My Ex-Life
By: Stephen McCauley
Categories: Fiction, Literary
By: Andrew Sean Greer
Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
Who says you can't run away from your problems? Arthur Less is a failed novelist about to turn 50. A wedding invitation arrives in the post: it is from an ex-boyfriend of nine years who is engaged to someone else. Arthur can't say yes - it would be too awkward; he can't say no - it would look like defeat. So, he begins to accept the invitations on his desk to half-baked literary events around the world. From France to India, Germany to Japan, Arthur almost falls in love, almost falls to his death, and puts miles between him and the plight he refuses to face.
Very enjoyable. Less is definitely moreish.
By bookylady on 06-02-19
My Life as a Goddess
A Memoir through (Un)Popular Culture
By: Guy Branum, Mindy Kaling - foreword
Narrated by: Guy Branum, Mindy Kaling - foreword
From a young age, Guy Branum always felt as if he were on the outside looking in. Self-taught, introspective, and from a boring farm town, he couldn't relate to his neighbors. While other boys played outside, he stayed indoors reading Greek mythology. And being gay and overweight, he got used to diminishing himself. But little by little, he started learning from all the strange, lonely outcasts in history, and he started to feel hope. In this collection of personal essays, Guy talks about finding a sense of belonging at Berkeley, being typecast as the "Sassy Gay Friend", and more....
Strikingly resonant
By Louis on 03-08-18
Christodora
By: Tim Murphy
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Christa Lewis, Kyla Garcia, and others
The Christodora is home to Milly and Jared, a privileged young couple with artistic ambitions. Their neighbour, Hector, a Puerto Rican gay man who was once a celebrated AIDS activist but is now a lonely addict, becomes connected to Milly's and Jared's lives in ways none of them can anticipate. Meanwhile, the couple's adopted son, Mateo, grows to appreciate the opportunities for both self-realization and oblivion that New York offers.
By: Mary Beth Keane
Narrated by: Molly Pope
A story of love and redemption, faith and forgiveness, Ask Again, Yes reveals the way childhood memories change when viewed from the distance of adulthood - villains lose their menace, and those who appeared innocent seem less so. A story of how, if we're lucky, the violence lurking beneath everyday life can be vanquished by the power of love.
Gripping family saga
By Helena F on 09-11-19
Single, Carefree, Mellow
By: Katherine Heiny
Narrated by: Penelope Rawlins, Jennifer Woodward
In the title story, we meet Maya, who is torn between her wryly funny boyfriend and the allure of her veterinarian. In "Andorra," a woman's lover calls her every Thursday as he drives to meet his wife at marriage counselling. "How to Give the Wrong Impression" shows us a woman pining for her roommate, a man who will hold her hand but then tell her that her palm is sweaty.
Elmet
By: Fiona Mozley
Narrated by: Gareth Bennett-Ryan
An atmospheric and thrilling debut set in Yorkshire - perfect for fans of The Loney and The Essex Serpent. Fresh and distinctive writing from an exciting new voice in fiction, Elmet is an unforgettable novel about family, as well as a beautiful meditation on landscape. Daniel is heading north. He is looking for someone. The simplicity of his early life with Daddy and Cathy has turned sour and fearful.
A Powerful Story of Outsiders& Family Love/Loyalty
My Name Is Leon
By: Kit de Waal
Narrated by: Lenny Henry
A brother chosen. A brother left behind. And a family where you'd least expect to find one. Leon is nine, and has a perfect baby brother called Jake. They have gone to live with Maureen, who has fuzzy red hair like a halo, and a belly like Father Christmas. But the adults are speaking in low voices, and wearing pretend faces. They are threatening to give Jake to strangers.
By ChrisBis on 15-08-16
An Honest Man
By: Ben Fergusson
Narrated by: Joe Jameson
In West Berlin in 1989, 18-year-old Ralf has just left school and is living a final golden summer with his three best friends. They spend their days swimming, smoking and daydreaming about the future, oblivious to the storm gathering on the other side of the Berlin Wall. But an unsettling discovery about his family and a meeting with the mysterious Oz shatters everything Ralf thought he knew about love and loyalty.
BERLIN at its best
By Mulberry on 01-01-20
A Ladder to the Sky
By: John Boyne
Narrated by: Richard E. Grant, Laurence Kennedy, Richard Cordery, and others
If you look hard enough, you can find stories pretty much anywhere. They don't even have to be your own. Or so would-be writer Maurice Swift decides very early on in his career. A chance encounter in a Berlin hotel with celebrated novelist Erich Ackermann gives him an opportunity to ingratiate himself with someone more powerful than him. For Erich is lonely, and he has a story to tell. Whether or not he should do so is another matter entirely. Once Maurice has made his name, he sets off in pursuit of other people's stories. He doesn't care where he finds them - or to whom they belong - as long as they help him rise to the top.
