Get a free audiobook
The Most Fun We Ever Had
People who bought this also bought...
-
The Gifted School
- A Novel
- Written by: Bruce Holsinger
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This deliciously sharp novel captures the relentless ambitions and fears that animate parents and their children in modern America, exploring the conflicts between achievement and potential, talent and privilege. Set in the fictional town of Crystal, Colorado, The Gifted School is a keenly entertaining novel that observes the drama within a community of friends and parents as good intentions and high ambitions collide in a pile-up with long-held secrets and lies.
-
-
Borrrrrring
- By Amazon Customer on 2019-09-30
-
Three Women
- Written by: Lisa Taddeo
- Narrated by: Tara Lynne Barr, Marin Ireland, Mena Suvari, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It thrills us and torments us. It controls our thoughts, destroys our lives, and it’s all we live for. Yet, we almost never speak of it. And as a buried force in our lives, desire remains largely unexplored - until now. Over the past eight years, journalist Lisa Taddeo has driven across the country six times to embed herself with ordinary women from different regions and backgrounds. The result, Three Women, is the deepest nonfiction portrait of desire ever written and one of the most anticipated books of the year.
-
-
I’m still trying to figure out how to explain what I think of this book. It’s every woman in some way. Magnificent read!
- By Anonymous User on 2019-07-24
-
The Dutch House
- A Novel
- Written by: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Tom Hanks
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother.
-
-
My heart could just burst!!!!
- By Anonymous User on 2019-10-14
-
Mrs. Everything
- A Novel
- Written by: Jennifer Weiner
- Narrated by: Ari Graynor, Beth Malone
- Length: 16 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Jennifer Weiner, the number-one New York Times best-selling author of Who Do You Love and In Her Shoes comes a smart, thoughtful, and timely exploration of two sisters’ lives from the 1950s to the present as they struggle to find their places - and be true to themselves - in a rapidly evolving world. Mrs. Everything is an ambitious, richly textured journey through history - and herstory - as these two sisters navigate a changing America over the course of their lives.
-
-
It’s EVERYTHING you love in a great book
- By Carolyn wolff on 2019-12-12
-
The Secrets We Kept
- A Novel
- Written by: Lara Prescott
- Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan, Cynthia Farrell, Mozhan Marnò, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the height of the Cold War, two secretaries are pulled out of the typing pool at the CIA and given the assignment of a lifetime. Their mission: to smuggle Doctor Zhivago out of the USSR, where no one dare publish it, and help Pasternak's magnum opus make its way into print around the world. Glamorous and sophisticated Sally Forrester is a seasoned spy who has honed her gift for deceit all over the world - using her magnetism and charm to pry secrets out of powerful men. Irina is a complete novice, and is under Sally's tutelage....
-
The Giver of Stars
- A Novel
- Written by: Jojo Moyes
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So, when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically. The leader, and soon Alice's greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who's never asked a man's permission for anything.
-
-
Loved it!
- By Paris on 2019-10-21
-
The Gifted School
- A Novel
- Written by: Bruce Holsinger
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This deliciously sharp novel captures the relentless ambitions and fears that animate parents and their children in modern America, exploring the conflicts between achievement and potential, talent and privilege. Set in the fictional town of Crystal, Colorado, The Gifted School is a keenly entertaining novel that observes the drama within a community of friends and parents as good intentions and high ambitions collide in a pile-up with long-held secrets and lies.
-
-
Borrrrrring
- By Amazon Customer on 2019-09-30
-
Three Women
- Written by: Lisa Taddeo
- Narrated by: Tara Lynne Barr, Marin Ireland, Mena Suvari, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It thrills us and torments us. It controls our thoughts, destroys our lives, and it’s all we live for. Yet, we almost never speak of it. And as a buried force in our lives, desire remains largely unexplored - until now. Over the past eight years, journalist Lisa Taddeo has driven across the country six times to embed herself with ordinary women from different regions and backgrounds. The result, Three Women, is the deepest nonfiction portrait of desire ever written and one of the most anticipated books of the year.
