Preview

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.

A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl

By: Jean Thompson
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.49

Buy for $19.49

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

From National Book Award finalist and the New York Times best-selling author of The Year We Left Home comes a moving family saga about three generations of women who struggle to find freedom and happiness in their small Midwestern college town.

A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl is a poignant novel about three generations of the Wise family - Evelyn, Laura, and Grace - as they hunt for contentment amid chaos of their own making.

Evelyn set aside her career to marry, late, and motherhood never became her. Her daughter, Laura, felt this acutely and wants desperately to marry, but she soon discovers her husband, Gabe, to be a man who expects too much of everyone in his life, especially his musician son. Grace has moved out from Laura and Gabe’s house but can’t seem to live up to her potential - whatever that might be.

In A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl, we see these women and their trials, small and large: social slights and heartbreaks; marital disappointments and infidelities; familial dysfunction; mortality. Spanning from World War II to the present, Thompson reveals a matrilineal love story that is so perfectly grounded in our time - a story of three women regressing, stalling, and, yes, evolving over decades. One of the burning questions she asks is: By serving her family, is a woman destined to repeat the mistakes of previous generations, or can she transcend the expectations of a place and a time? Can she truly be free?

Evelyn, Laura, and Grace are the glue that binds their family together, tethered to their small Midwestern town - by choice or chance. Jean Thompson seamlessly weaves together the stories of the Wise women with humanity and elegance, through their heartbreaks, setbacks, triumphs, and tragedies.

©2018 Jean Thompson (P)2018 Simon & Schuster
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2

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

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Highs and Lows

Beautifully written with spectacular narration. But the characters were about as interesting as pet rock. After listening to the entire book, I was left shrugging my shoulders and thinking, “Who cares?” The characters and story just had nothing to say that mattered.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful