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Capital

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Capital

By: John Lanchester
Narrated by: Colin Mace
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£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

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Pepys Road: an ordinary street in the Capital. Each house has seen its fair share of first steps and last breaths, and plenty of laughter in between. Today, through each letterbox along this ordinary street drops a card with a simple message: We Want What You Have. Following the residents of Pepys Road, Capital features a cast of characters that you will be sad to leave behind.

©2012 John Lanchester (P)2012 W F Howes Ltd Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Funny
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I started listening to this book while walking through St James Park and my immediate opinion was how well tha author had captured London life. The characters may at first appear to be cliches but there is no denying they exist in real life. I love the way he manages to interplay their stories without any corny contrived 'going in and out of eachother's houses'. The stories have a light tone but he tackles some serious issues including terrorism, national identity and how asylum seekers are treated. I personally think this book provides a fascinating snapshot of London life since the recession started and it would be interesting to re-visit this sometime in the future.

On a more mundane note, the book may be long but it is divided into short chapters and this makes this a very easy listen when you have to dip in and out of the story. The narrator has to convey a multitude of voices and he does a first rate job.

Teems with London life

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I normally like to see some reviews prior to purchasing but something about this one grabbed my attention when it was just released. I was not disappointed. I give this book a 5 for original concept and a good cracking listen. Kept me interested all the way.

Highly recommended

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I purchased both the print book of this novel and the audio book and have to say that I really appreciated the novel most when it was brought to life in audio. It's a lively and engaging listen with several laughs along the way. Great stories about slightly stereotypical figures in London.

Engrossing listen

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I haven't enjoyed a book a book as much as this in ages. Please write a sequel! Very entertaining, dry and witty.

Really enjoyable

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I did enjoy this very well-written slice of London life. The concentration on a variety of people living on one road made for a great cross-section of Londoners (except none of them were very poor - or at least not in a way they couldn't remedy with hard work). Colin Mace's narration is excellent and several of the characters were very engaging. It was a bit glib in places and I'm not sure about the overarching plot, but it kept me listening.

A Corner of London

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