-
-
I’m still trying to figure out how to explain what I think of this book. It’s every woman in some way. Magnificent read!
- By Anonymous User on 2019-07-24
-
The Dutch House
- A Novel
- Written by: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Tom Hanks
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother.
-
-
My heart could just burst!!!!
- By Anonymous User on 2019-10-14
-
Mrs. Everything
- A Novel
- Written by: Jennifer Weiner
- Narrated by: Ari Graynor, Beth Malone
- Length: 16 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Jennifer Weiner, the number-one New York Times best-selling author of Who Do You Love and In Her Shoes comes a smart, thoughtful, and timely exploration of two sisters’ lives from the 1950s to the present as they struggle to find their places - and be true to themselves - in a rapidly evolving world. Mrs. Everything is an ambitious, richly textured journey through history - and herstory - as these two sisters navigate a changing America over the course of their lives.
-
-
It’s EVERYTHING you love in a great book
- By Carolyn wolff on 2019-12-12
-
The Secrets We Kept
- A Novel
- Written by: Lara Prescott
- Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan, Cynthia Farrell, Mozhan Marnò, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the height of the Cold War, two secretaries are pulled out of the typing pool at the CIA and given the assignment of a lifetime. Their mission: to smuggle Doctor Zhivago out of the USSR, where no one dare publish it, and help Pasternak's magnum opus make its way into print around the world. Glamorous and sophisticated Sally Forrester is a seasoned spy who has honed her gift for deceit all over the world - using her magnetism and charm to pry secrets out of powerful men. Irina is a complete novice, and is under Sally's tutelage....
-
The Giver of Stars
- A Novel
- Written by: Jojo Moyes
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So, when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically. The leader, and soon Alice's greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who's never asked a man's permission for anything.
-
-
Loved it!
- By Paris on 2019-10-21
-
Wild Game
- My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
- Written by: Adrienne Brodeur
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Adrienne Brodeur
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a hot July night on Cape Cod when Adrienne was 14, her mother, Malabar, woke her at midnight with five simple words that would set the course of both of their lives for years to come: Ben Souther just kissed me. Adrienne instantly became her mother’s confidante and helpmate, blossoming in the sudden light of her attention, and from then on, Malabar came to rely on her daughter to help orchestrate what would become an epic affair with her husband’s closest friend.
-
-
what a story and so well written
- By Amazon Customer on 2019-11-15
-
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
- Written by: Abbi Waxman
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book. When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They're all - or mostly all - excited to meet her! She'll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It's a disaster!
-
-
Loved it!
- By Vita on 2019-07-21
-
Evvie Drake Starts Over
- A Novel
- Written by: Linda Holmes
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Linda Holmes
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a sleepy seaside town in Maine, recently widowed Eveleth “Evvie” Drake rarely leaves her large, painfully empty house nearly a year after her husband’s death in a car crash. Everyone in town, even her best friend, Andy, thinks grief keeps her locked inside, and Evvie doesn’t correct them. Meanwhile, in New York City, Dean Tenney, former Major League pitcher and Andy’s childhood best friend, is wrestling with what miserable athletes living out their worst nightmares call the “yips”: he can’t throw straight anymore, and even worse, he can’t figure out why.
-
-
Lovely Characters
- By Janean |Rosin on 2019-10-11
-
Olive, Again (Oprah's Book Club)
- A Novel
- Written by: Elizabeth Strout
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Prickly, wry, resistant to change yet ruthlessly honest and deeply empathetic, Olive Kitteridge is “a compelling life force” (San Francisco Chronicle). The New Yorker has said that Elizabeth Strout “animates the ordinary with an astonishing force”, and she has never done so more clearly than in this book, where the iconic Olive struggles to understand not only herself and her own life but the lives of those around her in the town of Crosby, Maine.
