The Lion Tamer Who Lost (Audiobook) by Louise Beech

 

The Lion Tamer who Lost by Louise Beech.

Audiobook narrated by Jordan Metcalfe.

Released 22nd January 2019 by Audible Studios.

From the cover:

Be careful what you wish for…

Long ago, Andrew made a childhood wish, and kept it in a silver box. When it finally comes true, he wishes he hadn’t…

Long ago, Ben made a promise and he had a dream: to travel to Africa to volunteer at a lion reserve. When he finally makes it, it isn’t for the reasons he imagined…

Ben and Andrew keep meeting in unexpected places, and the intense relationship that develops seems to be guided by fate. Or is it? What if the very thing that draws them together is tainted by past secrets that threaten everything?

A dark, consuming drama that shifts from Zimbabwe to England, and then back into the past, The Lion Tamer Who Lost is also a devastatingly beautiful love story, with a tragic heart…

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Years ago, Ben made a promise to someone very dear to him that he would one day travel to Africa and visit the lions he has always been fascinated by. He now finds himself at a lion reserve in Zimbabwe, but his reasons for being here are a lot more complicated than just fulfilling a childhood vow.

As Ben develops a bond with a young female lion cub, putting in countless hours towards her rehabilitation so she can some day return to the wild, he revisits the past that has led him to the African plains - primarily the tragedy of his relationship with Andrew, the man he felt a powerful connection with, and the complexities of the family he is unable to confess his secrets to.

Ben must make some decisions about where his life goes from here. Can he set himself free, or will he continue to live a lie?

The Lion Tamer Who Lost is one of the most affecting stories I have ever experienced about family, connection, and finding the courage to be true to yourself. It is very difficult to talk about this one, or express quite how devastatingly beautiful this book is, because so much of what makes this so overwhelmingly moving is revealed over the course of the many layered story - and this is one I have no intention of dropping spoilers about.

For the most part, we follow Ben as he fulfils the promise he made to spend time with the lions in Africa, and reflects on the significant moments with his family and the mysterious Andrew, and as you reach the latter parts of the book, the voices of Ben's father and Andrew also come into play. Each part of the tale winds together with almost exquisitely painful suspense, gradually completing the picture of the heartbreak that has led Ben here, and Louise Beech absolutely flays you to the emotional bone in the process. 

Beech uses the themes of lions, family ties, honesty, love and the power of wishes to utmost perfection in this bittersweet story, ripping your heart out and reducing you to a blubbering mess. And just when you think you cannot cry anymore, she hits you with more moments of sob inducing drama to get you reaching for the, now almost empty, box of tissues again. But having said all this about her ability to make you cry, cry and cry some more, there is a life-affirming aspect to this tear-jerker of all tear-jerkers that lifts you up in the most magical way at the end of the story - and, you guessed it, brings on more tears, if you have any left.

I was assured that this story was both glorious and an utter sob-fest and can report that both these things are true in equal measure. The audio book is narrated with accomplished skill by Jordan Metcalfe, who is a new voice artist to me. He draws you in from the very first word spoken, carries you along with his dulcet tones, and makes you feel every ounce of feeling in Beech's words. I found myself just sitting, listening to Jordan's voice completely spellbound, which is the finest compliment I can pay to a narrator. Superb!

I loved every teary moment of this story, and cannot recommend it highly enough to you all. It is stunning. 

The Lion Tamer Who Lost is available to buy now in paperback and ebook from Orenda Books, and in audio format.

About the author:

Louise Beech is an exceptional literary talent, whose debut novel How To Be Brave was a Guardian Reader's Choice in 2015. The sequel, The Mountain in My Shoe was shortlisted for the Not the Booker Prize. Her third book, Maria in the Moon was widely reviewed and critically acclaimed. Her short fiction has won the Glass Woman Prize, the Eric Hoffer Award for Prose, and the Aesthetica Creative competition, as well as shortlisting for the Bridport Prize twice. Louise is currently writing her next book. She lives with her husband and children on the outskirts of Hull the UK's 2017 City of Culture and loves her job as Front of House Usher at Hull Truck Theatre, where her first play was performed in 2012.