Listen free for 30 days
-
The Back of the Turtle
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Doug Philip
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $33.54
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
You may also enjoy...
-
The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts
- The True Story of The Bondwoman's Narrative
- Written by: Gregg Hecimovich
- Narrated by: Ron Butler, Janina Edwards
- Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1857, a woman escaped enslavement on a North Carolina plantation and fled to a farm in New York. In hiding, she worked on a manuscript that would make her famous long after her death. The novel, The Bondwoman’s Narrative, was first published in 2002 to great acclaim, but the author’s identity remained unknown. Over a decade later, Professor Gregg Hecimovich unraveled the mystery of the author’s name and, in The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts, he finally tells her story.
Written by: Gregg Hecimovich
-
The Inconvenient Indian
- A Curious Account of Native People in North America
- Written by: Thomas King
- Narrated by: Lorne Cardinal
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Inconvenient Indian is at once a “history” and the complete subversion of a history - in short, a critical and personal meditation that the remarkable Thomas King has conducted over the past 50 years about what it means to be “Indian” in North America. Rich with dark and light, pain and magic, this book distills the insights gleaned from that meditation, weaving the curiously circular tale of the relationship between non-Natives and Natives in the centuries since the two first encountered each other.
-
-
Angry, embarrassed, disgusted, horrified, nauseous, scared and so so sad, but hopeful and now informed.
- By Shantelle Lamouche on 2021-01-18
Written by: Thomas King
-
Coyote Tales
- Written by: Thomas King
- Narrated by: Meegwun Fairbrother
- Length: 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two tales, set in a time “when animals and human beings still talked to each other”, display Thomas King’s cheeky humor and master storytelling skills. Freshly reissued as an early chapter book, these stories are perfect for newly independent readers.
Written by: Thomas King
-
Medicine River
- Written by: Thomas King
- Narrated by: Wesley French
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Will returns to Medicine River, he thinks he is simply attending his mother’s funeral. He doesn’t count on Harlen Bigbear and his unique brand of community planning. Harlen tries to sell Will on the idea of returning to Medicine River to open shop as the town’s only Native photographer. Somehow, that’s exactly what happens. Through Will’s gentle and humorous narrative, we come to know Medicine River, a small Albertan town bordering a Blackfoot reserve. And we meet its people: the basketball team; Louise Heavyman and her daughter, South Wing, and many more.
-
-
Wry, good humour
- By Jennifer on 2024-02-10
Written by: Thomas King
-
The Next Sure Thing
- Written by: Richard Wagamese
- Narrated by: Billy Merasty
- Length: 2 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cree Thunderboy wants nothing less than to be the next great blues man. But playing to tiny audiences in shabby rooms like Shelly’s Crab Shack, his career is stalled. Then at the race track he meets Win Hardy, a charming rogue who spots Cree’s knack for picking winning horses. He offers to record his first CD and send him on tour, as long as Cree can keep coming up with the hot tips at the track. Then Cree discovers Win’s mob connections. When things inevitably go bad, Cree discovers that in life and in gambling, there is never really the next sure thing.
Written by: Richard Wagamese
-
Mamaskatch
- A Cree Coming of Age
- Written by: Darrel J. McLeod
- Narrated by: William C. Wikcemna Yamni ake Wanzi
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Growing up in the tiny village of Smith, Alberta, Darrel J. McLeod was surrounded by his Cree family's history. In shifting and unpredictable stories, his mother, Bertha, shared narratives of their culture, their family, and the cruelty that she and her sisters endured in residential school. Bertha taught him to be fiercely proud of his heritage and to listen to the birds that would return to watch over and guide him at key junctures of his life. However, in a spiral of events, Darrel's mother turned wild and unstable, and their home life became chaotic.
-
-
Engaging Memoir
- By Trish on 2018-10-10
Written by: Darrel J. McLeod
-
The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts
- The True Story of The Bondwoman's Narrative
- Written by: Gregg Hecimovich
- Narrated by: Ron Butler, Janina Edwards
- Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1857, a woman escaped enslavement on a North Carolina plantation and fled to a farm in New York. In hiding, she worked on a manuscript that would make her famous long after her death. The novel, The Bondwoman’s Narrative, was first published in 2002 to great acclaim, but the author’s identity remained unknown. Over a decade later, Professor Gregg Hecimovich unraveled the mystery of the author’s name and, in The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts, he finally tells her story.
Written by: Gregg Hecimovich
-
The Inconvenient Indian
- A Curious Account of Native People in North America
- Written by: Thomas King
- Narrated by: Lorne Cardinal
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Inconvenient Indian is at once a “history” and the complete subversion of a history - in short, a critical and personal meditation that the remarkable Thomas King has conducted over the past 50 years about what it means to be “Indian” in North America. Rich with dark and light, pain and magic, this book distills the insights gleaned from that meditation, weaving the curiously circular tale of the relationship between non-Natives and Natives in the centuries since the two first encountered each other.