-
-
Beautiful & haunting
- By RSoltis on 2019-12-09
-
Whisper Network
- A Novel
- Written by: Chandler Baker
- Narrated by: Almarie Guerra
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sloane, Ardie, Grace, and Rosalita have worked at Truviv, Inc., for years. The sudden death of Truviv’s CEO means their boss, Ames, will likely take over the entire company. Each of the women has a different relationship with Ames, who has always been surrounded by whispers about how he treats women. Those whispers have been ignored, swept under the rug, hidden away by those in charge. But the world has changed, and the women are watching this promotion differently.
-
-
Makes you think & reflect.
- By Brenda Markin on 2019-08-08
-
Ask Again, Yes
- A Novel
- Written by: Mary Beth Keane
- Narrated by: Molly Pope
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope are two NYPD rookies assigned to the same Bronx precinct in 1973. They aren’t close friends on the job, but end up living next door to each other outside the city. What goes on behind closed doors in both houses - the loneliness of Francis’ wife, Lena, and the instability of Brian’s wife, Anne, sets the stage for the stunning events to come.
-
-
Loved it!
- By Anonymous User on 2019-10-06
-
One-Hit Wonder
- Written by: Lisa Jewell
- Narrated by: Helen Duff
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shy and gawky, Ana has always daydreamed about living the life of her exotic half-sister Bee, a pop singer who had a number one hit single before she inexplicably vanished from the celebrity scene. When Bee turns up dead, Ana is dispatched to the big city to clear out her apartment. Instantly seduced by the second-hand glamour of Bee's baubles, bangles, and bottles of Pierre-Jouet, Ana takes up with Bee's wild club-hopping cronies.
-
The Reckless Oath We Made
- Written by: Bryn Greenwood
- Narrated by: Alex McKenna, Kirby Heyborne, full cast
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Zee is nobody's fairy tale princess. Almost six-foot, with a redhead's temper and a shattered hip, she has a long list of worries: never-ending bills, her beautiful, gullible sister, her five-year-old nephew, her housebound mother, and her drug-dealing boss. Zee may not be a princess, but Gentry is an actual knight, complete with sword, armor, and a code of honor. Two years ago the voices he hears called him to be Zee's champion. Both shy and autistic, he's barely spoken to her since, but he has kept watch, ready to come to her aid.
-
Dual Citizens
- A Novel
- Written by: Alix Ohlin
- Narrated by: Thérèse Plummer
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lark and Robin are half-sisters whose similarities end at being named for birds. While Lark is shy and studious, Robin is wild and artistic. Raised in Montreal by their disinterested single mother, they form a fierce team in childhood regardless of their differences. As they grow up, Lark excels at school and Robin becomes an extraordinary pianist. At 17, Lark flees to America to attend college, where she finds her calling in documentary films, and her sister soon joins her. Under pressure, their bond grows strained and their paths abruptly diverge.
-
-
Slow start but fascinating story
- By BDC on 2019-10-31
-
The Cactus
- Written by: Sarah Haywood
- Narrated by: Katherine Manners
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Susan Green, messy emotions don’t fit into the equation of her perfectly ordered life. She has a flat that is ideal for one, a job that suits her passion for logic, and an “interpersonal arrangement” that provides cultural and other more intimate benefits. But suddenly confronted with the loss of her mother and the news that she is about to become a mother herself, Susan’s greatest fear is realized. She is losing control.
-
-
Excellent story and narration
- By Marjorie E on 2019-06-25
-
The Beekeeper of Aleppo
- A Novel
- Written by: Christy Lefteri
- Narrated by: Art Malik
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nuri is a beekeeper and Afra, his wife, is an artist. Mornings, Nuri rises early to hear the call to prayer before driving to his hives in the countryside. On weekends, Afra sells her colorful landscape paintings at the open-air market. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the hills of the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo - until the unthinkable happens. When all they love is destroyed by war, Nuri knows they have no choice except to leave their home.
-
City of Girls
- A Novel
- Written by: Elizabeth Gilbert
- Narrated by: Blair Brown
- Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beloved author Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction with a unique love story set in the New York City theater world during the 1940s. Told from the perspective of an older woman as she looks back on her youth with both pleasure and regret (but mostly pleasure), City of Girls explores themes of female sexuality and promiscuity, as well as the idiosyncrasies of true love. In 1940, nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, owing to her lackluster freshman-year performance.
