimble turns of phrase make for a cool confection.” Kirkus Reviews

“A compelling story of obsession and greed that will make readers think about the nature of reality.” Library Journal

“Tidhar wins it all with this magnificently original mind-bender of a novel.” Junot Díaz, Pulitzer Prize–winning author

“Can we all just admit now that Lavie Tidhar’s a genius?” Daryl Gregory, author of Pandemonium

“Ingeniously constructed and stylistically protean, this seven-course banquet of a novel glistens with the Golden Age of science fiction, even as it nourishes our neurons with a marvelous thought experiment.” James Morrow, author of Shambling towards Hiroshima

Awards

  • Publishers Weekly Best Book
  • Literary Hub Pick
  • Los Angeles Times Best Book
  • Locus Magazine Pick
  • Guardian Pick
  • New Scientist Magazine Pick
  • Foreword Magazine Pick
Add to Cart
Add to Wish List