-
-
Angry, embarrassed, disgusted, horrified, nauseous, scared and so so sad, but hopeful and now informed.
- By Shantelle Lamouche on 2021-01-18
Written by: Thomas King
-
Coyote Tales
- Written by: Thomas King
- Narrated by: Meegwun Fairbrother
- Length: 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two tales, set in a time “when animals and human beings still talked to each other”, display Thomas King’s cheeky humor and master storytelling skills. Freshly reissued as an early chapter book, these stories are perfect for newly independent readers.
Written by: Thomas King
-
Medicine River
- Written by: Thomas King
- Narrated by: Wesley French
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Will returns to Medicine River, he thinks he is simply attending his mother’s funeral. He doesn’t count on Harlen Bigbear and his unique brand of community planning. Harlen tries to sell Will on the idea of returning to Medicine River to open shop as the town’s only Native photographer. Somehow, that’s exactly what happens. Through Will’s gentle and humorous narrative, we come to know Medicine River, a small Albertan town bordering a Blackfoot reserve. And we meet its people: the basketball team; Louise Heavyman and her daughter, South Wing, and many more.
-
-
Wry, good humour
- By Jennifer on 2024-02-10
Written by: Thomas King
-
The Next Sure Thing
- Written by: Richard Wagamese
- Narrated by: Billy Merasty
- Length: 2 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cree Thunderboy wants nothing less than to be the next great blues man. But playing to tiny audiences in shabby rooms like Shelly’s Crab Shack, his career is stalled. Then at the race track he meets Win Hardy, a charming rogue who spots Cree’s knack for picking winning horses. He offers to record his first CD and send him on tour, as long as Cree can keep coming up with the hot tips at the track. Then Cree discovers Win’s mob connections. When things inevitably go bad, Cree discovers that in life and in gambling, there is never really the next sure thing.
Written by: Richard Wagamese
-
Mamaskatch
- A Cree Coming of Age
- Written by: Darrel J. McLeod
- Narrated by: William C. Wikcemna Yamni ake Wanzi
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Growing up in the tiny village of Smith, Alberta, Darrel J. McLeod was surrounded by his Cree family's history. In shifting and unpredictable stories, his mother, Bertha, shared narratives of their culture, their family, and the cruelty that she and her sisters endured in residential school. Bertha taught him to be fiercely proud of his heritage and to listen to the birds that would return to watch over and guide him at key junctures of his life. However, in a spiral of events, Darrel's mother turned wild and unstable, and their home life became chaotic.
-
-
Engaging Memoir
- By Trish on 2018-10-10
Written by: Darrel J. McLeod
-
A Short History of Indians in Canada
- Stories
- Written by: Thomas King
- Narrated by: Curtis Michael Holland
- Length: 5 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Winner of the McNally Robinson Aboriginal Book of the Year and the Aboriginal Fiction Book of the Year—a collection of twenty short stories told in Thomas King's classic, wry, irreverent, and allegorical voice.
Written by: Thomas King
-
Indian Horse
- A Novel
- Written by: Richard Wagamese
- Narrated by: Jason Ryll
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Saul Indian Horse is in critical condition. Sitting feeble in an alcoholism treatment facility, he is told that sharing his story will help relieve his agony. Though skeptical, he embarks on a heartbreaking journey from the present - and into the woods of Northern Ontario, where his life began in a snowy Ojibway camp. The tale that follows is one of great pain and great determination from Richard Wagamese, an author who "never seems to waste a shot" ( New York Times).
-
-
Heart wrenching and Humbling
- By Anonymous User on 2018-11-11
Written by: Richard Wagamese
-
Son of a Trickster
- Written by: Eden Robinson
- Narrated by: Jason Ryll
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone knows a guy like Jared: the burnout kid in high school who sells weed cookies and has a scary mom who's often wasted and wielding some kind of weapon. Jared does smoke and drink too much, and he does make the best cookies in town, and his mom is a mess, but he's also a kid who has an immense capacity for compassion and an impulse to watch over people more than twice his age, and he can't rely on anyone for consistent love and support, except for his flatulent pit bull, Baby Killer (he calls her Baby) - and now she's dead.
-
-
Excellent Story
- By sannna on 2017-12-18
Written by: Eden Robinson
-
One Drum
- Stories and Ceremonies for a Planet
- Written by: Richard Wagamese
- Narrated by: Christian Baskous
- Length: 4 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One Drum draws from the foundational teachings of Ojibway tradition, the Grandfather Teachings. Focusing specifically on the lessons of humility, respect, and courage, the volume contains simple ceremonies that anyone anywhere can do, alone or in a group, to foster harmony and connection. Wagamese believed that there is a shaman in each of us, that we are all teachers, and in the world of the spirit, there is no right way or wrong way.