-
-
Okay
- By John on 2019-06-25
Publisher's Summary
An Instant New York Times Best Seller
"Ambitious and brilliantly written." (Jane Smiley, The Washington Post)
"Outstanding...[the] literary love child of Jonathan Franzen and Anne Tyler." (The Guardian)
"Everything about this brilliant debut cuts deep: the humor, the wisdom, the pathos. Claire Lombardo writes like she's been doing it for a hundred years, and like she's been alive for a thousand." (Rebecca Makkai, author of The Great Believers)
When Marilyn Connolly and David Sorenson fall in love in the 1970s, they are blithely ignorant of all that's to come. By 2016, their four radically different daughters are each in a state of unrest: Wendy, widowed young, soothes herself with booze and younger men; Violet, a litigator-turned-stay-at-home-mom, battles anxiety and self-doubt when the darkest part of her past resurfaces; Liza, a neurotic and newly tenured professor, finds herself pregnant with a baby she's not sure she wants by a man she's not sure she loves; and Grace, the dawdling youngest daughter, begins living a lie that no one in her family even suspects. Above it all, the daughters share the lingering fear that they will never find a love quite like their parents'.
As the novel moves through the tumultuous year following the arrival of Jonah Bendt - given up by one of the daughters in a closed adoption 15 years before - we are shown the rich and varied tapestry of the Sorensons' past: years marred by adolescence, infidelity, and resentment, but also the transcendent moments of joy that make everything else worthwhile.
Spanning nearly half a century, and set against the quintessential American backdrop of Chicago and its prospering suburbs, Lombardo's debut explores the triumphs and burdens of love, the fraught tethers of parenthood and sisterhood, and the baffling mixture of affection, abhorrence, resistance, and submission we feel for those closest to us. In painting this luminous portrait of a family's becoming, Lombardo joins the ranks of writers such as Celeste Ng, Elizabeth Strout, and Jonathan Franzen as visionary chroniclers of our modern lives.
What the critics say
Named a most anticipated book of the summer by O Magazine, People, Chicago Tribune, New York Post, InStyle, Good Housekeeping, Daily Beast, PopSugar, and LitHub
"In The Most Fun We Ever Had, Claire Lombardo has given us a truly unforgettable American family. The book bristles on every page with intelligence and fierce wit. What a debut!" (Richard Russo, author of That Old Cape Magic and Chances Are...)
“Lombardo's impressive debut is a gripping and poignant ode to a messy, loving family in all its glory. She juggles a huge cast of characters with seeming effortlessness, bringing each to life with humor, vividness and acute psychological insight.” (Madeline Miller, New York Times best-selling author of Circe)
“A family epic…It resembles other sprawling midwestern family dramas, like Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections (2001)…The result is an affectionate, sharp, and eminently readable exploration of the challenges of love in its many forms.” (Booklist)
More from the same
What members say
Average Customer Ratings
Overall
-
-
5 Stars18
-
4 Stars12
-
3 Stars0
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars0
Performance
-
-
5 Stars22
-
4 Stars6
-
3 Stars0
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars0
Story
-
-
5 Stars17
-
4 Stars11
-
3 Stars0
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars0
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2019-11-11
Loved it!
I loved this story and the narration. I especially enjoyed all the characters. Definitely recommend !
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- MCK
- 2019-09-03
Loved this poignant tribute to motherhood!
I enjoyed every minute of this well crafted story about the Sorensen Family. I thought it dove into what it means to be a mother, daughter and sister with such subtlety and depth. The narrator gave each character a subtly distinct voice that was helpful and not distracting. She was lovely to listen to.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kaysi12
- 2019-07-08
Wonderful book
I recently saw that I have downloaded 700+ audiobooks over the years and this is one of my top ten favorites. It is a wonderful story. I’d love to see a sequel with Jonah as the central character, but I’ll read anything Claire Lombardo writes in the future and I hope she writes many more novels.
