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The Bellwether Revivals
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The Bellwether Revivals
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The Bellwether Revivals
Audiobook15 hours

The Bellwether Revivals

Written by Benjamin Wood

Narrated by Ralph Lister

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

Bright, bookish Oscar Lowe has escaped the squalid urban neighborhood where he was raised and made a new life for himself amid the colleges and spires of Cambridge. He has grown to love the quiet routine of his life as a care assistant at a local nursing home, where he has forged a close friendship with its most ill-tempered resident, Dr. Paulsen.

All that changes one fateful day when Oscar, while wandering the bucolic grounds of Cambridge, is lured into the chapel at Kings College by the otherwordly sound of an organ. It is here that he meets and falls in love with Iris Bellwether, a beautiful and enigmatic medical student. Drawn into her world of scholarship and privilege, Oscar soon becomes embroiled in the strange machinations of Iris's older brother, Eden.

A charismatic but troubled musical prodigy, Eden convinces his sister and their close-knit circle of friends to participate in a series of disturbing experiments. Eden believes that music - with his expert genius to guide it - can cure people. As the line between genius and madness begins to blur, however, Oscar fears that it is danger and not healing that awaits them all - but it might be too late. . . .

A masterful work of psychological suspense and emotional resonance from a brilliant young talent, The Bellwether Revivals will hold readers spellbound until its breathtaking conclusion.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 28, 2012
ISBN9781469215891
Unavailable
The Bellwether Revivals
Author

Benjamin Wood

Benjamin Wood was born in 1981 and grew up in north-west England. A former Commonwealth Scholar, he is now a Lecturer in Creative Writing at King's College London. His debut novel, The Bellwether Revivals, was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award 2012 and the Commonwealth Book Prize 2013, and won one of France's foremost literary awards,  Le Prix du Roman Fnac, in 2014. His second novel, The Ecliptic, was shortlisted for the Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award. He lives with his wife in London.

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Reviews for The Bellwether Revivals

Rating: 3.52040816122449 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

98 ratings15 reviews

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  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Originally posted here, and, until July 9, I have a copy for giveaway there as well.

    The Bellwether Revivals begins with one heck of a hook. While most of the chapters are lengthy, it opens with one of two short pages. These pack quite a wallop, though. The reader learns that there are two dead bodies and one nigh dead being carted off by the paramedics. At this point, the readers has no idea what happened, but most definitely wants to know. This technique of a small climactic scene from the end of the book being placed at the opening to create a mystery and tension to push through the novel is certainly popular, but Wood has used it effectively.

    My curiosity from those two pages is what propelled me through The Bellwether Revivals. The novel, as a whole, just did not call to me. While it is masterfully written, and will no doubt acquire much critical acclaim, the novel did not speak to me on a personal level. I was bored through most of it, a feeling aided by the incredibly long chapters.

    Though I haven't actually read Brideshead Revisited, from what I know of it (having seen two film adaptations), the comparison is apt. On a basic level, The Bellwether Revivals is one of those stories about a poor boy becoming caught up with a fantastically intelligent, beautiful, wealthy family (particularly Iris and Eden Bellwether), and seeing that things aren't necessarily so shiny in their world. This plot line has never really been my favorite, but I think the book will definitely appeal to fans of The Great Gatsby, Brideshead Revisited, and Special Topics in Calamity Physics.

    The psychological aspects of the story, more than the wtf happened of the opening, was the most intriguing part of the book to me. I can't talk about it too much without giving anything away, but there are is a lot of psychoanalysis. Additionally, there are some very interesting discussions of faith and its healing powers. On an intellectual, this held much appeal for me.

    My difficulty with the story was definitely in the characters. I feel like I complain about this a lot, but, when I read, I read primarily for character. I lose myself in a story through the characters. Although I did sympathize with Oscar's plight somewhat, I couldn't empathize at all, and, in his shoes, I would definitely have run for the hills from this crazy ass family.

    The Bellwethers themselves may be charismatic and wealthy, but I just didn't see the attraction they held for him. Well, that's not true. They represented a life he could have been living but wasn't: that of academia. Still, their individual personalities were not at all likeable; they were all very bipolar, very changeable from one moment to the next. The whole friend group was so insular and self-flattering, not to mention pandering endlessly to Eden Bellwether. I was not invested in any of them, which is why finding out which of them did not survive was seriously anticlimactic.

