• The Beautiful Miscellaneous

  • By: Dominic Smith
  • Narrated by: Richard Powers
  • Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
  • 3.4 out of 5 stars (53 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Beautiful Miscellaneous  By  cover art

The Beautiful Miscellaneous

By: Dominic Smith
Narrated by: Richard Powers
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.56

Buy for $15.56

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Dominic Smith's novel explores genius and loss, failure and redemption, and a son's struggle with the crushing weight of his father's expectations.

Nathan Nelson is just above average in everything he does. However, his father, a renowned physicist, pursuing his quest to uncover his son's latent gifts, sends Nathan to whiz-kid summer camps to learn college algebra. By the time Nathan is 17, hopes for a late-blooming prodigy seem dashed.

Then a tragic accident and ensuing coma leave Nathan with an altered mind that allows him to memorize vast amounts of information. Nathan's father, seeking an application for the new talent, sends him to a research institute where, amid misfits and savants, Nathan tries to find a purpose for the new way he perceives the world.

©2007 Dominic Smith (P)2007 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Lyrical...poetic and darkly romantic...evocative." (Boston Globe)

"Highly entertaining...fascinating...Smith writes vividly....He has a talent for descriptive imagery." (New York Times)

Love Books? You'll Love Audible.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Transform your day

Replace endless scrolling with endless listening. Chores can be fun.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Listen everywhere

Download titles to listen offline, wherever you are in the world.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Carry your entire Library

Your stories go where you go. Audiobooks don’t weigh a thing.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Listen and learn

Discover stories that can change your mind, your well-being, and your life.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Reach your reading goals

You can’t turn pages while you drive—but you can press play.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Find your niche

WIth thousands of titles to explore, there’s something for everyone.

Try for $0.00 $14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

What listeners say about The Beautiful Miscellaneous

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    21
  • 3 Stars
    20
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Is that all there is?

This book promises much more than it delivers. It grazes over potentially intriguing subjects such as the inter-relatedness of quantum theory, human psychology and the existence of an eternal soul, but these are only treated sketchily as side-notes to what is otherwise a fairly standard coming of age story. It's relatively well-written, but a disappointment overall.

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
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Ugh... goes nowhere... terribly boring

I listened to The Last Painting of Sarah Devos by this author and absolutely loved it. The writing and story were gripping. I found myself rewinding just to hear certain passages or sentences over again. The narrator is wonderful. So I thought The Beautiful Miscellaneous would be a good choice. Wrong... Did the same author write this book? This book was terribly dull, the narration uninspiring and the story endless. I kept thinking this will go somewhere but, no. Very disappointing. Although I listened to the entire book, I'm going to return it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful