Canoes

Get in the xigxag app
Already purchased

Click to open directly in the xigxag app.

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book. Pre-order Buy Now €{{ price }} Send as a gift
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

A beautiful collection of seven short stories and a novella themed around women's voices from the author of Mend the Living and Painting Time

Seven interconnected stories orbit a central novella to create a collection of tales which resonate with the sound of women's voices.

A widower struggles to erase his wife's voice from his answering machine. Two old friends meet after a period apart and find they can no longer fit into their habitual rhythm. A woman records herself reading a poem for two sisters who obsessively collect voice recordings.

At the heart of Canoes is "Mustang", in which a woman moves with her family to the suburbs of Denver, where her partner takes up a research post. As her husband and child fit seamlessly into their new lives, she remains aloof, consumed by a feeling of not belonging, and observing as her loved ones change and adapt to these alien surroundings.

In this moving and deeply poetic audio collection, Maylis de Kerangal casts light on the balance between life and death, exploring the traces we leave upon each other's lives and creating space for women of all ages to be heard.

Translated from the French by Jessica Moore

(P)2023 Quercus Editions Limited

Critics Review

When a new book by de Kerangal translated by Jessica Moore land son the mat during Women in Translation Month, it's clear that somewhere up above the thick blanket of summer cloud the stars are aligning
The New European
The beauty of Kerangal's poetic, multi-layered stories, full of sensory detail and expertly translated by Jessica Moore, lies in their emotional resonance. Anyone dealing with change cannot fail to be moved
Financial Times
De Kerangal's work is the translation of voice into the material for text. [...] And translation, in one form or another, is central to Canoes: translation from one country to another, from old pasts to new presents. Then there is the matter of translation and its consequence - transformation - as the task of the writer
Times Literary Supplement
De Kerangal is a wonderfully attentive writer with an ear for the most apposite word (a challenge elegantly met by Jessica Moore, who translated the book from the French) as this pitch-perfect collection reveals
Daily Mail

More from the same

Narrator

About 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.