Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Comfort of Strangers
    The Comfort of Strangers
    The Comfort of Strangers
    Audiobook4 hours

    The Comfort of Strangers

    Written by Ian McEwan

    Narrated by Simon Prebble

    3.5/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    New York Times best-selling author, Ian McEwan has won the Booker Prize, Whitbread Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award for his masterfully accomplished fiction. The Comfort of Strangers is an exquisitely crafted gothic novella. On holiday, Colin and Maria wander the ancient streets of Venice and frequently lose their way. When they are accosted by a man with a strange and alluring story to tell, they soon become entwined in a fantasy of violence and erotic obsession.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJul 18, 2008
    ISBN9781501992728
    Author

    Ian McEwan

    Ian McEwan (Aldershot, Reino Unido, 1948) se licenció en Literatura Inglesa en la Universidad de Sussex y es uno de los miembros más destacados de su muy brillante generación. En Anagrama se han publicado sus dos libros de relatos, Primer amor, últimos ritos (Premio Somerset Maugham) y Entre las sábanas, las novelas El placer del viajero, Niños en el tiempo (Premio Whitbread y Premio Fémina), El inocente, Los perros negros, Amor perdurable, Amsterdam (Premio Booker), Expiación (que ha obtenido, entre otros premios, el WH Smith Literary Award, el People’s Booker y el Commonwealth Eurasia), Sábado (Premio James Tait Black), En las nubes, Chesil Beach (National Book Award), Solar (Premio Wodehouse), Operación Dulce, La ley del menor, Cáscara de nuez, Máquinas como yo, La cucaracha y Lecciones y el breve ensayo El espacio de la imaginación. McEwan ha sido galardonado con el Premio Shakespeare. Foto © Maria Teresa Slanzi.

    More audiobooks from Ian Mc Ewan

    Related to The Comfort of Strangers

    Related audiobooks

    Mystery For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Two Poems by Charles Baudelaire

      Jun 9, 2020

      After my friend and I left the tobacco shop, he carefully sorted his loose change; slipped some small gold coins in his left jacket pocket; into the right went the silver pieces; in his left pants pocket, a handful of centimes; and in the right, a si

      2 min read

    • Article

      Jonathan Franzen’s New Novel ‘Crossroads’ Is Set In The Chicago ‘Burbs And Launches A Trilogy. He Knows You Already Have An Opinion About It.

      Oct 20, 2021

      Jonathan Franzen’s New Novel ‘Crossroads’ Is Set In The Chicago ‘Burbs And Launches A Trilogy. He Knows You Already Have An Opinion About It.
      8 min read

    • Article

      Crimes of the Heart

      Nov 5, 2016

      Like many of his novels, Spanish author Javier Marías’ new book, Thus Bad Begins, isn’t exactly a mystery, though it is mysterious. Here, the 65-year-old perennial Nobel favorite tells the story of Juan de Vere, a young man working for a film directo

      1 min read

    • Article

      Getting Ahead: On Emma Cline’s ‘The Guest’

      May 16, 2023

      An interloper amid the wealthy, Alex both witnesses and tampers with the tableau of idle luxury. The post Getting Ahead: On Emma Cline’s ‘The Guest’ appeared first on The Millions.

      6 min read

    • Article

      Great Read

      Jun 16, 2021

      Great Read
      4 min read

    • Article

      Summer Beach Reads

      Jan 10, 2021

      Summer Beach Reads
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Scarlet PEBBLE

      Feb 14, 2024

      The Scarlet PEBBLE
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Living Days

      Nov 4, 2019

      The Living Days
      9 min read

    • Article

      Karolina

      Jun 15, 2019

      I first saw Karolina outside the Sumesa on the corner of Avenidas Oaxaca and Álvaro Obregón. She was smoking a stubby cigarette, a sled-like backpack hitched to her shoulders. I stopped short, felt my heart lurch. Could it be? Karolina was my brother

      31 min read

    • Article

      As the World Collapses

      Jul 27, 2017

      As the World Collapses
      7 min read

    • Article

      It’s Come to This

      Sep 1, 2021

      It’s Come to This
      16 min read

    • Article

      Ghost Girl, Banana

      Aug 21, 2023

      By the time I was 25, there were only two things I remembered about Mumma. The first was that she smelled of watermelons, the second was that we were happy. We’d taken our father’s name of course, but a name is only half a story. The other half exist

      6 min read

    • Article

      Second Language

      Aug 14, 2017

      Second Language
      9 min read

    • Article

      In The Footprints Of The Ancestors

      Mar 2, 2023

      In The Footprints Of The Ancestors
      11 min read

    • Article

      On Country

      Nov 9, 2016

      On Country
      5 min read

    • Article

      Marco

      Mar 1, 2022

      THE ALLEY STANK . Marco could feel the damp soaking into his tunic as he pressed his back against the wall, trying to seem like part of the shadows. He cursed himself. How could he have been so stupid? He knew if he stayed out after dark they might f

      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Comfort of Strangers

    3.5/5

    594 ratings22 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      In this brief novel (published in 1981 when the author was 33), a British couple, Colin and Mary, are on holiday in an unnamed seaside town that bears more than a passing resemblance to Venice. Their relationship is mutually caring, but also one of powerful erotic allure and private intimacy. Both are physically attractive and know it, and Colin in particular spends an inordinate amount of time grooming. McEwan’s omniscient narrator paints a picture of two people so profoundly intertwined in almost every aspect of their waking lives that a cloistered exclusivity has evolved between them, as if they are trying to hold themselves aloof from the rest of humanity. They are preternaturally sensitive to one another’s needs and desires, and—once made aware—are more than willing to cater to those needs and desires. And yet when they are together an odd tension seems to exist between them. Mary is distracted: she has left her two children from a previous marriage in England and keeps in touch with them sporadically by phone. And both Colin and Mary at times seem bored and frustrated, with each other and their holiday, and occasionally assert their independent will by acting contrary to the other’s wishes. One day they get lost while following the town’s canals and traversing the narrow, winding pathways. Thirsty and tired, they allow an insistent stranger named Robert to lead them to a bar, where he regales them with stories of his personal history. Later, their resistance weakened, they go with Robert to his villa, where they meet his wife, Caroline, who has mobility issues and appears to suffer from some physical injury or deformity. At this point the story veers from the mesmerizing and dreamlike pseudo-reality that McEwan has so carefully constructed into a world of obsession and depravity. Robert and Caroline are not what they seem, and once their intentions become clear, it’s too late for Colin and Mary to save themselves or each other. The story ends in the bewildering aftermath of violence, with blood staining the floor and a stunned Mary facing a series of painful, practical realities. The story is briskly told and gripping, if not entirely convincing. McEwan’s prose throughout is richly atmospheric. The narrative is psychologically probing and repeatedly demonstrates McEwan’s skill at evoking states of mind through setting and a character’s observation of physical detail. A haunting and memorable work that reflects McEwan’s preoccupation with deviant behaviours at this early stage of his career.
    • 3/5
      A well-written but grotesque novella
    • 5/5
      What tended to happen, to Colin and Mary at least, was that subjects were not explored so much as defensively reiterated, or forced into elaborate irrelevancies, and suffused with irritability.