-
-
Engaging and thoughtful
- By Anonymous User on 2020-01-09
Written by: Richard Wagamese
-
Monkey Beach
- A Novel
- Written by: Eden Robinson
- Narrated by: Noelle Kayser
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As she races along Canada's Douglas Channel in her speedboat - heading toward the place where her younger brother Jimmy, presumed drowned, was last seen - 20-year-old Lisamarie Hill recalls her younger days. A volatile and precocious Native girl growing up in Kitamaat, the Haisla Indian reservation located 500 miles north of Vancouver, Lisa came of age standing with her feet firmly planted in two different worlds.
-
-
Lived inside the story
- By Krow Fischer on 2018-08-14
Written by: Eden Robinson
-
Moon of the Crusted Snow
- A Novel
- Written by: Waubgeshig Rice
- Narrated by: Billy Merasty
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. Cut off, people become passive and confused. Panic builds as the food supply dwindles. While the band council and a pocket of community members struggle to maintain order, an unexpected visitor arrives, escaping the crumbling society to the south. Soon after, others follow. Frustrated by the building chaos, a group of young friends and their families turn to the land and Anishinaabe tradition in hopes of helping their community thrive again.
-
-
Enjoyable for ALL Canadians
- By TheMer on 2020-01-31
Written by: Waubgeshig Rice
-
They Called Me Number One
- Secrets and Survival at an Indian Residential School
- Written by: Bev Sellars
- Narrated by: Bev Sellars
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Like thousands of Aboriginal children in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere in the colonized world, Xatsu'll chief Bev Sellars spent part of her childhood as a student in a church-run residential school. These institutions endeavored to "civilize" Native children through Christian teachings; forced separation from family, language, and culture; and strict discipline. In this frank and poignant memoir of her years at St. Joseph's Mission, Sellars breaks her silence about the residential school's lasting effects on her and her family and eloquently articulates her own path to healing.
-
-
Thank You!
- By Julia on 2019-02-23
Written by: Bev Sellars
-
Jonny Appleseed
- A Novel
- Written by: Joshua Whitehead
- Narrated by: Joshua Whitehead
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A tour-de-force debut novel about a Two-Spirit Indigiqueer young man and proud NDN glitter princess who must reckon with his past when he returns home to his reserve. “You're gonna need a rock and a whole lotta medicine” is a mantra that Jonny Appleseed, a young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer, repeats to himself in this vivid and utterly compelling debut novel by poet Joshua Whitehead.
-
-
Y gay?
- By Anonymous User on 2022-12-14
Written by: Joshua Whitehead
-
Gathering Moss
- A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses
- Written by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Narrated by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Living at the limits of our ordinary perception, mosses are a common but largely unnoticed element of the natural world. Gathering Moss is a beautifully written mix of science and personal reflection that invites listeners to explore and learn from the elegantly simple lives of mosses.
-
-
Beautiful voice
- By Tanya on 2020-10-06
Written by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
-
The Color Purple
- Written by: Alice Walker
- Narrated by: Alice Walker
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celie has grown up poor in rural Georgia, despised by society and abused by her own family. She strives to protect her sister, Nettie, from a similar fate, and while Nettie escapes to a new life as a missionary in Africa, Celie is left behind without her best friend and confidante, married off to an older suitor, and sentenced to a life alone with a harsh and brutal husband. In an attempt to transcend a life that often seems too much to bear, Celie begins writing letters to God. The letters, spanning 20 years, record a journey of self-discovery and empowerment guided by the light of a few strong women.
-
-
Breathtaking
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-08-21
Written by: Alice Walker
-
All Our Relations
- Finding the Path Forward
- Written by: Tanya Talaga
- Narrated by: Tanya Talaga
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tanya Talaga, the best-selling author of Seven Fallen Feathers and the 2017-2018 Atkinson Fellow in Public Policy, calls attention to an urgent global humanitarian crisis among Indigenous Peoples - youth suicide.
-
-
A true guide to knowing more
- By Maiingan on 2020-01-26
Written by: Tanya Talaga
-
A Town Called Solace
- Written by: Mary Lawson
- Narrated by: Maggie Huculak, Tajja Isen, Ian Lake
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Town Called Solace, the brilliant and emotionally radiant new novel from Mary Lawson, her first in nearly a decade, opens on a family in crisis. Sixteen-year-old Rose is missing. Angry and rebellious, she had a row with her mother, stormed out of the house and simply disappeared. Left behind is seven-year-old Clara, Rose’s adoring little sister. Isolated by her parents’ efforts to protect her from the truth, Clara is bewildered and distraught.
