Booker Prize 2026 · Audiobook Review
Written by Missouri Williams · Narrated by Genevieve Gaunt
The Vivisectors by Missouri Williams, narrated by Genevieve Gaunt, was longlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize. An ambitious, strange and deliberately elusive novel, it gave me plenty to think about — although not always enough reason to keep listening.
And there are gardeners. Gardeners everywhere.
The Story
Set in a strange, decaying university city gradually being reclaimed by nature, The Vivisectors follows Agathe, a young woman working for an academic, who becomes drawn into a dispute involving the university and a student named Adam.
There are ideas everywhere — academia, power, identity, relationships, nature and social division — and the novel often feels more interested in those ideas than in conventional plot.
My biggest problem was engagement. My mind wandered while I was listening, which happens with audiobooks. What mattered was that when I realised I’d stopped paying attention, I couldn’t be bothered to rewind. Nothing was pulling me back strongly enough.
And then there are the gardeners.
Possibly more gardeners than plot.
The Narrator
Genevieve Gaunt narrates the audiobook, which runs for just under nine hours. I’d heard her previously in Maggie O’Farrell’s The Marriage Portrait, and once again she’s a confident and accomplished narrator.
My difficulties with The Vivisectors certainly weren’t down to her. She handles some dense and unusual material very well and does a decent job of bringing the novel to life — considering it was barely breathing.
The Waffleometer
A relatively short audiobook can still contain an impressive quantity of waffle.
There are digressions, philosophical discussions, recurring motifs and passages that seem determined not to arrive anywhere by the shortest possible route.
And gardeners.
Did I mention the gardeners?
Scores
Story & Writing: 2 / 5
Narration: 4 / 5
Waffleometer: 4 / 5
On the Waffleometer, higher means more waffle.
The Verdict
I didn’t enjoy The Vivisectors, but that isn’t the same as saying there’s nothing worthwhile in it.
It’s ambitious, unusual and full of ideas, and I can understand why it attracted the attention of the Booker judges. Readers who enjoy elusive, intellectually demanding fiction may find much more here than I did.
For me, though, the telling moment was realising that I’d stopped listening — and not wanting to rewind.
I’m glad the Booker longlist persuaded me to try it.
I’m equally glad I’ve finished it.
The gardeners can look after themselves now.