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The Polished Hoe

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The Polished Hoe

Written by: Austin Clarke
Narrated by: Robin Miles
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About this listen

Winner of both the Giller Prize and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, The Polished Hoe is acclaimed author Austin Clarke's masterpiece.

On a Caribbean island in the 1950s, elderly Mary Gertrude Mathilda commits murder. As she explains herself to police, her story exposes the ugly underbelly of life on Caribbean plantations, with its slavery and brutality.

When Mary-Mathilda, one of the most respected women of the island of Bimshire (also known as Barbados) calls the police to confess to the crime, the result is a shattering all-night vigil that brings together elements of the island's African past and the tragic legacy of colonialism in one epic sweep.

Set in the West Indies in the period following World War II, The Polished Hoe - an Essence best seller and a Washington Post Book World Most Worthy Book of 2003 - unravels over the course of 24 hours but spans the collective experience of a society characterized by slavery.

©2003 Austin Clarke (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Caribbean Crime

What the critics say

"Brilliantly written dialogue, a rich, dancing patois that fills out the dimensions of the island's painful history and its complex caste system." (Publishers Weekly)
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This is my first time listening to an audio book and I really loved it! The narrator is clear with her reading. It is somewhat east to follow, as I tend to get confused on which character is speaking. The narrator used different accents and made me feel like I'm watching a live play at the theatre. Anyway, I highly recommend this audio book.

recommend

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I’m still new a picking audiobooks. I’ve endured many. This was a pleasure to spend my time with. Thank you

Enjoyable tough subject

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I don't normally write reviews... I'm not great at formulating my thoughts in a way that I feel would be useful to someone else, and I dislike making a negative critique of a piece of work into which someone has poured their life and soul. But I could not help myself here.... this story is painfully slow. I did quite enjoy the narration of Robin Miles, but the pace of the story and the repetition are just too much. I got five hours in, and realized I'M ONLY FIVE HOURS IN. Quitting now before any more of my life is invested.

SLLLLLOOOOOOOWWW

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NOTHING happens in this book. Extremely boring, but I plodded through because I spent the money. Then the recording was faulty and stopped with 4 minutes left in the book.

One of the worst audio books ever.

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This book was painful to get through. i dont understand how it won an award. i had to read it for a uni class or i would have quit. very repetitve and boring. the performance was good but story sucked

Had to read this for a class

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