42 of 44 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kelly
- 2019-07-03
An enjoyable story of multiple generations
4.5 stars.
This is one of those books that is 550 pages long and which I would have loved to be even longer.
It was exactly the kind of book I love. Emotional. Tragic. Character-driven. Dramatic yet funny.
Witty, with pages filled with themes of love, family, grief, misunderstandings, redemption and hope.
I loved that Lombardo created a multi-generational family who had secrets, held resentments, were selfish and self-centered, and who loved each other immensely. It was so real. Most of us can list 1,000 complaints about our siblings and parents. We think the other person lives a more blessed life. We think they are loved more. We fail to see the story through their eyes. And yet we would do anything for them, because we love them. This book is exactly that. It is family. And I cared about them all. I worried when they hurt each other that they would do permanent damage. I cried for their grief and pain. They were in my heart and I was sad when I closed the cover.
Marilyn Connelly and David Sorensen met while in college in the mid-70s, and soon married. Forty years later they have raised 4 daughters, David is a retired family physician, Marilyn is a super-mom, and they are crazy in love with one another still. The novel covers is written with intimate glimpses of these 40 years, with portions of the story told in the current time (2016), and flashing back to many other stages of life. We get to know the couple and their girls -- Wendy, Violet, Liza, and Grace.
Violet and Wendy are a year apart--Irish twins, the sisters who were the closest and developed a love-hate relationship. Liza was considered the middle child, and Grace was born (on purpose, but everyone thought she was their Catholic accident) in 1993. The current year is 2016, but the novel moves back and forth in time, mounting little mysteries and hints and integrating interlocking narratives. Everyone has a storyline, independently and collectively. And that includes the loose cannon, Jonah, given up for adoption by Violet as an infant and, at age 15, has resurfaced, to Violet’s dismay.
Wendy is the oldest. She is sarcastic, irreverent and troubled. She has had a hard life, facing big losses. Unfortunately her losses have made her combative, and reliant upon alcohol. She keeps her family at arm's length, unwilling to lower her guard.
Violet was born less than a year after Wendy. She has control issues, and seeks perfection. Her husband and two young children are the perfect family. She has a big secret that will force her to open her heart and mind, and she becomes far more likable as we follow her story.
Liza, the third daughter is pregnant and a successful professor. But her boyfriend is severely depressed, and Liza isn't sure that she actually loves him or that she wants her baby.
And then there is the baby, Gracie. She is in Portland, where she is supposed to be attending law school. This is a lie and she is finding herself digging that hole bigger with every conversation.
The author beautifully shows the various elements of the story from viewpoints of several characters. We get to see how their memories and perceptions are colored through the tint of their selfish view of the world. We spy the missed opportunities and we find ourselves wishing that we could force a face to face discussion.
This book is like reading the story of your own family. It is warm and cozy in spite of the pain. It is full of love and laughter over shared memories, embarrassments and inside-jokes.
36 of 38 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- adrienne waikel
- 2019-07-17
Wordy and long
I bought this because of the good reviews but found it very wordy and unnecessarily long. I’m not sure I can even finish it. So many long descriptions of chaos in the house which seems overdone. I have four kids too and it never seemed like the drudgery that the author goes on and on about. Interesting story of the family though and of the nuances of a marriage but not sure it’s worth the credit.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Denise
- 2019-07-28
Disappointing at Best
I selected this book because both the author’s bio and the story synopsis seemed promising. Also, because I’m a Chicagoan, I thought it would be great to finally delve into a book set in my beautiful city. Boy, was I wrong!
Perhaps the Chicago aspect of the story was its most redeeming quality. To me, the majority of the characters were narcissistic and unlikable, especially Violet and Grace. Marilyn, the “saintly” mom, was really a pathetic martyr and a motherhood loser based on the behaviors of her daughters. Liza, the professor, was a ridiculous doormat. Only Wendy, underneath her crunchy facade, had an empathetic, caring and generous heart.
I kept asking myself, if these girls had such wonderful and perfect parents then why did they boldface lie about their lives and keep their failures a secret from them? That didn’t make sense to me at all.