      This slim weapon is a foggy retreat into the nuptual neuroses during the holiday abroad. All baggage isn't declared at Customs. The soul is a mule through Passport Control. Regret and doubt are the rogue's liquidity, the same for the spouse. Lifting Blanche's best line will ultimately avail with kinky proposals and a nightlight stilleto. Beware.
    • 3/5
      Every time I approach an Ian McEwan review—all but the first time, I guess—I feel some dread. McEwan is an author who garners such strong opinions, good and bad. Some think he is a hack writer, overly elaborate with his prose and plots, offensive to say the least. Others think he has incredible talent, that his stories brim with the kind of details that bring them to life. There's probably truth in both arguments, though in the end they're just opinions. Whatever the general views of McEwan and his stories, reviews of McEwan's work can lead to excessive raising of the eyebrows, eye rolling, and unfriending (though I could be exaggerating).I throw myself in with those enamored with McEwan. That's not to say I love everything he's written, but I do find myself always thoroughly entertained. Having read some of McEwan's most popular and highly acclaimed works, I've made it a point to read the author's earliest books and work my way through his career. If you've read my reviews of McEwan's first two books, First Love, Last Rites or The Cement Garden, you probably know that old McEwan had a distinctly macabre style once upon a time. In fact, his earliest works remind me considerably of the kinds of stories Stephen King might have written.The Comfort of Strangers, McEwan's second novel, continues this King comparison, but also shows a break from it. It's not as dark as his earlier efforts, but depravity is still present. The primary difference is that The Comfort of Strangers shows more of McEwan's elaborate style. There was a hint of the literary in McEwan's first books, but here it's strong. The descriptions in The Comfort of Strangers really evoke the setting, pulling the reader in. Even when the story began to disappoint, which it did for me, I wanted to keep reading. Even when I myself began to roll my eyes and recognize the signature overwrought plot, I was so engaged that I couldn't pull away. McEwan is guilty in this one of forcing the characters into the story. It is evident that they have no other path than the one the author makes for them. There's not even an illusion that they have free will. So, in the end, I was disappointed with this story, but there was never a moment I wasn't entertained. And that's something.
    • 4/5
      Very fine writing as always by McEwan and although the plot isn't that spectacular, even predictable, it is the subtle way the author weaves in the motives and reasons of it that holds the tension of the story till the end.
    • 5/5
      Loved it! Great suspense, story, and characters.
    • 3/5
      An emotionally stirring book, but not one in which McEwan does his usual fine job of exploring his characters deeply. Instead, this book is carried by its mood and tone. While the book's frame and environment are well-constructed, the characters are not.
    • 4/5
      I have read nearly all of Ian McEwan's novels, this one being an early, short one. Reading this elegant, somewhat stilted novel, I wondered how much later readers would understand of the atmosphere. In my view, the reader should have a good grasp of the 1970s to understand what is going on, and why this story seems plausible. The novel itself provides very little description.The comfort of strangers is a fine novel, full of languid descriptions of Venice. A married couple, somewhat wearied in their relationship, make acquaintance with a handsome, apparently very sympathetic man. At the end of the novel, the story works out in a gruesome twist, typical of McEwan's novels.This novel would be a very good novel to start reading Ian McEwan, or, as in my case savour the taste of his early works. Very nice.
    • 3/5
      May 15: This is a story about an unmarried couple that goes somewhere for vacation. All the environment feels like they love each other, but something wrong is happening.June 8: Now the story is turning a little bit more interesting, but also a little bit more nasty. All those descriptions about a little boy suffering from his mean sisters, and the tortures he must face.. It'll be difficult to forget.June 26. I don't know why, but this book remembered me another one I read, written by Paul Bowles. The translation of that book's title is something like "hot land". I've never liked stories about people traveling to some exotic places, and having terrible adventures that lead them to death. This novel is exactly like that. I was terribly bored in the beginning, and upset in the end. This is a very famous writer, and maybe people would like his writing, but I don't.
    • 4/5
      I read this after The Daydreamer, as I realised I haven't read any McEwan in a while. the concept behind this is very interesting, but its his 2nd novel, & McEwan is primarily a stlyist, which took time to mature. This cheese is not fedit enough.
    • 3/5
      Meta-creepy.
    • 4/5
      I really struggled with the rating on this book. On the one hand, I didn't like the story at all. On the other, the author didn't intend for readers to like the story and therefore was very effective. The writing is pure brilliance, without a doubt. However, I could have lived without the images that will now haunt the rest of my days for having read this book. If I were rating the book on enjoyment alone, the rating would be at least one star fewer. In the end, McEwan's mastery of the craft of writing won out for me, and I had to give it four stars. This is quite a compliment of McEwan's artistry, since writing seldom trumps enjoyment in my rating and reviewing.
    • 5/5
      I don't think I can really rate this a 5 for at least another year. In a year will this novel still be creeping around under my skin, invading my thoughts and have me wondering why? I don't know for sure but I suspect it will. If you want to find the essence of suspense it's somewhere hidden in this very short but intense book.
    • 4/5
      Colin and Mary are unmarried, unhappy lovers on vacation. Bored with each other and frustrated with their foreign holiday destination (probably Venice or Rome), they are constantly having to remind each other and themselves they are on holiday and are supposed to be relaxing and enjoying themselves. Their disdain for each other annoyed me at times. For the couple getting lost in the ancient, winding, narrow streets wasn't supposed to be a problem because they have nowhere specific to be. Colin and Mary go on like this until suddenly, the story changes gears after a native enters their bored bubble. That chance meeting changes the course of their lives forever. It is a psychological, violent, erotic second half to the book, full of sex and selfishness. From the moment, Robert, the charismatic stranger, comes into the picture nothing seems normal again.
