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Mockingbird cover art

Mockingbird

Written by: Walter Tevis
Narrated by: Robert Fass, Nicole Poole
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Publisher's Summary

In a world where the human population has suffered devastating losses, a handful of survivors cling to what passes for life in a postapocalyptic, dying landscape. A world where humans wander, drugged and lulled by electronic bliss. A dying world of no children and no art, where reading is forbidden. And a strange love triangle: Spofforth, who runs the world, the most perfect machine ever created, whose only wish is to die; and Paul and Mary Lou, a man and a woman whose passion for each other is the only hope for the future of human beings on Earth.

An elegiac dystopia of mankind coming to terms with its own imminent extinction, Mockingbird was nominated for a Nebula Award for Best Novel.

©2014 Walter Tevis (P)2016 Tantor

What the critics say

" Mockingbird will become one of those books that coming generations will periodically rediscover with wonder and delight." ( The Washington Post)

What listeners say about Mockingbird

Average Customer Ratings
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    4 out of 5 stars

Oddly disjointed

The story was ok. I didn't find myself really caring about any of the characters and then the book was over.

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5 people found this helpful

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New favourite

This might be one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever consumed. There is a profound sadness and hope that dance so beautifully throughout the story.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent SciFi book.

I loved this book I had read the book a number of times and it was nice to have it read to me. Some how it seems almost real. Worth a read If you like SciFi.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

oh, brave new world

A touching and thought provoking story, perfectly performed. Tevis revisits themes from Brave New World and other distopian fiction, adding his own unique voice.
And, as you might expect, chess makes a small appearance.

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2 people found this helpful

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Well written!

The writing was poetic, and the story was hopeful for mankind. The morose essence in the story still prevailed. The suicides were never fully explained except with the overall hopelessness of the life. I have very mixed feelings about this book and encourage others to read it. I think it would provoke good discussions in a book group.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Haunting and beautiful dystopian novel

This was a novel I was unaware of before this summer and so I came to it with no expectations and came away dazzled. What a wonderful and beautifully written novel. It deserves to be far better known and more widely read. Published in 1980 it makes me wonder again if all the great books had already been written by that time (and most of the great films and music made already). I was 10 in 1980 and so this is not entirely nostalgia. At any rate I highly recommend this book and promise myself to read more by Walter Tevis.

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1 person found this helpful

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Orwell would be proud

In many ways, this novel reminds me of the dystopian story told by George Orwell in his iconic tale, "1984". It's a frightening revelation as to where our modern, enlightened society could devolve. This is a book that subtly just keeps getting better and better as it goes along, due in large part to the exceptional skill of the two narrators. It is a book that gives new meaning to the phrases, "the whole is greater than its parts", and, "hope springs eternal in the human breast". I highly recommend it.

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1 person found this helpful

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interesting from start to finish!

For me this book had everything intrigue ,Adventure, love ,feelings of the past and the future. Without attempting a spoiler alert ....close to the end I was fearful of a disaster, a must-read for everyone absolutely could not put this down. Turned it on first thing in the morning allowed it to run even while I was falling asleep had to backtrack and start it again first thing in the morning 😊 The narration was fantastic, set a good voice to listen to. Highly recommend looking into purchasing this book to all !! 👍👍

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A thoughtful adventure

The pace is slow but the narrative is very interesting. The author was ahead of his time in regards to the direction mankind is heading and the novel on the whole was a meditation on the things we let go when we don't appreciate them.

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The narrator grows on you

A surprising story with a interesting plot and compelling characters. I found the narrator a little dry for my liking but he grew on me. The story makes up for his shortcomings.

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