I’m not a prude but like another reviewer mentioned, the swearing was over the top, totally unnecessary. On several occasions the language actually made me wince. It really detracted from the story and made the family even more unlikable and unbelievable.
Don’t waste your money or your credit on this book.
19 of 20 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Carolyn White
- 2019-07-15
Good story
I liked this book a lot. I did find there to be a lot of sex scenes between the parents. Their love was the central facet of the story, so I get it, but still, it felt repetitive. Great characters and wonderful writing, though.
15 of 16 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2019-07-03
A Glass Half Full
The writing was simple enough, but the story had so much meat...So much more to grow on. The story highlighted the epiphany that we always get as adults that ‘everyone’s got mess’; lightly put. It was endearing, a sweet picture into a family that shows love at variations, but there was so much drama and room for elaboration on the characters that could have really made this a bit more juicy. There were situations that could have been a bit more climatic that just failed me with a very “fictional” response that most real families would have. Nonetheless, I could listen to the narrator again and maybe give the author another try in the future. Definitely more of a long flight listen when I don’t want to hold a book.
15 of 16 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- C. Stilwell
- 2019-07-19
Excellent
Sad when it was over. If you like stories that span decades and follow the lives of family members, you will love this. Each character is perfectly developed.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- starshockeymom
- 2019-07-13
Loved this book!
This was such a great story! I did not want it to end. Highly recommend.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Karen Brow
- 2019-07-29
Ug. Disappointing
This book has really good reviews and I so wanted to like it, but had to stop half-way through because of boredom and frustration. All the daughter characters were either truly unlikeable or just so darn dumb it was actually uncomfortable. One has such an appallingly vicious mouth I wanted to slap her on several occasions and one is so painfully naive and helpless I wanted to strangle her. (I do not usually feel this violent towards imaginary literary characters.) The other two are more run-of-the-mill hateful and clueless and I couldn't muster any compassion towards any of them.
While this is supposed to be a modern story, I'm sorry-- the sexual detail is... well... creepy. It's way too detailed to be erotic and was usually describing some utterly crass or cringingly and/or stupid situation. (Mom and dad having sex in the living room one evening with not one of four young daughters in bed yet. "Gee we forgot we had daughters and how could we know this could turn out awkward?")
It's a shame actually, as I usually enjoy an author with good detail and descriptive skills, but I sometimes found myself asking why she'd go into so much fine detail about an ultimately irrelevant thing or inconsequential observation.
So I found the parents to be spineless push-overs and their tolerance levels far beyond reality and the daughters just...yuck. I couldn't spend any more time with any of them and pulled the plug.
17 of 20 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Gary & Jay
- 2019-09-02
GOD! This was the most exasperating, involving,
heartfelt, nearly off-putting story about family I've experienced in a very long time.
At some point along the way, the Sorensen sisters are nicknamed what sounds like Wen, Vile, Lies, and I'm not sure if the youngest was ever called Gray, but it would have fit her as well as the others do their characters.
But this is a long tale, and one that provokes strong emotion in the reader (at least this reader), to an unusual extent. It isn't enough, for instance, to have knowledge and put together the cruel facts of one sister's life of illness and loss. Lombardo has us experience her cold, cutting humor as unredeemed for a long time before we feel any hint of her wonderful qualities.
And it's somewhat the same for most of the characters, who err and feel shame and conceal in such a way that we're angered and guilt-ridden as we turn away or identify with our own inner science.
There's no big secret here, nor any big reveal. It's life as it's mostly lived: A lot lucky sometimes, with lots of breaks, and a disaster sometimes, for no reason.
If this review seems a bit off-handed, it's because I didn't know how else to write how I felt. Be assured that when you begin this enthralling listen, there will be a couple of times that you'll be bored and ready to quit, and many more times that you'll be very emotionally involved, but you will definitely end up in love.
I highly recommend this novel, which is bravely narrated to perfection by Emily Rankin.
Jay Thomas
2 of 2 people found this review helpful