Late Bloomers
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Vikas Adam
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Deepa Samuel
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Shahjehan Khan
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Mehr Dudeja
About this listen
An Indian American family is turned upside down when the parents split up thirty-six years into their arranged marriage in this “heartwarming journey of self-discovery” (Southern Living).
“Touching . . . both funny and moving—a family drama the entire family can enjoy.”—Reader’s Digest
A REAL SIMPLE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • LILLY’S LIBRARY PICK
"I have a soft spot for underdogs. And late bloomers. You’ve told me a lot of things about yourself, so let me tell you something about me."
After thirty-six years of a dutiful but unhappy arranged marriage, recently divorced Suresh and Lata Raman find themselves starting new paths in life. Suresh is trying to navigate the world of online dating on a website that caters to Indians and is striking out at every turn—until he meets a mysterious, devastatingly attractive younger woman who seems to be smitten with him. Lata is enjoying her newfound independence, but she's caught off guard when a professor in his early sixties starts to flirt with her.
Meanwhile, Suresh and Lata's daughter, Priya, thinks her father's online pursuits are distasteful even as she embarks upon a clandestine affair of her own. And their son, Nikesh, pretends at a seemingly perfect marriage with his law-firm colleague and their young son, but hides the truth of what his relationship really entails. Over the course of three weeks in August, the whole family will uncover one another's secrets, confront the limits of love and loyalty, and explore life's second chances.
Charming, funny, and moving, Late Bloomers introduces a delightful new voice in fiction with the story of four individuals trying to understand how to be happy in their own lives—and as a family.
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Critic reviews
"Bloomers, at times laugh-out-loud funny and at times quietly heartbreaking, is an intricate novel about people who rediscover themselves. Or perhaps, by being honest with themselves and with each other, discover themselves for the very first time.”—Shelf Awareness
“Late Bloomers is about love won and lost and rearranged and rediscovered . . . Varadarajan writes about the everyday life of the Raman family with so much humor and affection that she makes the ordinary feel extraordinary. I adore this family and I adore this book.”—Whitney Otto, author of How to Make an American Quilt
“[A] heartwarming journey of self-discovery that finds each member of a family setting out on their own new paths.”—Southern Living
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For the past 20 years, Liv and Eliot Goldenhorn have run In Love in New York, Brooklyn’s beloved wedding-planning business. When Eliot dies unexpectedly, he even more unexpectedly leaves half of the business to his younger, blonder girlfriend, Savannah. Liv and Savannah are not a match made in heaven, to say the least. But what starts as a personal and professional nightmare transforms into something even savvy, cynical Liv Goldenhorn couldn’t begin to imagine.
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Distractingly bad narration
- By maggie walsh on 05-12-21
By: Georgia Clark
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Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self
- By: Danielle Evans
- Narrated by: Daniel Deadwyler, Jeanette Illidge, Je Nie Fleming, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Striking in their emotional immediacy, the stories in Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self are based in a world where inequality is reality but where the insecurities of adolescence and young adulthood, and the tensions within family and the community, are sometimes the biggest complicating forces in one's sense of identity and the choices one makes.
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things we do to oursekves
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By: Danielle Evans
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Lone Stars
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- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Lone Stars follows the arc of four generations of a Texan family in a changing America. Julian Warner, a father at last, wrestles with a question his husband posed: what will you tell our son about the people you came from, now that they're gone? Finding the answers takes Julian back in time to Eisenhower's immigration border raids, an epistolary love affair during the Vietnam War, crumbling marriages, queer migrations to Cambridge and New York, up to the disorienting polarization of Obama's second term.
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Read for bookclub but fell in Love
- By Ericka Lawson on 09-11-22
By: Justin Deabler
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The Shop on Blossom Street
- By: Debbie Macomber
- Narrated by: Linda Emond
- Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins
- Abridged
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Performance
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Story
There's a little shop on Blossom Street in Seattle called A Good Yarn. You go there to buy knitting supplies and patterns, and now it's offering a knitting class. The first lesson: how to knit a baby blanket.
