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  • The Back of the Turtle

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Thomas King
  • Narrated by: Doug Philip
  • Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (130 ratings)

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The Back of the Turtle

Written by: Thomas King
Narrated by: Doug Philip
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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.

©2013 Thomas King (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about The Back of the Turtle

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Find a different audio version of this book

This book is read by Doug Philip and I will never listen to any other books he narrates. Throughout the whole TEN HOURS, he didn't use any intonation or emotions whatsoever. It's impossible to tell who's speaking until they're mentioned in the story, except for Nicholas Crisp, who Philip gives a weird maritimer's accent to. This is a shame because the lack luster performance is sharply contrasted by the brilliant story telling of Thomas King. Despite the environmental disaster that was central to the theme, I never felt bogged down by catastrophic state of affairs. I loved how King weaved his humor throughout the story. His characters were interesting & believable. Do yourself a favor and read the book, do not listen to this rendition by Doug Philip - Audible, you should have better standards than this.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

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

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

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

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

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

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Cautionary Tale

King is a great story teller. The Back of the Turtle is entertaining, funny and a scary tale of where our practice of abusing the earth is leading. I would love to hear this work read by King himself.

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

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

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Not the Thomas King I have enjoyed in the past . .

Leaving the dreadful reader performance aside the story is not engaging, with characters you just don't care about. Lovely symbolism with the turtles representing some hope for the environmental destruction humanity has unleashed. I finished it as I am stubborn and cannot leave a book unread when I am halfway through, but I would not recommend it to others.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

did not enjoy

I found the narrator really hard to listen to. I did not enjoy the storyline either. I got about halfway through before I decided to let this one go.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Lovely story telling

Really enjoyed this book. A different story than I’m used to, but the unique characters and humor in which they were presented carried me through.

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