Barbara the Slut and Other People
- Author Lauren Holmes
- Narrator Madeleine Rose, Christopher Ragland
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date 13 August 2015
- Run Time 5 hours and 17 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Contemporary lifestyle fiction, Family life fiction, Modern and contemporary fiction, Narrative theme: Coming of age, Narrative theme: Love and relationships, Satirical fiction and parodies, Short stories.
Click to open directly in the xigxag app.
Standard price shown. Sign in for personalised pricing.
Send as a gift Get in the xigxag appFlexible Pricing & Rewards For Listening
At xigxag, the more you read, the less you pay* on select audiobook and x-book® titles, as in the table below. Pricing updates automatically in the app and resets one year after your first purchase. And you can always find a selection of brilliant titles available for only €4.95.
Titles Purchased
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-15
- 16-20
- Over 20
Price per title
- €9.95
- €8.95
- €7.95
- €6.95
- €5.95
*Only the full price titles you buy count toward your personal pricing tier. Full price titles don’t include Listen for Less or other books bought with a voucher or discount code.
Listen to a sample
What to expect
‘Astonishing – one of those rare books that manages to be both poignant and hilarious. The last time we had a debut this big was Junot Díaz with ‘Drown’. Holmes is a major talent.’ Philipp Meyer
A fresh, honest, and darkly funny debut collection about family, friends, and lovers, and the flaws that make us most human.
One woman takes a job selling sex toys in San Francisco rather than embark on the law career she pursued only for the sake of her father. Another realises she much prefers the company of her pit bull — and herself — to the neurotic foreign fling who won’t decamp from her apartment. A daughter hauls a suitcase of lingerie to Mexico for her flighty, estranged mother to resell there, wondering whether her personal mission — to come out — is worth the same effort. And Barbara, a young woman with an autistic brother, a Princeton acceptance letter, and a love of sex navigates her high school’s toxic, slut-shaming culture with open eyes.
Fearless, candid, and incredibly funny, Lauren Holmes is a newcomer who writes like a master. She tackles eros and intimacy with a deceptively light touch, a keen awareness of how their nervous systems tangle and sometimes short-circuit, and a genius for revealing our most vulnerable, spirited selves. With heart, sass, and pitch-perfect characters, BARBARA THE SLUT is a head-turning debut from a writer with a limitless career before her.
Critics Review
‘Feisty artifice-free portraits of modern life’ Independent
n‘A fresh and darkly funny debut … Holmes has an enviable lightness of touch combined with a bracing honesty … Sassy and savvy’ Tatler
n‘Fans of Lena Dunham and Sloane Crossley will find much to love in this darkly funny collection about family and friends, all wrapped up in a hefty dose of millennial angst. With her scalpel-sharp worldview and dry turn of phrase, Holmes is one to watch’ Irish Independent
n‘Introduces a series of brilliant / bonkers narrators. Girls fans, in particular, will enjoy her riffs on modern love and friendships’ Glamour
n‘A book I couldn’t put down. An outstanding debut, refreshing and exciting, complex and really funny’ Nathan Englander
n‘A wonderful debut from a profound and sassy new voice. These seemingly effortless stories are uncommonly perceptive, deeply felt, and at the same time exceedingly funny’ Colum McCann
n‘Barbara the Slut turns our obsession with sex on its head in order to study it, dissect it, weaponize it … Empowering, rare, and well, pretty sexy’ Esquire
nTen precocious stories limn the deep humor, table-turning dualities, and inevitable bouts of screwed-upness that accompany getting through one’s twenties and beyond’
Elle
‘Simultaneously hilarious and deeply insightful’ Buzzfeed
n‘A comic writer of the highest standard. The stories in Barbara the Slut are far too good to keep to yourself – you will want to share them with someone immediately so you can talk about how brilliant and funny they are’ Katherine Heiny
n‘Holmes’ characters read like everyday people we’ve loved, hated, crossed the street to avoid and learned from, all described in her no doubt soon-to-be-recognized signature style’ Ms
n‘The people limned here are people we know. They may even be the people we are. A first-rate first collection from a young writer you'll want to hear more from’ Kirkus Reviews (starred)
nAbout xigxag
Experience the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed for seamless discovery, purchase, and enjoyment of your favorite titles. Our flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less, providing affordable prices and the best audiobook deals without requiring a subscription. Perfect for gifting, xigxag also features convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.
Beyond the listening experience, xigxag stands as an exciting alternative to big tech, embodying a strong commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we ensure a guilt-free listening experience from a leader in audiobook innovation.
Effortlessly search audiobooks, access honest audiobook reviews that evaluate both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. Whether you prefer to download or stream top audiobook titles, xigxag provides the best possible listening experience anytime, anywhere, on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Discover the future of audiobooks today.