Stunning start which descends onto silliness
By the typist on 25-08-18
Social Creature
By: Tara Isabella Burton
Narrated by: Jennifer Woodward
A friendship to die for. A Ripley story for the Instagram age set in contemporary New York: a world at once sophisticated and sordid, irresistible and irresponsible, unforgettable yet unattainable. Louise is struggling to survive in New York; juggling a series of poorly paid jobs, renting a shabby flat, being catcalled by her creepy neighbour, she dreams of being a writer. And then one day she meets Lavinia. Lavinia who has everything - looks, money, clothes, friends, an amazing apartment...
Slickly dark and deliciously disturbing
By: Linda Grant
Narrated by: Olivia Dowd
When a dead body is found in the Thames, caught in the chains of HMS Belfast, it begins a search for a missing woman and confirms a sense that in London a person can become invisible once outside their community - and that assumes they even have a community. A policeman, a documentary film maker and an Irish nurse named Chrissie all respond to the death of the unknown woman in their own ways. London is a place of random meetings, shifting relationships - and some, like Chrissie intersect with many. The filmmaker and the policeman meanwhile have safe homes with wives - or do they?
worth listening to
By Mori Glaser on 09-06-19
The Leavers
By: Lisa Ko
Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
One morning, Deming Guo's mother, an undocumented Chinese immigrant named Polly, goes to her job at the nail salon and never comes home. No one can find any trace of her. With his mother gone, 11-year-old Deming is left with no one to care for him. He is eventually adopted by two white college professors who move him from the Bronx to a small town upstate. They rename him Daniel Wilkinson in their efforts to make him over into their version of an "all-American boy".
Can't wait for the next Lisa Ko novel...
By Georgia Naish on 05-10-18
The Last Romeo
By: Justin Myers
James is 34 and fed up. His six-year relationship with Adam has imploded, he hates his job making up celebrity gossip and his best friend, Bella, has just announced she's moving to Russia. Adrift and single in loved-up London, James needs to break out of his lonely, drunken comfort zone. Encouraged by Bella, he throws himself headlong into online dating, blogging each encounter anonymously as the mysterious Romeo.
Pre read rating : 9 ( its about internet dating! ) Post read rating : I need closure... A rollercoaster of emotions!!!
By B Pun on 02-02-18
The Lie of the Land
By: Amanda Craig
Narrated by: Emma Powell
Quentin and Lottie Bredin, like many modern couples, can't afford to divorce. Having lost their jobs in the recession, they can't afford to go on living in London; instead, they must downsize and move their three children to a house in a remote part of Devon. Arrogant and adulterous, Quentin can't understand why Lottie is so angry; devastated and humiliated, Lottie feels herself to have been intolerably wounded. Mud, mice and quarrels are one thing - but why is their rent so low?
Decent read
By becsicle on 22-03-18
By: Matt Cain
Narrated by: Simon Vause
Charlie Matthews' love story begins in a pebble-dashed house in suburban Bolton, at a time when most little boys want to grow up to be Michael Jackson, and girls want to be Princess Di. Remembering the Green Cross Code and getting out of football are the most important things in his life until Auntie Jan gives him a gift that will last a lifetime: a seven-inch single called "Lucky Star"....
Both corny and feel good
By Justin D. Rumsby on 28-09-18
Take Nothing with You
By: Patrick Gale
Narrated by: Patrick Gale
1970s Weston-Super-Mare, and 10-year-old oddball Eustace, an only child, has life transformed by his mother's quixotic decision to sign him up for cello lessons. Music making brings release for a boy who is discovering he is an emotional volcano. He laps up lessons from his young teacher, not noticing how her brand of glamour is casting a damaging spell over his frustrated and controlling mother.
Great start, then meandering middle and muddled end.
Alternate Side
By: Anna Quindlen
Narrated by: Ellen Archer
Some days Nora Nolan thinks that she and her husband, Charlie, lead a charmed life - except when there's a crisis at work, a leak in the roof at home, or a problem with their twins at college. And why not? New York City was once Nora's dream destination, and her clannish dead-end block has become a safe harbor, a tranquil village amid the urban craziness. Then one morning she returns from her run to discover that a terrible incident has shaken the neighborhood, and the fault lines begin to open: on the block, at her job, especially in her marriage.
A cure for insomnia
By Zebra Karma on 21-09-18
By: Elin Hilderbrand
Narrated by: Laurence Bouvard
It's wedding season, and tensions are brewing. When one lavish wedding ends in disaster before it can even begin - with the maid of honour discovered dead in Nantucket Harbor just hours before the ceremony - everyone in the wedding party is suddenly a suspect. As Chief of Police Ed Kapenash digs into the best man, the bride, the groom's famous mystery novelist mother, and even a member of his own family, the chief discovers that every wedding is a minefield - and that no couple is perfect.
