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Oxblood

Winner of the Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award

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Oxblood

By: Tom Benn
Narrated by: Chloe Massey
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Bloomsbury presents Oxblood by Tom Benn, read by Chloe Massey.

**Winner of the 2022 Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award**
**Longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize 2022**

‘Oxblood shows us that there are few places literature can’t take us, if the writer is brave enough, and gifted enough’ FRANCIS SPUFFORD
'The master of northern noir' SUNDAY TIMES
'Brilliant' DENISE MINA
'An absolute triumph' GUARDIAN
'Powerful and so beautifully written' HARRIET TYCE

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Wythenshawe, South Manchester. 1985. The Dodds family once ruled Manchester’s underworld; now the men are dead, leaving three generations of women trapped in a house haunted by violence, harbouring an unregistered baby and the ghost of a murdered lover.

Over the course of a few days, Nedra, Carol and Jan must each confront the true legacy of the men who have defined their lives; and seize the opportunity to break the cycle for good.

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‘If I read a better novel than Oxblood in 2022, it’ll be a blinding year for fiction’ JOSEPH KNOX
'A propulsive, bountiful, fearless work of art' OYINKAN BRAITHWAITE
'One of the most powerful and urgent writers of our times' DAVID PEACE©2022 Tom Benn (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Haunted
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Critic reviews

With a brutal yet compassionate honesty, Oxblood confronts the past as it was and how it shapes who we are now, and confirms Tom Benn as one of the most powerful and urgent writers of our times (DAVID PEACE, author of THE RED RIDING QUARTET)
The master of northern noir
A rich archive of bygone badness
An astonishing piece of work. Captures the stories of three women from an underworld family with ferocious honesty and compassion. Audacious writing - visceral, rich and intense. Unforgettable characters haunted by violence and grief. Exceptional (CATH STAINCLIFFE)
Oxblood shows us that there are few places literature can’t take us, if the writer is brave enough, and gifted enough (FRANCIS SPUFFORD)
Powerful stuff and so beautifully written - like David Peace wrote Alan Warner’s The Sopranos and so lyrical, too. You don’t care where it’s heading, you’re just happy to step into the flow and let it take you. Brilliant stuff - this is really very good indeed (HARRIET TYCE)
Tom Benn is one of publishing’s best kept secrets. His story about the struggles of three generations of women in a Manchester crime clan has been rendered with such care and specificity that it feels wholly original. The result is a rich, dark, atmospheric family saga that contains so much buried love and anger and grief and sexual jealousy and bitter disappointment … I emerged from it exhilarated (JOHANNA THOMAS-CORR)
If I read a better novel than Oxblood in 2022, it’ll be a blinding year for fiction. Tom Benn, please take a bow. Everybody else, please take note (JOSEPH KNOX)
Reading Oxblood is a compelling and deeply unsettling experience; this is a novel that glitters with the dark energy and lifeblood of its characters (NAOMI BOOTH)
A propulsive, bountiful, fearless work of art (OYINKAN BRAITHWAITE)
What a voice Tom Benn has got, what a feel for character and place, and what an uncompromising approach he has to his subject and material. He’s gritty but totally empathetic, and inhabits his milieu of 1980s Manchester with total conviction and no attempt to soften the voices of his characters (ANDREW HOLGATE)
A remarkable galvanization of a time and a place, its style and substance so rooted in one another it is impossible to imagine it being written by anyone else. A story that seeps into you, sentences turned to catch the light like night eyes. A living thing (DOMINIC NOLAN, author of Vine Street)
One of those rare books where place and time are conjured so effortlessly, the cast of characters drawn with so much ease and grace (MONA ARSHI)
More than anything, I was enamored with Benn's audacity: to tell this raw, violent, compassionate story; to use language in such a thrilling and fresh way; to explore the dark hearts of ordinary people, and to not look way when things get messy; to be, basically, this good (D W WILSON)
All stars
Most relevant
Authentic in the way it juxtaposes the lives and experiences of three women from different generations in a family where all males were criminals. Shocking in its disection of the family dynamics that create crime and poverty traps, denying the younger generation the chance at social mobility. Masterful in capturing the characters' rich inner universe of beliefs, feelings, desires and regrets. Excellent narration.

Eye-opening and masterfully written

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Though there is a central murder to the story it never takes over what is a beautifully observed tale with recognisable characters.

Awarded four rather than five stars as it is sometimes tricky to keep up with the time changes when it is spoken rather than read but the narration is perfect.

Beautifully written tale of family and a crime

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Powerful and poetic language and a compelling story. The narrator was exceptional, giving each character a distinctive voice even though each had an authentic Mancunian accent.

Superb narration

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I can’t think of many audio books where the writing and the performance are so well balanced. This book is not to be missed. Chloe Massy is pitch perfect with every character, that’s no mean feet in this novel. Tom Benn’s writing is poetic, raw and breathtaking.

Not to be missed.

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