Away with the Penguins Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Hazel Prior (Author), Ayoola Smart (Narrator), Nigel Pilkington (Narrator),

17,938 ratings

See all formats and editions

Amazon Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$9.99

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Hardcover

"Please retry"

—

$37.49

—

Paperback

"Please retry"

$19.50

—

Brought to you by Penguin.

Veronica McCreedy is about to have the journey of a lifetime....

Veronica McCreedy lives in a mansion by the sea. She loves a nice cup of Darjeeling tea whilst watching a good wildlife documentary. And she’s never seen without her ruby-red lipstick.

Although these days, Veronica is rarely seen by anyone, because at 85, her days are spent mostly at home, alone.

She can be found either collecting litter from the beach (‘people who litter the countryside should be shot’), trying to locate her glasses (‘someone must have moved them’) or shouting instructions to her assistant, Eileen (‘Eileen, door!’).

Veronica doesn’t have family or friends nearby. Not that she knows about, anyway.... And she has no idea where she’s going to leave her considerable wealth when she dies.

But today...today, Veronica is going to make a decision that will change all of this.

Listening Length

10 hours and 26 minutes
Author

Hazel Prior
Narrator

Ayoola Smart, see all
Audible release date

5 March 2020
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Audio
ASIN

B082J3JK2B
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
See all details

Read & Listen

Switch between reading the Kindle book & listening to the Audible narration with Whispersync for Voice.
Get the Audible audiobook for the reduced price of $10.99 after you buy the Kindle book.

Final days - Don't miss out!

Limited time offer: 2 month free trial
An audiobook of your choice each month
Listen all you want to the Plus Catalogue of Audible Originals, audiobooks and podcasts
Exclusive member only discounts
After 2 months Audible is $16.45/month, cancel anytime

Learn more about membership

By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible’s Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice.

Sold and delivered by Audible, an Amazon company

People who viewed this also viewed

Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1

Nest
Inga Simpson
41
Audible Audiobook
$0.00 Free with Audible trial
Call of the Penguins
Hazel Prior
2,257
Audible Audiobook
$0.00 Free with Audible trial
The Cartographer's Secret
Tea Cooper
530
Audible Audiobook
$0.00 Free with Audible trial
The Great Escape from Woodlands Nursing Home
Joanna Nell
790
Audible Audiobook
$0.00 Free with Audible trial
Sweet Sweet Revenge Ltd.
Jonas Jonasson
2,301
Audible Audiobook
$0.00 Free with Audible trial

Product details

Listening Length	10 hours and 26 minutes
Author	Hazel Prior
Narrator	Ayoola Smart, Nigel Pilkington, Nicolette McKenzie
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	05 March 2020
Publisher	Penguin Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B082J3JK2B
Best Sellers Rank	23,548 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 118 in World War II Historical Fiction 173 in Small Town & Rural Fiction (Audible Books & Originals) 304 in Humourous Fiction

Customer reviews

5 star		58%
4 star		29%
3 star		10%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

How are ratings calculated?

Review this product

Write a customer review

Top reviews from Australia

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Good Fun

Reviewed in Australia on 1 November 2021

Verified Purchase

More than a bit improbable but good reading for all that. The characters were well defined, the story entertaining. I enjoyed it.

Helpful

Ms. Kristiana Honey

If you are in lockdown or not- read this!

Reviewed in Australia on 26 July 2021

Verified Purchase

Thanks to the author- what a wonderful read, when I was feeling sorry for myself, in Covid lockdown once again and the world in turmoil, this was just the book to remind me of humanity and of course my last overseas trip to Antarctica!

Helpful

Amanda

Good Read

Reviewed in Australia on 9 January 2021

Verified Purchase

Loved it! Nice easy read. I cared about the characters and was sad when the book ended. I recommend this book.

Helpful

glenda robinson

A nice read

Reviewed in Australia on 14 July 2021

Verified Purchase

A nice read to kill time in lock down

Helpful

Nuala Welsh

Won't be using Richard & Judy's book reviews anymore!

Reviewed in Australia on 29 March 2021

Verified Purchase

Completely implausible story line unless you are about 10!

Helpful

Ellie

Quirky, Charming and Engaging

Reviewed in Australia on 5 March 2020

At 86 years old Veronica is the epitome of stubborn and humourless. She leads a life where everything must be just so, although it is down to her long-suffering 'daily', Eileen, to achieve this for her. With no children other than a now deceased son that was adopted out shortly after his birth, Veronica realises that at her age she should be considering what to do with her considerable fortune. With Eileen's help she discovers that the son she didn't know also had a son, Patrick, and Veronica decides to meet him. Patrick is not at all what Veronica is expecting and their brief meeting leaves them both feeling disappointed. Searching for a new outlet to devote her life and money to, Veronica turns her full attention to the plight of a dwindling population of Adelie penguins on a remote and inhospitable island in the Antarctic that she has been following in a nature documentary series on television.

This was the point at which the story switched from being enjoyable to being thoroughly entertaining and engaging. We alternate between Veronica's excursion to visit the penguins, depositing herself into the lives of the three horrified resident scientists on the island, and Patrick's humdrum, unfulfilling existence in Bolton as he tries to recover from his girlfriend suddenly leaving him for another man. Much of Veronica's back story is given to us through the journals she wrote as a teenager in war-torn Britain and which she gave to Patrick to read.

This is without doubt the sweetest, most charming book I have read this year. It has made me cry and it has made me laugh out loud. And now that I've finished it, even though it concluded perfectly, I am feeling a little bereft because I want to know more about what the future holds for Veronica, Patrick, the scientists and, of course, Pip the penguin!

My one criticism is that the final scene is completely superfluous. It doesn't detract from the story, but it does distract without adding anything.

