Reviews for The Listener

The average rating for The Listener based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-01-19 00:00:00 Justin Perry This book was set in a psychiatric hospital shortly after WWII and at first it seemed to be about unraveling the psychiatric problems of a particular patient. Then it seemed to be about who this patient really was and what he had actually done in the war. But it was also about the connection between the doctor, the patient and the nurse they were both in love with. And just when you thought you might actually get some answers...it turns out that it was all about the doctor's own obsession and instability - I think. Although the book was mostly well written and intermittently interesting, the narrator wasn't terribly likeable and in the end was not reliable, which threw all of the events of the last 300 pages into question and made it a very unsatisfying read for me.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-03-27 00:00:00 William Robinson A very strange story and one that was very difficult to read. The author's style left me so confused about the characters she created and the problems they encountered. The main character, Dr. Harrison, is a psychiatrist in a mental institution. This place evidently treated only the wealthy because the patients were allowed to bring a servant along with them! The majority of the clients suffered from the effects that WWII created for them. The atrocities they witnessed and sometimes participated in left them reeling and unable to forgive themselves. The book left me with so many unanswered questions, but by the time I had finished reading it I didn't care anymore!