    • 4/5
      I have read a number of McEwan's books, starting with the more recent ones and working backward, and I have to say I would recommend one or several of the later ones over The Comfort of Strangers. McEwan's strength for me is always his ability to put you so deeply into the innermost thoughts of his characters that you are completely enraptured, plus his discerning observations about sex and relationships. All those elements are present in The Comfort of Strangers, plus a ominous, menacing feeling that permeates the short book. But his later books revisit many of the same themes, and explore them more adroitly and thoroughly: sexual dysfunction in On Chesil Beach, relationship dysfunction in The Child in Time, foreboding menace in Saturday. Also, the main characters in this work are well drawn, but often unquestioning of situations in a way I found unbelievable, which kept knocking me out of the immersion I usual enjoy so much with McEwan's books. However, in the end, it's a short, well-written read, and it will seriously creep you out, so I do recommend it.
    • 4/5
      I think some of the other reviews here have been a little harsh on this book. One of Ian McEwan's strengths is his descriptive powers and this book contains powerful evocations of mood, atmosphere and place; in this case Venice. He builds and releases tension well but you get a strong feeling of foreboding throughout the book.Sometimes McEwan has a problem with the endings of his books (see Amsterdam), but I didn't think that was the case here. A slim volume and a quick read, but not one I'll forget in a hurry.
    • 4/5
      Colin and Mary are on an extended holiday in Venice. They spend long, lazy days idling in their hotel or wandering the streets, often getting lost. Late one evening, out in search of a restaurant, they meet a man named Robert who takes them to a nearby bar and, later, to his home. Robert is overly friendly and forward, but Colin and Mary are drawn to him in spite of their better judgement. Their time with Robert is inexplicably arousing, so much so that they spend the next few days sequestered in their hotel room. When they emerge they find themselves unconsciously drawn to Robert again. And things get really creepy and evil ... as if they weren't already.Ian McEwan has written an expertly crafted thriller; I was riveted from the first few pages. As McEwan drove relentlessly toward the story's almost inevitable conclusion, I was actually relieved that the book was only 125 pages -- the suspense and intensity would have been difficult for me had it been longer. I had picked this book up quite by accident, in need of a short read while waiting for library books. I was very pleasantly surprised by its quality & punch.
    • 4/5
      I have seen The Comfort of Strangers, fittingly, described as a ‘long short story’ - yet, such a minimalist amount of words evoked a plethora of confused, mixed emotions within me; upon finishing I was left with quite a hollow feeling, along with a strange sense of incredulity.The story begins in a non-descript hotel room. In a seven-year relationship, defined by no permanent commitment, Mary and Colin are on holiday, and succumbing to a jaded sensitivity – to the surroundings and to each other. Their lack-lustre routine is disrupted one night when, venturing out much later than usual, and becoming totally lost in baffling foreign enclaves, they are aided by a persistent local, Robert. This outwardly innocuous chance encounter, plus the subsequent interactions with Robert and later, his inscrutable wife, Caroline, trigger a profound reversal in Mary and Colin; completely renewing their immediate rapport, intimacy and love, while leading, inevitably, to a devastating conclusion. And from the very beginning Ian McEwan, elegantly and masterfully, weaves into the narrative an oppressive, foreboding mood, with the utter anonymity of it all. The sounds and senses of the city, it could be any city by the sea, for the reader is never allowed full recognition of the exact identity and must continually guess. Mary and Colin, their background is a mystery, they could be any couple, but remain an enigma despite many intimate revelations. The somewhat irritating inability of the pair to communicate with the locals, despite obvious intelligence and lengthy passages of personal conversations; the purposeful omission of other individuals, and the contrived isolation, from an underlying, intense desire by Mary and Colin to distance themselves from everyone; all of this artfully insinuates an ominous, sinister atmosphere into the story. And this obscurity, this ambiguity, the necessity for the reader to constantly speculate, complements cleverly with the double entendre in the title of this tale.I have to agree absolutely with the blurb on my copy: this is “an exquisite miniature Gothic”; a peculiar but irresistible read. As I sat, numb, horrified and, as mentioned, slightly leery, after reading the last page I heard a news bulletin on my radio detailing a recent unpleasant international incident, and had to smile to myself… for, I realised, though this story in many ways beggars belief, the truth is often much stranger than any work of fiction; even one, especially one, such as this.
    • 4/5
      Tourists on holiday meet a couple and spend some time with them; they are invited back and despite the akwardness of the offer, they somehow wind up back with them with disastrous consequences. A harrowing novel with a heavy dose of irony in the title, McEwan shows off his literary abilities in this early novel. It's not one I recommend often because of its nature, but it's certainly a story that stays with you long after you turn the last page.
    • 4/5
      This writing was amazing; one of few books that really is impossible to put down, even though some credibility had to be suspended. Very upsetting.
    • 4/5
      It`s Ian Mcewan`s second novel, written in 1981. Read this book in February as additional book to my TBR list. In one word - disgusting. It`s the first feeling after I closed this book. BUT! It doesn`t mean that I didn`t like Comfort of Strangers. There is something tempting in it. Maybe it`s slow and gentle atmosphere of Venice, maybe it`s that scary feeling (it`s too good to be true...) in the air almost till the end of the book, when Robert and his wife shows their real faces. (full review rozmarins.blogspot.com)
    • 4/5
      Who would of thought a book about incest and family death could be so steamy and romantic! yes this is better than the movie.