-
-
What a lovely story
- By Beth Toly on 2021-02-24
Written by: Mary Lawson
Publisher's Summary
Winner of the 2014 Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction!
This is Thomas King's first literary novel in 15 years and follows on the success of the award-winning and best-selling The Inconvenient Indian and his beloved Green Grass, Running Water and Truth and Bright Water, both of which continue to be taught in Canadian schools and universities. Green Grass, Running Water is widely considered a contemporary Canadian classic.
In The Back of the Turtle, Gabriel returns to Smoke River, the reserve where his mother grew up and to which she returned with Gabriel's sister. The reserve is deserted after an environmental disaster killed the population, including Gabriel's family, and the wildlife. Gabriel, a brilliant scientist working for Domidion, created GreenSweep, and indirectly led to the crisis. Now he has come to see the damage and to kill himself in the sea. But as he prepares to let the water take him, he sees a young girl in the waves. Plunging in, he saves her, and soon is saving others. Who are these people with their long black hair and almond eyes who have fallen from the sky?
Filled with brilliant characters, trademark wit, wordplay, and a thorough knowledge of native myth and story-telling, this novel is a masterpiece by one of our most important writers.
Related Collections
More from the same
Narrator:
What listeners say about The Back of the Turtle
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
- Lori
- 2022-03-28
Characters and story both keep you wanting more
I really loved this one! wish it kept going hah hah the characters are very memorable and even at the end you are left with the sense something supernatural is afoot, although it is never explicitly stated.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Memememe
- 2019-07-16
Great Book
Highly recommend. The story and performance well done and amusing. Narrator does a great job with characters.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michelle
- 2022-01-17
Had to buy the book
Because the way the narrator read this book was disconcerting. Inflection all wrong and so much more. Great story…badly read. Buy the book and read it yourself.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jpenguin
- 2018-09-13
A timely, enjoyable read
Thomas King's The Back of the Turtle is a rare gem that explores topical themes like environmental destruction, corporate corruption, and the legacy of colonialism without letting the reader lose hope. The book takes place after an environmental catastrophe has destroyed a small coastal town, driving away the turtles and the tourists, killing residents of the local reserve and leaving much of the area deserted.
With wit and tenderness, and copious references to both Shakespeare and Indigenous myth, King weaves together the stories of a CEO who finds fulfillment in conspicuous consumption; an Indigenous scientist fleeing the horrors he's created; a woman who returns to the reserve where she grew up; a young man who hasn't been the same since the town's ecology and economy collapsed, and a Puck-like older man who seems to know just what all the other characters need to know. Oh, and a mysterious and important dog. A good choice for thoughtful vacation reading. #Audible1
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Book Mom
- 2021-02-06
That narration...
What on earth. Remarkable story but I couldn’t listen to that narration. Horrible. Very disappointing
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mary
- 2019-03-02
Narrator sounds like a sportscaster
Hard to feel the emotion in this otherwise interesting, thought-provoking story that reflects the ills of unfeeling corporate greed and short attention span of the media. Perhaps intentional but it was hard to care for the characters as the narrator's drone felt like a sportscaster reading of last night's unexceptional highlights. Struggled to pay attention. This from someone who generally loves audiobooks.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Caitlin
- 2021-09-24
Unsettling and cozy
Tom King once again makes the familiar strange, the esoteric familiar, and the mundane and awkward so very endearing and grubby. This is a story that is shaped with stories, the ground level horrors of ecological destruction, and the soporific power of consumerism. It defies proper description.
This narrator, though. It sounds like he's reading ad copy through the whole novel. I feel as though I am being sold a car, a toothpaste, a once-in-a-lifetime experience for only 6 easy payments of 19.95! It was seriously jarring and did not work well for most of the POV characters, aside from maybe the vapid CEO. His is not a storytelling voice and it really detracted from my enjoyment of the story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lexus
- 2021-12-16
What was that narration?
This is a fantastic book, and Thomas King should be proud of it. However, the narrator was just awful. It made this book a slog, which is impressive considering how good it is otherwise. I recommend reading this story, rather than listening to it. If you can only listen to this story for whatever reason, this isn't the book for you.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2023-01-30
Outstanding
A classic novel. Thomas King is a seasoned storyteller, The narration is outstanding, Doug Phillip brings the book to life. I'd recommend this book for all Canadians to enjoy.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- R Jarvis
- 2021-02-19
It will make you think
An interesting listen where the story makes you ponder issues that are very relevant and often disagreed upon. A beginning or end don't seem to be the objective, more about how you perceive the now.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful