Listen free for 30 days

  • Women Talking

  • Written by: Miriam Toews
  • Narrated by: Matthew Edison
  • Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (508 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Women Talking cover art

Women Talking

Written by: Miriam Toews
Narrated by: Matthew Edison
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $42.11

Buy Now for $42.11

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

A FINALIST FOR THE GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD: A transformative and necessary work--as completely unexpected as it is inspired--by the award-winning author of the bestselling novels All My Puny Sorrows and A Complicated Kindness.

The sun rises on a quiet June morning in 2009. August Epp sits alone in the hayloft of a barn, anxiously bent over his notebook. He writes quickly, aware that his solitude will soon be broken. Eight women--ordinary grandmothers, mothers and teenagers; yet to August, each one extraordinary-- will climb the ladder into the loft, and the day's true task will begin. This task will be both simple and subversive: August, like the women, is a traditional Mennonite, and he has been asked to record a secret conversation.

Thus begins Miriam Toews' spellbinding novel. Gradually, as we hear the women's vivid voices console, tease, admonish, regale and debate each other, we piece together the reason for the gathering: they have forty-eight hours to make a life-altering choice on behalf of all the women and children in the colony. And like a vast night sky coming into view behind the bright sparks of their voices, we learn of the devastating events that have led to this moment.

Acerbic, funny, tender, sorrowful and wise, Women Talking is composed of equal parts humane love and deep anger. It is award-winning writer Miriam Toews' most astonishing novel to date, containing within its two short days and hayloft setting an expansive, timeless universe of thinking and feeling about women--and men--in our contemporary world.

©2018 Miriam Toews (P)2018 Knopf Canada

What the critics say

  • Finalist for the 2018 Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction

“An exquisite critique of patriarchal culture.... Stunningly original and altogether arresting.” (Kirkus Review, starred review)

“[A] sharp blade of a novel.... Toews’s eviscerating fictionalization of this incendiary reality focuses not on the violence but, rather, on the keen, subversive intelligence of the Mennonite women, their philosophical casts of mind, clashing personalities, and deep concerns about family and faith." (Booklist, starred review)  

“Compelling.... Women Talking is no ordinary book, and even before hitting the shelves it’s got people talking. Some who received advance copies, including Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, have placed it firmly in the camp of feminist books that will become part of a canon that questions the patriarchy.” (Deborah Dundas, Toronto Star)

Editorial Review

From Miriam Toews, the award-winning author of the bestselling novels All My Puny Sorrows and A Complicated Kiss, comes Women Talking, an impactful and necessary work about women and the struggles they face in a patriarchal society. This riveting novel and bestseller is based on real events in a Mennonite colony in Bolivia between 2005 and 2009, wherein seven men of the colony were accused of drugging and sexually assaulting more than 130 women and girls.

Set in the fictional Mennonite community of Molotschna and taking place over 48 hours, Women Talking focuses on August Epp, a former outcast who has recently been welcomed back into the fold. August sits alone in the colony’s hayloft, preparing for what is to come. Eight members of the Mennonite colony—all women—arrive to detail their experiences, describing how they—and many other women and children—have suffered being tormented and violated by the community’s most powerful men.

Throughout the tales that the women weave, listeners begin to understand why they have entered the hayloft to speak to Epp: they need a voice. The women do not speak English and cannot read or write. As the devastating events are revealed, the women wrestle with what they should do next. Should they do nothing? Should they stay and fight? Or should they leave the community altogether?

Matthew Edison narrates this astonishing account of women’s oppression and courage. Listen before you watch— Women Talking is now an award-winning film directed by Sarah Polley and starring Jessie Buckley and Claire Foy.

Featured Article: Outstanding Female Authors Everyone Ought to Listen to


Throughout history, women have crafted some of the most incredible and beloved stories in the world. From rising stars to household names, female authors have contributed some of the best works of all time for our listening pleasure. At times, especially in societies where gender roles and expectations were rigidly defined, women would write under pen names to avoid the fact that a woman was behind the work. Discover the best female authors.

What listeners say about Women Talking

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    282
  • 4 Stars
    127
  • 3 Stars
    67
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    15
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    285
  • 4 Stars
    109
  • 3 Stars
    39
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    8
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    256
  • 4 Stars
    100
  • 3 Stars
    60
  • 2 Stars
    18
  • 1 Stars
    14

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Painful subject, frustrating to listen to..

This is based on a true story about a large group of mennonite women who drugged and raped. The are told by the men the community that they must forgive the rapists and have to make a decision in 48 hours to stay and forgive, or leave. There is a lot of philosophical discussion between an oppressed group of women in a patriarchal religion. The narrator in the story is a man , and I find this makes it very irritating to listen to.
I read for relaxation and enjoyment so this is not a book for me and had to stop listening after 2 hours.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

24 people found this helpful

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

I want more

This book was so good but I wish I could hear this story from the women.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

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

Wow

Really interesting storytelling. Despite being about a heavy subject, this story did not depress me. It feels hopeful and beautiful.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

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

Excellent!!

This is an amazing well written book. For people who were not happy with the fact that it was a male narrator... they should have kept listening because in chapter 2 or 3 we find out that the school teacher who's point of view the story is told from is a male so it would actually be weird to have a female narrate this story. Also if you know anything about traditional Mennonite culture you would understand why it is a male taking minutes in the meeting of women. The author does and excellent job explaining this in the story as well.

This is the first book I have ever read or listened to of this author. Her ability to weave the story and the research she put into it is very relevant and will be reading or listening to more by her.

The preface were we get to hear where the idea came from and the authors voice really set the tone and sent me down a research path into the story of the Manitoba colony in Bolivia in the early 2000's. Thank you so much for this great book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

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

A must read

So well written. Dialogue exquisite. The dialogue really drew me into the sentiment of the characters. I felt a part of the colony while reading and listening the novel. I could readily sense the environment, the landscape, the people, the smells, the structures, the tensions, the voices ... the agony. The dramatization was well done. In a word, I savoured the story and wanted it to continue. Bravo, Miriam , for yet another moving insight into why people behave the way they do.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

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

Wonderful Book

I loved the brave woman in this book who with no knowledge of the world they ventured forth into did so anyway as they placed the safety of their children above their own .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

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

loved it!

very touching story showing the strength, passion and intelligence and will of "simple" women living in a repressed society.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

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

A wry retelling ...

A wry retelling of horrific events, giving voice to those who were voiceless in a way that sidesteps sentimentality and confronts darkness with light and adept humor. Enjoyable listen.

I do wonder, is it intentional that the women's voices and minutes are relayed by a man? And does this small redemtion, on behalf of mennonite men, transmit another message of hope?

An important addition to modern feminist literature.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

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

zzzzz

this is one of the most boring books I have ever read and I was so excited to read it. absolutely nothing happens. I held.on until about 3/4 through expecting some kind of excitement. very disappointing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

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

Did not enjoy

Story was annoying to try and follow especially with this narrator. He mispronounces a lot of the names and is pretty monotone. It was really hard to get through.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful