Barracuda
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Barracuda
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Narrated by:
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Grant Cartwright
About this listen
Shortlisted for the 2014 Indie Awards
He asked the water to lift him, to carry him, to avenge him. He made his muscles shape his fury, made every stroke declare his hate. And the water obeyed; the water would give him his revenge. No one could beat him, no one came close.
His whole life Danny Kelly's only wanted one thing: to win Olympic gold. Everything he's ever done, every thought, every dream, every action takes him closer to that moment of glory, of vindication, when the world will see him for what he is: the fastest, the strongest and the best. His life has been a preparation for that moment.
His parents struggle to send him to the most prestigious private school with the finest swimming program; Danny loathes it there and is bullied and shunned as an outsider, but his coach is the best and knows Danny is, too, better than all those rich boys, those pretenders. Danny's win-at-all-cost ferocity gradually wins favour with the coolest boys - he's Barracuda, he's the psycho, he's everything they want to be but don't have the guts to get there. He's going to show them all.
He would be first, everything would be alright when he came first, all would be put back in place. When he thought of being the best, only then did he feel calm.
A searing and provocative novel by the acclaimed author of the international best seller The Slap, Barracuda is an unflinching look at modern Australia, at our hopes and dreams, our friendships, and our families.
It contains everything a person is: family and friendship and love and work, the identities we inhabit and discard, the means by which we fill the holes at our centre. It's brutal and tender and blazingly brilliant; everything we have come to expect from this fearless vivisector of our lives and world.
©2013 Christos Tsiolkas 2013 (P)2013 Bolinda Publishing Pty LtdListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
What listeners say about Barracuda
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 15-03-15
Barracuda: plenty to bite on
The characters are really well drawn and involving - much more than in The Slap, also by Tsiolkas, which I struggled with.
The jumps in time of narrative, backwards and forwards, works really well. It really showcases and discusses Australia as a country as well as focusing on this one family. I loved it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Steven Hill
- 21-02-18
I love this book. Listened twice!
Where does Barracuda rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
It is my go to book. I love the story about Danny and what an amazing story he tells.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Barracuda?
When Danny travels with his Mother to see his grandma and meets his cousin. A lot happens in this book but this part really got to me
What does Grant Cartwright bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
A great story with a great narrator. I have listened twice now
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Danny and his swimming contest (His last one) I felt Danny's emotion
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jord
- 06-01-21
Ending really hit me
I had to read this book for a university module on childhood trauma and its aftermath.
A great narrator with an interesting story that follows themes of sexuality, intersectionality, racism and trauma (along with much more). This text had me initially only invested in its main character due to him being a gay man however, I found myself actually caring about Dan/Danny towards the end of the text. It is a text that shows progress and development, with an ending that had me sobbing. Danny may start as a dislikable protagonist, and may be a dislikable protagonist throughout most of the text but, his growth and exploration into the core reason he began on his path, is very touching.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Blind Boy
- 27-06-14
Half of It Is More Than Enough
The first part of the novel (Breathing In) is a masterpiece, a firework of floating sentences and breath-taking expressive power. The second part (Breathing Out) is slowly unfolding into a cheesy chicklet. OK, it's extremely hard to write about a new beginning without being a bit sentimental, but Mr. Tsiolkas just can not stop writing those pointless paragraphs over and over until the total spoiling of it all. Even so the first part deserves a high five.
The narrator is awesome, passionate, agressive if necessary and he knows all the songs. Looking forward to hearing him again.
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