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Shop on Blossom Street
- By Christine on 07-30-05
By: Debbie Macomber
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No Hiding in Boise
- By: Kim Hooper
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Performance
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Story
Angie is awakened by a midnight call from an officer with the Boise Police Department and thinks there must be a misunderstanding. The officer tells her that her husband was involved in a shooting at a local bar, but how can that be when her husband is sleeping right next to her? But when she turns to wake him, he isn’t there. Tessa is the 23-year-old bartender who escapes to a backroom storage closet during the shooting. When it comes to light that five people were killed, she is burdened with the question of why she survived.
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fantastic audio involving contemporary issues
- By Barbara S on 07-07-21
By: Kim Hooper
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The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets
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It’s been 17 years since the tragic summer the McAvoy sisters fell apart. Lindy, the wild one, left home, carved out a new life in the city, and never looked back. Delia, the sister who stayed, became a mother herself, raising her daughters and running the family shop in their small Ohio hometown on the shores of Lake Erie. But now, with their mother’s ailing health and a rebellious teenager to rein in, Delia has no choice but to welcome Lindy home.
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Great story
- By Nessa on 09-25-23
By: Molly Fader
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Red's Hot Honky-Tonk Bar
- By: Pamela Morsi
- Narrated by: Savannah Richards
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Unruly Red knows she’s no one’s idea of a sweet old granny. But with one long-distance phone call, the fortysomething bar owner with the tattoos and tight jeans is suddenly responsible for two young grandchildren she hardly knows.
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What a surprise
- By Donna on 02-07-18
By: Pamela Morsi
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What listeners say about Late Bloomers
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Y
- 03-22-24
Wonderful story, great plot, talented writing
This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, the plot moved along quickly, the characters were well fleshed out, and the story held my interest from beginning to end.
I liked the writing, the situations were realistic, and after a while I felt close to many of the characters, cared about what happened to them. The ways in which their lives moved was realistic and at times kind of funny. The things they feel and go through are things everyone feels, and goes through - conflict, jealousy, embarrassment, regular complicated human dynamics.
A note about the narration: While several narrators did a very good job, there were one or two who were unbearable. Specifically the voice of Lata was read in an exaggeratedly hesitant, stammering, over-dramatic, self-doubting, melodramatic way, portraying her as a one-dimensional slow-talking hyper angst-filled woman. The narrator is probably very talented and perhaps was instructed to read that character in the voice of an over eager eight-year-old auditioning for a third grade play. The father’s voice was hard to listen to as well, it was one ceaseless overreaction after another, also over-acted, explosive, overdramatic, over emotive. A few other voices were annoying and overdone, but overall I appreciated the story and the other characters’ narration.
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- Anonymous User
- 07-08-23
Absolutely wonderful
Thoroughly enjoyed this book, exploring dysfunctional (Indian) families - relatable, funny and insightful. A great listen.
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- Kathy Shelby
- 07-23-23
Enjoy
I very much enjoyed listening to this story. It is at times funny and also thought provoking
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- RH
- 08-18-23
Great debut novel!!!
With a storyline that made for an enjoyable and relaxing listen, this book was exactly what I was looking for. It is a story about the complexities of family told with humor and hope. I’m looking forward to more novels by Deepa Varadarajan!
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1 person found this helpful
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- D
- 05-17-23
Loved it!
Loved listening to every second of this book. The characters were witty, yet complicated and well developed. I really enjoyed listening to the different voices of each character.
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- Alpwoman
- 09-22-24
How similar families all are no matter the culture
I loved it- the character dialogues were so heart touching and funny. The plot twists and engaged you for an imaginative climax.
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- Angela Summers
- 05-10-23
Wonderful!
Loved loved this book! One of the funniest, warmest and most poignant works I’ve read in a long time. I laughed out loud and occasionally shed a tear. Bravo! I can’t wait to read more works from this author.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Masosote
- 01-15-24
Stunning performance and light hearted but real story
I made sure to listen to this everytime I got some time , even if it was just for 5 minutes. The story is warm and makes you want to keep listening. However,the characters seem to be wrapped around their own minds can pass as selfish. The performance is the best. So worth it!
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- T. Sparkle
- 06-06-24
lovely life learnings
i really enjoyed this book. it is very hopeful in its outlook. excellent narration.
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- Fiction Lover
- 05-26-23
Humorous, Witty, Meaningful Read
Excellent narration filled with wit, tension, and chaotic clashes. I looked forward to moments when I could listen to the next part.
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