    As I said, though, I know others have loved and will love this novel. I would recommend not judging solely off of my opinion. The novel is very well written, but simply not my cup of cocoa.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Only five stars because Librarything won't let me put ten stars!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was just my kind of book! Reminiscent of 'Brideshead Revisited' with a dash of 'Phantom of the Opera' thrown in to spice it up, this tale kept me turning the pages from start to finish. Our working class narrator Owen drags us along with him as he becomes entangled with a slightly off-balanced group from the world of academia.
    As Owen's relationship with Iris Bellwether and her brother Eden slowly deepens, the story mounts with tension bringing us to our edge of our seats as we read towards it's conclusion.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Frankly, I didn't like the characters. They just weren't likeable people. There was no one in the book that I felt drawn to, that I cared enough about to want to read the story. If I wasn't reading it for my book club I probably wouldn't have finished it.

  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    It isn't nearly as good as The Secret History. That is a great book, this one was barely ok.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I picked this book up because of a blurb on the back cover that mentions the power of music. I read and scanned my way thru it but was disappointed in the analytics and the prose. Only the story line kept me going - some nice tie-ins, a few surprises.

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Oscar's life as a care assistant is quiet and ordinary until one day, as he crosses the campus at Cambridge, he hears organ music that pulls him into the chapel. That single act brings him into contact with the Bellwethers: beautiful and interesting, Iris, and her fascinating and intense brother, Eden. Oscar is quickly drawn into the small circle of friends that orbit Eden and learns about Eden's obsession with his theories on music. Essentially, Eden believes that music does not just influence emotions but can actually cause them and that the powers of music are vastly untapped. Suddenly, Oscar is intwined in a strange effort to understand if Eden's powers with music are real or just the delusions of a brilliant mind.I was pleasantly surprised by this book as I had mostly picked it up because it fit a challenge item and the description sounded halfway decent. Inside this book I found a beautiful, haunting, and, at moments, disturbing book that far exceeded my expectations. Oscar is a wonderful main character, steady but a little uncertain about his path in life, making his being pulled into the Bellwethers' circle so believable. The entire plot is well-structured and while never madly paced, it pulls you along and leaves you keenly interested in what Oscar's life will bring him next. The writing of this book is also beautiful and lyrical, clearly evoking both places and the feelings they provoke. At moments this novel reminded of both Brideshead Revisited and The Great Gatsby for some of its plot elements but the book is in no way a lesser version of either of these classics. A wonderful and lingering read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Bellwether Revivals by debut novelist, Benjamin Wood, is in a few words, an embodiment of its own subject matter: genius and enthralling madness—and the fine line it trespasses between the two.

    The narrative begins distantly, an omnipotent, observant tone that lays the foundation of its parts for the reader: the characters in Eden, the high-minded musical genius absorbed by his unconventional theories of the power of sound; Iris, his intelligent and musically talented sister who intuitively plays the cello; Oscar, the protagonist of the story, who, as the socially underprivileged and academic outsider in comparison to his new Bellwether friends, helps bring logic and compassion to this highly tense novel.

    It is a book that is equally rich in its development of characters as it is in its progressive and climatic plot, which is a feat in itself considering a book usually weighs more in one spectrum than the other.

    It’s a story of Eden Bellwether and his exploration of musical theory and music itself, as a force, if rightly composed and attributed, holds physically healing and redemptive powers. His musical genius and inherent self-importance, which perhaps derived from the latent seed of mental disorder was only further perpetuated by a self-indulgent and wealthy upbringing by a family who continually encouraged his prodigious talent and fearfully succumbed to his every wish. The danger of this kind of environment coupled with the mania and complexity of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, only solidified the severity of Eden’s deteriorating psychosis.

    He’s a brilliant scholar and gifted musician, but the price of his superior intellect is a costly social incompetence that keeps him from being able to empathize and connect humanely, if not intimately with others. The egocentric nature of his character cannot help itself into amassing into a condescending, cocky, dominant, and controlling individual.

    And those that suffer most from his presence and his ever-growing mania, are those who are closest to him, both in relation, in reverent awe, and intellectual worship—and even palpable fear.

    From his debutante and complacent mother (Ruth), his confident and overly ambitious father (Theo), his suffering and compliant sister (Iris), to his specifically chosen friends (Marcus, Yin, and Jane) for their tolerance and adoration of Eden himself, as much as for their individual and necessary musical deftness.

    Oscar, on the other hand, is resilient to Eden’s charms and holds a sobering view of the man whose mysterious genius is both exemplary and disconcerting. He is the grounding force for all those involved and the one with the most honest compassion as shown in his love and care for Dr. Paulsen, a resident of the nursing home, Cedarbrook, in which he works, and his willingness to involve himself in the matters of Eden’s “mental illness” on behalf of his growing relationship with Eden’s sister, Iris.


