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The Back of the Turtle
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Doug Philip
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
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The Back of the Turtle
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Publisher's Summary
Winner of the 2014 Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction!
This is Thomas King's first literary novel in 15 years and follows on the success of the award-winning and best-selling The Inconvenient Indian and his beloved Green Grass, Running Water and Truth and Bright Water, both of which continue to be taught in Canadian schools and universities. Green Grass, Running Water is widely considered a contemporary Canadian classic.
In The Back of the Turtle, Gabriel returns to Smoke River, the reserve where his mother grew up and to which she returned with Gabriel's sister. The reserve is deserted after an environmental disaster killed the population, including Gabriel's family, and the wildlife. Gabriel, a brilliant scientist working for Domidion, created GreenSweep, and indirectly led to the crisis. Now he has come to see the damage and to kill himself in the sea. But as he prepares to let the water take him, he sees a young girl in the waves. Plunging in, he saves her, and soon is saving others. Who are these people with their long black hair and almond eyes who have fallen from the sky?
Filled with brilliant characters, trademark wit, wordplay, and a thorough knowledge of native myth and story-telling, this novel is a masterpiece by one of our most important writers.
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What listeners say about The Back of the Turtle
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Lori
- 2022-03-28
Characters and story both keep you wanting more
I really loved this one! wish it kept going hah hah the characters are very memorable and even at the end you are left with the sense something supernatural is afoot, although it is never explicitly stated.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Memememe
- 2019-07-16
Great Book
Highly recommend. The story and performance well done and amusing. Narrator does a great job with characters.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michelle
- 2022-01-17
Had to buy the book
Because the way the narrator read this book was disconcerting. Inflection all wrong and so much more. Great story…badly read. Buy the book and read it yourself.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jpenguin
- 2018-09-13
A timely, enjoyable read
Thomas King's The Back of the Turtle is a rare gem that explores topical themes like environmental destruction, corporate corruption, and the legacy of colonialism without letting the reader lose hope. The book takes place after an environmental catastrophe has destroyed a small coastal town, driving away the turtles and the tourists, killing residents of the local reserve and leaving much of the area deserted.
With wit and tenderness, and copious references to both Shakespeare and Indigenous myth, King weaves together the stories of a CEO who finds fulfillment in conspicuous consumption; an Indigenous scientist fleeing the horrors he's created; a woman who returns to the reserve where she grew up; a young man who hasn't been the same since the town's ecology and economy collapsed, and a Puck-like older man who seems to know just what all the other characters need to know. Oh, and a mysterious and important dog. A good choice for thoughtful vacation reading. #Audible1
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Book Mom
- 2021-02-06
That narration...
What on earth. Remarkable story but I couldn’t listen to that narration. Horrible. Very disappointing
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mary
- 2019-03-02
Narrator sounds like a sportscaster
Hard to feel the emotion in this otherwise interesting, thought-provoking story that reflects the ills of unfeeling corporate greed and short attention span of the media. Perhaps intentional but it was hard to care for the characters as the narrator's drone felt like a sportscaster reading of last night's unexceptional highlights. Struggled to pay attention. This from someone who generally loves audiobooks.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Caitlin
- 2021-09-24
Unsettling and cozy
Tom King once again makes the familiar strange, the esoteric familiar, and the mundane and awkward so very endearing and grubby. This is a story that is shaped with stories, the ground level horrors of ecological destruction, and the soporific power of consumerism. It defies proper description.
This narrator, though. It sounds like he's reading ad copy through the whole novel. I feel as though I am being sold a car, a toothpaste, a once-in-a-lifetime experience for only 6 easy payments of 19.95! It was seriously jarring and did not work well for most of the POV characters, aside from maybe the vapid CEO. His is not a storytelling voice and it really detracted from my enjoyment of the story.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lexus
- 2021-12-16
What was that narration?
This is a fantastic book, and Thomas King should be proud of it. However, the narrator was just awful. It made this book a slog, which is impressive considering how good it is otherwise. I recommend reading this story, rather than listening to it. If you can only listen to this story for whatever reason, this isn't the book for you.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2023-01-30
Outstanding
A classic novel. Thomas King is a seasoned storyteller, The narration is outstanding, Doug Phillip brings the book to life. I'd recommend this book for all Canadians to enjoy.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- R Jarvis
- 2021-02-19
It will make you think
An interesting listen where the story makes you ponder issues that are very relevant and often disagreed upon. A beginning or end don't seem to be the objective, more about how you perceive the now.
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1 person found this helpful