The Listeners, Jordan Tannahill
The Listeners, Jordan Tannahill
List: $25.99 | Sale: $18.20
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The Listeners
A Novel

Author: Jordan Tannahill

Narrator: Deborah Pearson

Unabridged: 8 hr 27 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAvenue

Published: 08/17/2021

Synopsis

NATIONAL BESTSELLERSCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE FINALISTA propulsive literary page-turner about a family torn apart by a mother’s obsession with a sound that no one else can hearOne night, while lying in bed next to her husband, Claire Devon suddenly hears a low hum. This innocuous sound, which no one else in the house can hear, has no obvious source or medical cause, but it begins to upset the balance of Claire’s life. When she discovers that one of her students can also hear the hum, the two strike up an unlikely and intimate friendship. Finding themselves increasingly isolated from their families and colleagues, they fall in with a disparate group of people who also perceive the sound. What starts out as a kind of neighbourhood self-help group gradually transforms into something much more extreme, with far-reaching, devastating consequences. The Listeners is an electrifying novel that treads the thresholds of faith, conspiracy and mania. Compelling and exhilarating, it forces us to consider how strongly we hold on to what we perceive, and the way different views can tear a family apart. 

About Jordan Tannahill

JORDAN TANNAHILL is a playwright, novelist and director. His debut novel, Liminal, received France’s 2021 Prix des Jeunes Libraires. His second novel, The Listeners, was a finalist for the Giller Prize and adapted into a limited series for the BBC. His most recent play, Prince Faggot, made its world premiere in New York City in 2025 to widespread acclaim; his debut feature film, Rapture, is in production. He has twice won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama, and his work has been presented at the Young Vic and Sadler’s Wells theatres in London, the Kitchen and Lincoln Center in New York City, the Deutsches Theater in Berlin, and elsewhere. Born in Ottawa, he lives in New York City with his husband.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jayme on July 15, 2021

So, what’s the buzz on this book? Or, should I say the “HUM”? One night, Claire Devon realizes that she is hearing a constant low hum that won’t go away. Her husband Paul doesn’t hear it. Neither does her daughter, Ashley. Tests rule out anything “medical” so friends and her family begin to question h......more

Goodreads review by Krista on November 09, 2021

Tom, the Earth is making us aware of itself in the most extraordinary way. And you can choose to listen or can choose not to. But I am listening. Because I have been given the gift of being able to. And so have you. The first line of Jordan Tannahill’s Giller Prize-nominated The Listeners is: The......more

Goodreads review by Darryl on October 14, 2021

I LOVED THIS ONE (!!!!) What a totally unexpected ride. This is one of those books that keeps on getting better and better. What would happen if one day you heard a hum that no one else was able to hear and you had to learn to live this affliction? This book takes a clever and gutsy approach on tack......more

Goodreads review by Liz on April 10, 2021

The Listeners was terrific and not at all what I was expecting from the blurb (in a good way) – I immediately engaged with Claire, who we will follow along with in this novel as she goes through a life changing experience. I’m going to tag this as “Literary weird” which is a compliment- the writing i......more

Goodreads review by Bookworm on March 13, 2022

Oh geeze I really liked this book. It was such a unique story with many plot layers that kept my brain on high alert. I loved the play between science and faith. I also loved how this story delved into the contrasts between one’s own experience versus how the rest of the world perceives it. The gist......more

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