Helpful

Aneddy

Mrs. McCreedy, in one of the coldest places of the world - she makes it looks warm and cosy thought

Reviewed in Australia on 7 February 2021

This is an articulate example of a book with simple but still daunting topics, skilfully written that takes you on a very cold adventure.

I have to confess that I had to be so strong and stop crying every time I reached those unexpected and unavoidable moments that resolved in sad events which affected the character of those ones involved. I indeed accepted quite happily those moments that drew on my face a smile and some jiggles too.

Now I know that there is always going to be a book to be discovered and that will refresh my life.

Helpful

Lovely story

Reviewed in Australia on 19 March 2020

First of all, I'd like to thank Random House UK and Netgalley for sharing an ARC in exchange for a fair review. '

Veronica McCreedy is a crotchety 85 year old woman, living alone in a mansion by the sea. She has Eileen as her housekeeper and assistant but she mostly keeps to herself. She sees a program about penguins on tv and becomes obsessed. She decides she is going to Antarctica to see the penguins and will bequeath her money to their cause when she dies. Even though she's been told they can't accommodate her there and that it won't be safe.

It's a really lovely story about Veronica finding joy in her life after many years of being alone. She's a frustrating character at times but she really changes with this trip and changes the few people around her at the same time. Not to mention we get to learn a lot about the penguins.

I give this a solid 4 stars.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

the wordy bird

Read something else instead

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 December 2020

Verified Purchase

There is as much twaddle as waddle in this book. It is trite, cliched, predictable, stevia-sweet, and shoehorns in some natural history knowledge in the most awkward of ways. If you want to read a book about a grumpy old person who changes their ways, there are so many better ones. (A Man Called Ove is the obvious one but as I recall, My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises is in a similar vein. Harold Fry and Queenie Malone, too - not so crotchety but still the same overall feeling when reading.) If you want to read a book about penguins, try The Penguin Lessons (OMG that book is so good, a true hidden gem).
The characters in Hazel Prior's book are mostly two-dimensional cameos or stereotypes. She can't write from a man's point of view - Patrick's inner dialogue is just cringeworthy. Veronica explains her outlook on life by way of the things that were thrust upon her, and it does make sense of her 'journey' through life - but it's just not appealingly written. As for her trip to the Antarctic - it stretches credulity beyond reasonable limits. First off, I'm pretty sure there is no way she could book her own passage and just turn up at an Antarctic research station. Also, there is so much anthropomorphising (??? do I have enough syllables in that?) of the penguins, generally, and of Pip/Patrick the penguin specifically, that any naturalist must prefer to poke out their own eyes rather than read it. Veronica nearly dies but the three overworked research scientists manage to pull her through, with no medical intervention other than emptying her chamber pot (though how she uses a chamber pot when she's semi-conscious for days, I do not know...).
Ugh, it's making me mad just writing about it. I read so many good reviews, I was really looking forward to a light-hearted story about a woman's lifetime, with a bit of an angle to it. Instead I got a poor man's David Nicholls (and believe me, I think he writes some tosh at times) dressed up in a big coat with a gaudy designer handbag. Pleeeeeeease put it down and read something else instead.

195 people found this helpful

Dr C.T.Hunt

I can't recommend it highly enough

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 November 2020

Verified Purchase

I am bereft. I loved that book so much I don't know what to read now. I raced through it in a day and can't recommend it highly enough. Strange, unusual but oddly compelling. Do try it. You won't be disappointed.

60 people found this helpful

Kate Baker

Just buy it!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 December 2020

Verified Purchase

Book review by Kate Baker
December 2020 : Away with the Penguins – Hazel Prior
My friend and I decided to read a book that we could have a chat with on a video call, during this second lockdown. We selected Away with the Penguins from Richard & Judy’s book club reviews, and were not disappointed.
Now and again, you read a book that you know will stay with you forever; this is how I felt having read Away with the Penguins.
I found the book a real page turner and by Chapter 10 I’d fallen in love with Veronica; eccentric, generous, and an environmental enthusiast. On an emotional rollercoaster throughout the book, it is funny and so very sad, whilst constantly thought provoking, recognising myself in Veronica, as both a young girl and an adult.
A clever use of literature funnels the introduction of strong characters, whilst simultaneously expanding on their individual personalities, to illustrate environmental and animal welfare issues. An excellent example showing how actions result in consequences, good and bad, and how those consequences may affect others. Any doubts? Just buy it and start reading!

41 people found this helpful

Wonderful read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 March 2020

Verified Purchase

'Away With The Penguins' is a truly wonderful book to read by Hazel Prior. I found it hard to put down, as I was entranced by the storyline as it weaves around the central character of Veronica McCreedy and her memories of events both past and present and her determination to make a difference , especially towards the penguins on Locket Island and those around her.

I enjoyed reading Hazel's first book 'Ellie and the Harp Maker ' and would recommend reading it also as Hazel is such a wonderful story teller and I look forward to yet more wonderful books in the future.

47 people found this helpful

Clairerio

Unrealistic sentimental tosh

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 November 2020

Verified Purchase

I bought this book based on the reviews that suggested it was a new Elinor Oliphant, which I loved.
It's not, it fees too hard to be whimsical and emotional
It's just awful, the characters are so cliche and as for the setting?!
If you want a gentle romance then it's ok, but it's not moving or thought provoking.

39 people found this helpful

See all reviews

Away with the Penguins Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Read & Listen

Free with Audible trial $0.00

Pay with 1-Click $39.50

People who viewed this also viewed

Product details

Customer reviews

Review this product

Top reviews from Australia

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Free with Audible trial

$0.00

Pay with 1-Click

$39.50