    This is a powerfully unsettling read that will intrigue even the most logical personality and metaphysical, occult skeptic. It moves from delusions of grandeur to frightening crescendos of absurdity and madness that begs the question of how close and intermingled genius is with giftedness and mental illness.

    Filled with the idyllic sanctuary of a wealthy environment found in the Bellwethers’ lifestyle and estate, the genuine intimacy between a couple in love, and the subordinate compliance of friends who love, revere, and almost fear their friend—it’s a gorgeous book and a “hypnotic” read. It’s a subtly frightening, psychological analysis of love, friendship, and sibling rivalry that spirals into a coarse doom of the horrors, dangers, and possibilities of a brilliant mind.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Very, very awesome. I enjoyed this immensely, and I would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a discussion book - I want to talk about Eden to anyone who'll listen, but no one I know has read the thing, so...
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    If you say Gothic I am there. I really love an atmospheric English read but this didn't do it for me. A strange meandering plot and characters I couldn't care about sunk this one for me.Oscar Lowe is a true academic but he can't afford college so he does his studying on the side while he works a nursing home job. He falls for poor little rich girl Iris Bellwether which probably would have been just dandy except for the fact that she has a crazy brother with bit of a cruel streak. Eden Bellwether may or may not be able to physically heal people with music. In any case he suffers from delusions of grandeur. The more Oscar learns about the Bellwether family and friends the more he becomes convinced that "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." Just how rotten he will soon find out. There is also a sub plot involving one of the nursing home patients and his former lover who attempts to evaluate Eden. The novel just left me cold. There were parts that were interesting but there were more parts that dragged. Another strange thing was that it was set in contemporary times but the way it was written made it seem like it happened in the 1800's. the characters and setting seemed very old fashioned even though there were supposedly in the year 2003. The whole thing might have worked better if it had been written as historical fiction.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Benjamin Wood makes a bold move in his debut novel, The Bellwether Revivals - he begun at the end. When I read the prologue and saw that he was telling the reader what to expect in the end, I was a little curious to see if I’d be able to see through the mystery or not. I was pleasantly surprised with the result. The Bellwether Revivals is the story of Oscar, a young caregiver at a retirement home in Cambridge, who stumbles across Eden and Iris Bellwether along with their friends, Jane, Marcus and Yin. When Oscar and Iris start dating, he is drawn into the world of the five scholars who tend to stick to themselves. Eden, a gifted musician and composer seems fixated on the idea that he can heal others through his music. Iris, concerned for her brother’s welfare, enlists Oscar’s assistance in helping her brother. The first thing I noticed about this book was the amount of research that went into the story. It’s sometimes easy to dump so much information on a reader that it becomes overwhelming, however, the author’s decision to allow the reader to gain information through multiple ways - newspaper clippings, dialogue about books, or even simple dialogue explaining theories - worked well together and I never felt overwhelmed by the new information. While there were a lot of foreign concepts for me - music and hypnotism with a bit of psychology - the prose had an easy flow to it that allowed for the story – though rather dense with detail – to be a quick read. I found it to be well paced and engaging, even though we were told what to expect in the ending. There were lots of great quotes in this book, and even the things that I didn’t necessarily agree with were interesting to ponder. Primarily, what I loved about this story was the fact that it seemed so realistic that I wouldn’t have been surprised if I looked up the Bellwethers and found articles about them on the internet. Even the minor characters were so well fleshed out that, as a reader, I found myself wanting to know more about what happened to them. If you love a smart mystery, a book that makes you think, then The Bellwether Revivals is the book for you. [ARC via Penguin; many thanks]
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I've had the great pleasure of reading some wonderful debut novels this year. I got two of them around the same time and they came out within a month of each other. One was The Starboard Sea by Amber Dermont, the other was The Bellwether Revivals by Benjamin Wood. Both are school stories, although the school setting is different. In Dermont's book it's American prep school in the 1980's - in Wood's it is Cambridge and its environs. Both are about a young man's journey through the worlds of privilege and elite and the way their encounters change who they are and, ultimately, help them grow up.I was immediately attracted to The Bellwether Revivals because it was described as similar to The Secret History by Donna Tartt and Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. Since those are both favorites of mine, reading this was a no-brainer, although my expectations weren't terribly high. Most books compared to these two don't stand a snowball's chance in hell - it's sort of unfair to put those labels on a book.I loved The Bellwether Revivals. It does, indeed, contain elements that