Nice enough listen but hated the narration
By Shelfie on 20-07-18
This program includes a bonus interview with the author.
From Stephen McCauley comes a long-anticipated audiobook about love, life, and friendship
David Hedges' life is coming apart at the seams. His job helping San Francisco rich kids get into the colleges of their (parents') choice is exasperating; his younger boyfriend has left him; and the beloved carriage house he rents is being sold. His solace is a Thai takeout joint that delivers 24/7.
The last person he expects to hear from is Julie Fiske. It's been decades since they've spoken, and he's relieved to hear she's recovered from her brief, misguided first marriage. To him. Julie definitely doesn't have a problem with marijuana (she's given it up completely, so it doesn't matter if she gets stoned almost daily) and the Airbnb she's running out of her seaside house north of Boston is neither shabby nor illegal. And she has two whole months to come up with the money to buy said house from her second husband before their divorce is finalized.
She'd just like David's help organizing college plans for her 17-year-old daughter. That would be Mandy. To quote Barry Manilow, Oh Mandy. While she knows she's smarter than most of the kids in her school, she can't figure out why she's making so many incredibly dumb and increasingly dangerous choices.
When David flies east, they find themselves living under the same roof (one David needs to repair). David and Julie pick up exactly where they left off 30 years ago - they're still best friends who can finish each other's sentences. But there's one broken bit between them that no amount of home renovations will fix.
In prose filled with hilarious and heartbreakingly accurate one-liners, Stephen McCauley has written an audiobook that examines how we define home, family, and love. Be prepared to laugh, shed a few tears, and have thoughts of your own ex-life triggered. (Throw pillows optional.)
©2018 Stephen McCauley (P)2018 Macmillan Audio
"McCauley's effervescent prose is full of wit and wisdom on every topic - college application essays, Airbnb operation, weed addiction, live porn websites, and, most of all, people.... A gin and tonic for the soul." (Kirkus)
"With My Ex-Life, a heartwarming comedy of manners about second chances and starting afresh, [Stephen McCauley] has pretty much outdone himself...McCauley fires off witticisms like a tennis ace practicing serves...In the vein of inveterate beguilers like Laurie Colwin, Elinor Lipman, and Maria Semple, McCauley is warm but snappy, light but smart — and just plain enjoyable." (NPR)
"A clever novel about exes reconnecting...Do not underestimate McCauley's witty insights or his ability to make middle-aged, sexless companionship seem wildly appealing." (People)
Save the Cat!
Mildly amusing in places, but not for me.
I got to the end, and found it amusing in places but couldn't really recommend it I'm afraid.
Tammy L. Virgili
SO ENJOYABLE!
I usually listen to dark, disturbing mysteries, so this was a fun change of pace! Equal parts funny and sentimental, I instantly liked all the characters - even the teen, whose personality is typically written to annoy you, at every turn, was, instead, likable and surprisingly insightful. Was happy to learn Stephen also authored Object of My Affection, with my fav not-real-life-couple starring in the movie. Hope he continues to churn out new material!
Shanyb
The reunion of divorced mates through the need of true friendship and acceptance kept this story intriguing
A very frustrating book about dumb people making bad choices around awful friends. So...basically life.
Trish Kipnis
Good story, narrator didn't get it
I've never had this experience before with an Audible book, where the narrator just ruined the story for me altogether. The accents were terrible (and unnecessary), and he maintained the same vaguely bored cadence throughout. Many, many times he lazily put emphasis on the wrong word/s in a sentence and I had to mentally correct for what the author was obviously trying to say. Every character sounded the same somehow, and the humor that should have been conveyed by this funny author was lost. So disappointed - should have just read this one in print.
A wonderful read
So funny, so enjoyable, I couldn't put it down. The characters became alive as you melt into their lives. The dry wit will have you laughing out loud. Highly recommend.
Rose M. Pearlstein
Best book ever
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, felt like I was part of a family. It made me laugh out loud, the characters were decent and loving, the location was desirable, appeared to me to be a place I'd like to live and a family who I would love to have for my friends.
Edmond Clement
Touching and Funny
Stephen McCauley's novel comes like a gift of humor and hope. Narrator George Newbern wisely doesn't get in the way or impose himself; he allows McCauley's voice to shine through. It's nice to hear a narrator who understands his job and doesn't treat a reading like an audition or an acting-class exercise.
I really enjoyed this book. The story, the characters, the spoken thoughts. I am so bummed I cannot find another Stephen McCauley book on Audible. Please bring another one of his books to Audible. Until then, I'll listen to My Ex-Life again.
Terry gross was right
this book was delightful! I found the characters and their journeys wonderful. I would read another book by this writer
one of my favorite listens!
this would make an excellent film, wonderful characters. I was transported into this story and didn't want it to end.