Shooting Martha
- Author David Thewlis
- Narrator David Thewlis, Kelly Hotten
- Publisher Orion
- Publish Date 5 August 2021
- Run Time 10 hours and 55 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Family life fiction, Films, cinema, Individual actors and performers, Individual film directors, film-makers, Modern and contemporary fiction, Occult fiction, Parenting: advice and issues, Theatre studies.
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 £3.99.
Titles Purchased
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-15
- 16-20
- Over 20
Price per title
- £7.99
- £6.99
- £5.99
- £4.99
- £3.99
*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
Daily Mail
'Really funny. David is a great writer'
Paula Hawkins, Good Housekeeping
'A riotously good novel, witty and earnest, brimming with creeping suspense'
Anna Bailey, Sunday Times bestselling author of Tall Bones
'Deliciously smart... One of the year's most memorable novels'
B P Walter, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Dinner Guest
Celebrated director Jack Drake can't get through his latest film (his most personal yet) without his wife Martha's support. The only problem is, she's dead...
When Jack sees Betty Dean - actress, mother, trainwreck - playing the part of a crazed nun on stage in an indie production of The Devils, he is struck dumb by her resemblance to Martha. Desperate to find a way to complete his masterpiece, he hires her to go and stay in his house in France and resuscitate Martha in the role of 'loving spouse'.
But as Betty spends her days roaming the large, sunlit rooms of Jack's mansion - filled to the brim with odd treasures and the occasional crucifix - and her evenings playing the part of Martha over scripted video calls with Jack, she finds her method acting taking her to increasingly dark places. And as Martha comes back to life, she carries with her the truth about her suicide - and the secret she guarded until the end.
Critics Review
'Thewlis has taken the turn-of-the-millennium London art scene and eviscerated it and the resulting gore makes for wonderful entertainment... This is a funny and successful satire of the contemporary art world, but at its core, it is a novel about the over-indulged and fragile artist's ego, about insecurity, about the darker layers of human relationships... Hilarious and horror-filled' Francesca Segal, Observer
'Exquisitely written with a warm heart and a wry wit... Stunning' Elle
'A fine study in character disintegration and a very funny satire on the contemporary art world' David Baddiel, The Times
'A queasily entertaining carnival of art and self-destruction' FT
'Thewlis has a driving, spiky prose style and a way with blackly comic scenarios' New Statesman
'Thewlis has an eye for grotesque minutiae and, unsurprisingly for an esteemed actor, a real feel for dialogue and wordplay' The List
'Thewlis...has successfully transferred his talents to the page, displaying a sharp ear for dialogue and a scabrously satiric prose style' Daily Mail
'[Thewlis] great debut novel is a wry account of a spoilt middle-man's collapse' InStyle
'This laugh-out-loud, darkly intelligent debut suggests that Thewlis might meet with considerable success should he decide to quit acting and take up the pen full-time... Readers who have mourned the end of Sue Townsend's wonderful, long-running Adrian Mole series will find solace of a sort here, as will anyone who enjoys a thought-provoking skewering of modern art by a knowledgeable writer and an inescapably doomed but appealing hero' Publishers Weekly
'This is far more than an actor's vanity project: Thewlis has talent' Kirkus
'David Thewlis has written an extraordinarily good novel, which is not only brilliant in its own right, but stands proudly beside his work as an actor, no mean boast' Billy Connolly
'I laughed and laughed until I read my own name amongst the carnage of Thewlis's unfortunate characters. This book is a disgrace - it's mean, cruel and refreshingly cynical' Jake Chapman
| Author | David Thewlis |
|---|---|
| Narrator | David Thewlis, Kelly Hotten |
| Duration | 10 hours and 55 minutes |
| Release Date | |
| ISBN | 9781474621571 |
| Format | Audiobook |
| Publisher | Orion |
| Genre | Family life fiction, Films, cinema, Individual actors and performers, Individual film directors, film-makers, Modern and contemporary fiction, Occult fiction, Parenting: advice and issues, Theatre studies |
| Availability | AU, GB, IE |
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.