make it similar to either book, but its voice is its own and it's a wonderful voice. Where The Secret History is all religious ecstasy disguised under a great deal of chilliness, The Bellwether Revivals is more about belief in and about others. Eden Bellwether, like Henry Winter before him, is a narcissist. His world is Edencentric - even in the healing games he plays it's really all about his own glory. I know some people found him ambiguous, found the suspense in the novel to be whether or not Eden could heal, but for me it was about what would happen when he was inevitably exposed for who he was. How far off the rails could things go?Juxtaposing the Bellwethers is Oscar, a working class man who is taken up by and falls in love with Iris, Eden's sister. The tension in the novel between the worlds the characters inhabit, particularly given the strangeness of Oscar's Cambridge friends, holds the story together. Oscar's sheer likeability and strong sense of self carry the tale along through all its improbabilities.This is the kind of book that makes it difficult to find something to read after it. It's difficult to measure up. Did I mention that I loved this book? Another favorite for this year and a wonderful debut of an author I look forward to reading in the future. Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The author seamlessly weaves together the lives of Oscar, the protagonist, the Bellwethers, and "the flock". Even that terminology, used by Eden, and by the author throughout the book to describe a group of friends caused me to raise my eyebrow about exactly the kind of person Eden is.My favorite characters are actually Oscar, Herbert Crest, and Dr. Paulsen. I really wish more of Crest/Paulsen's past had been revealed, but alas, not much. I couldn't but enjoy somebody who has a cherished library and pushes reading on the protagonist, who's bit of a bookworm himself, but Herbert Crest was really the character I was fascinated by. I really wish I could have seen all the conversations he had with Eden, but the point of view of Oscar was certainly limiting in that respect, but I can't say the Crest/Eden conversations would have added anything to the story (probably why they were left out) but I'm just so curious. I'm sure everyone at the end is a bit curious about Eden, but that's prevalent throughout the book. Eden is the mystery of the story--is he a fraud, for real, kidding, what? We don't really know until the end.The end is a heartbreaker, even though know from the beginning what must happen. But I still cried. Looking back it couldn't have ended any other way, either.This book is earning a place amongst my favorites of all time.copy provided by netgalley.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    "There is a thin line between madness and genius". I don't remember you said this but it could well be the theme for this first novel by Benjamin Wood. The prologue, introduces the reader to the ending, this could be risky but for me it served as a catalyst to want to keep reading just to find out how and why. It also sets the tone of apprehension for the rest of the novel. Oscar, lives in a bedsit and works as a care aide in a senior center, and when he meets Iris Bellwether he knows he wants to have her in his life. Unfortunately, her brother and a few friends come along as part of the package, but it is the brother that the story focuses on. A musical genius who is convinced that he can heal with music and the power that music gives him. I have never read anything quite like this novel, it is literary fiction and also psychological suspense, and it is exceedingly well done. The flow of the story is flawless, the Bellwether family for the most part in denial about the madness of their son, leaving only Oscar to question the sanity of Eden. Things quickly spiral out of control and those that are left attempt to pick up the pieces of their lives and continue on. Alternately strange and brilliant, this is definitely one of the most original pieces of fiction I have read this year. ARC from NetGalley.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Six-word review: Youth exerts strange power over friends.Extended review:From the beginning, The Bellwether Revivals has a creepy Tana French feel. In fact, the story of an outsider who joins a group of five friends with a pronounced strangeness about them, friends who share some mystic bond and engage in unusual ritual practices, is more than a little reminiscent of The Likeness.The story takes off in an altogether different direction, however; the similarity is more one of atmosphere than of plot and character, although in both there is a dominant figure whose exceptional qualities rule the group. In the present case, an almost unearthly charisma gives rise to a collective delusion, with traumatic results. Even though I'd place this one several notches below The Likeness on the scale for style, execution, characterization, and polish, I think it's likely to appeal to very similar readerly tastes. The dynamic among strikingly different personalities and the way they complement one another, and the effects that occur as a newcomer attempts to fit in, drive the plot to an unexpected outcome with an otherworldly feel.The main character, Oscar, does not make much of an impression; he is more like the host of the drama, the pretext that brings the reader in, than a central figure. As such, he is not especially memorable. I liked the treatment of several secondary characters and an odd subplot, which, however, never really answers all my questions.In sum, I liked it well enough, and it held my attention through 405 pages despite a number of copyediting lapses, which of course I marked; but I don't consider it a standout.And I'm always going to hold something back from an author who writes "Woah."