All My Puny Sorrows Audiobook By Miriam Toews cover art

All My Puny Sorrows

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All My Puny Sorrows

By: Miriam Toews
Narrated by: Erin Moon
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Elf and Yoli are sisters. While on the surface Elfrieda's life is enviable (she's a world-renowned pianist, glamorous, wealthy, and happily married,) and Yolandi's a mess (she's divorced and broke, with two teenagers growing up too quickly), they are fiercely close - raised in a Mennonite household and sharing the hardship of Elf's desire to end her life. After Elf's latest attempt, Yoli must quickly determine how to keep her family from falling apart, how to keep her own heart from breaking, and what it means to love someone who wants to die.

©2014 Miriam Toews (P)2014 Recorded Books Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Heartfelt Funny Witty Emotionally Gripping Thought-Provoking
Beautiful Writing • Thought-provoking Storyline • Perfect Narration • Relatable Protagonist • Black Humor • Great Pacing
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I could not sleep for reading this book. The narrator is absolutely wonderful. The writing is engulfing and terrible and beautiful. I hardly ever read books a second time, I know I will read this one again.

The most beautiful book I have read in a very long time

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The rating is great and the pacing is great and the characters are great and the story is great and I would probably read or listen to anything that she did

Great author good book

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Don't listen to this if you are prone to depression. It's super dark.

However, it is masterfully written and very well performed.

Really depressing story

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I've listened to this book twice now and each time I've been swept into its heartbreak, black humor, grief and the healing power of love. Each sentence is packed with so much emotion it's almost unbearable while the narrator captures all the characters perfectly. Don't miss this one if you're tired of trite stories.

brilliant story and perfect narration

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I loved every line of this book. Beautifully written. Beautifully read. Thought provoking. It will stay with me for a long time.

Loved everything about this book

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This is one of the most boring books I have ever listened to! I understand that the author touches on a difficult subject, and I normally appreciate that in a story. The book dealing with suicide, I obviously was not expecting an upbeat or fun book, but this was just so monotone and it dragged on for way too long (think: listening to a song with just one or two notes = monotone indeed). Wow, am I glad this is over!

So slow and boring!

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The narrator was perfection for this tale. I was enchanted by this story. Have listened to the end twice so far and will do it again. So many nuances, descriptions, nuggets of hard learned & earned wisdom are worth rereading for more depth. I recommend this book.

Deserves more stars!

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The characters are not that interesting. And the story is depressing. I’ve never read a depressing book some have sad stories but this is a downer.

The story is depressing.

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I’ll preface this by sharing that I became aware of this book after randomly watching/listening to the movie by the same name. I played the movie twice in a row because the family dynamics related to the issue at hand reminded me so much of my own family and of myself. I was intrigued by the vast literary references in the movie and, when looking up the source of the title, discovered the book.

I’ll also share that the topic of suicide is personal to me, as I’m sure it is to many. Many might relate to the protagonist (Youlandi/Yoli) and storyteller and/or the mother, but I relate most closely to the the storyteller’s sister (Elfrieda/Elf). I struggle mightily with depression and it is also often masked behind my capable, creative, high functioning, and generally affable personality. It is also a very internal struggle; it’s a chronic “darkness” that is hard to verbalize or explain. At the time I came across the movie, suicide was at the front of my mind.

All that said, the relatability of the book content and family dynamics definitely made this an interesting listen. The abundant anecdotes demonstrating every character’s humorous humanity paired with so many great literary references and wonderful writing style made it enjoyable. I laughed out loud frequently.

If you’re capable of carrying darkness and light in the same hand, willing to sit with hard stuff, and appreciate sardonic humor, I recommend this book.

For individuals that think a book can “make them depressed” or think that the TOPIC of depression (or death or disease or aging etc) IS depressing (as opposed to interesting, confusing, enlightening…), I’d probably hesitate to recommend it, though I think it’s an important read.

I think the reason I wanted to read the book after watching the movie was twofold: 1) the obvious - what did the movie miss/change (a good bit), and 2) I hoped that there might be a deeper exploration of the family’s response to suicidal ideation as well as the impact of previous familial suicides (as learned early in the story). I’m still processing #2 but gleaned a lot from hearing the entire book. Like Elf, I’ve struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts for decades. While there are cycles - periods of worsening and lightening - I think it’s important for people to understand that those cycles are exhausting. That even lighter moments can be weighed down by a subconscious anticipation/fear of darkness’s return.

Thought provoking story line

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The story is good the writing is good the character development was great. The story didn’t grab me until chapter 10, halfway through the book. It would have been just as powerful in 12 chapters.

Good story only too long

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