Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Nicole Lewis
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By:
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Laura Warrell
About this listen
GMA BUZZ PICK • How do we find belonging when love is unrequited? A "gorgeously written debut" (Celeste Ng, best-selling author of Little Fires Everywhere) filled with jazz and soul, about the perennial temptations of dangerous love, told by the women who love Circus Palmer—trumpet player and old-school ladies’ man—as they ultimately discover the power of their own voices.
“Elegant, unexpected and…unforgettable.”—New York Times Book Review
“A modern masterpiece.”—Jason Reynolds, best-selling author of Look Both Ways
It’s 2013, and Circus Palmer, a forty-year-old Boston-based trumpet player and old-school ladies’ man, lives for his music and refuses to be tied down. Before a gig in Miami, he learns that the woman who is secretly closest to his heart, the free-spirited drummer Maggie, is pregnant by him. Instead of facing the necessary conversation, Circus flees, setting off a chain of interlocking revelations from the various women in his life.
Most notable among them is his teenage daughter, Koko, who idolizes him and is awakening to her own sexuality even as her mentally fragile mother struggles to overcome her long-failed marriage and rejection by Circus. Delivering a lush orchestration of diverse female voices, Warrell spins a provocative, soulful, and gripping story of passion and risk, fathers and daughters, wives and single women, and, finally, hope and reconciliation.
©2022 Laura Warrell (P)2022 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
PEN/FAULKNER AWARD FINALIST• GMA BUZZ PICK • AN OPRAH DAILY FAVORITE BOOK OF THE YEAR • A PEOPLE MUST READ • A KIRKUS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE NOMINEE • GOLDEN POPPY BOOK AWARD FINALIST
A Most Anticipated Book: The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, PEOPLE, The Millions, Literary Hub, The Root, Apartment Therapy, St. Louis Post Dispatch, Oprah Daily •
“Soulful . . . Structured like a jam session, the novel favors a series of riffs over any one melodic theme. Warrell gives a supporting cast of women their own solos, through close-third-person chapters that detail their entanglements with the elusive Circus . . . Elegant, unexpected and wrenching as the “fierce” sounds that emerge from Circus’s trumpet . . . Unforgettable.”—Lauren Christensen, New York Times Book Review
“[An] emerging literary superstar . . . Warrell writes a mean bad boy! This sensual and sensuous debut is a kaleidoscopic character study, a polyphonic riff on the modern-day Casanova from the perspectives of the myriad women in his wake. Both visceral and finely observed, the novel captures social nuance and emotional wreckage with precision and compassion.”—Oprah Daily, “30 of the Best Fall Fiction Books of 2022 to Cuddle Up With”
"Soulful and gripping . . . In her debut novel, Warrell assembles a lush orchestra of female voices to sing a story about passion and risk, fathers and daughters and the missed opportunities of unrequited love."—The Millions
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Homesick for Another World
- Stories
- By: Ottessa Moshfegh
- Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan, Richard Poe
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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There's something eerily unsettling about Ottessa Moshfegh's stories, something almost dangerous, while also being delightful and even laugh-out-loud funny. Her characters are all unsteady on their feet in one way or another; they all yearn for connection and betterment, though each in very different ways, but they are often tripped up by their own baser impulses and existential insecurities.
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Funny, Dynamic Writing
- By Sofia Macht on 06-13-18
By: Ottessa Moshfegh
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The Lost Family
- A Novel
- By: Jenna Blum
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1965 Manhattan, patrons flock to Masha’s to savor its brisket bourguignon and impeccable service and to admire its dashing owner and head chef Peter Rashkin, the most eligible bachelor in town. But Peter does not care for the parade of eligible women who come to the restaurant hoping to catch his eye. Running Masha’s consumes him, as does his terrible guilt over surviving the horrors of the Nazi death camp while his wife, Masha - the restaurant’s namesake - and two young daughters perished. Then exquisitely beautiful June Bouquet, an up-and-coming young model, appears at the restaurant, piercing Peter’s guard.
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STIMULATES THE HEART, MIND AND IMAGINATION
- By Miss Manners on 07-01-18
By: Jenna Blum
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The Opportunist
- By: Tarryn Fisher
- Narrated by: Andi Arndt
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Olivia Kaspen has just discovered that her ex-boyfriend Caleb Drake has lost his memory. With an already lousy reputation for taking advantage of situations, Olivia must decide how far she is willing to go to get Caleb back.
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overall: irritating book
- By DD on 02-14-17
By: Tarryn Fisher
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Far From the Tree
- By: Virginia DeBerry, Donna Grant
- Narrated by: Fran L. Washington
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Celeste English and Ronnie Frazier are sisters, but they couldn't be more different. Celeste is a doctor's wife, living a perfect and elegant façade. But secretly, her marriage is falling apart and her need to control people around her threatens to destroy them all. Ronnie is an actress, living in New York. But she has no money, she has no home, and her life is held together by "chewing gum, paper clips, and spit." When their father dies, the sisters inherit a house in Prosper, North Carolina.
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My Favorite Book So Far, by Far!
- By Dee on 04-19-09
By: Virginia DeBerry, and others
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The Good Goodbye
- By: Carla Buckley
- Narrated by: Ali Ahn, Suzy Jackson, Eva Kaminsky
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Two cousins, Rory and Arden, lie unconscious in a hospital burn unit. The fire, which broke out in their shared college dorm room, killed another student, and the police want answers. Tension between Rory and Arden's parents was already at an all-time high before the fire, owing to a recent financial crisis and the decline of the family business. As the parents huddle anxiously in the waiting room, carefully avoiding the subject of their own unraveling relationships, disturbing truths come to light.
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I could not stop listening.
- By Amy Davis on 05-29-16
By: Carla Buckley
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Boardwalk Summer
- A Novel
- By: Meredith Jaeger
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel, Marisol Ramirez
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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In this new novel from the author of The Dressmaker’s Dowry, two young women two generations apart discover the joy and heartbreak of following their dreams. Aspiring Hollywood actress Violet makes a shocking choice in 1940, and 70 years later, Mari sets out to discover what happened on that long ago summer. Santa Cruz, Summer 1940: When auburn-haired Violet Harcourt is crowned Miss California on the boardwalk of her hometown, she knows she is one step closer to her cherished dream: a Hollywood screen test.
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Wonderful Story set in Santa Cruz.
- By Christina on 11-02-19
By: Meredith Jaeger
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She's Come Undone
- By: Wally Lamb
- Narrated by: Linda Stephens
- Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Meet Dolores Price. She's 13, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye. Beached like a whale in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with the Mallomars, potato chips, and Pepsi her anxious mother supplies. When she finally rolls into young womanhood at 257 pounds, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder. But this time she's determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before really going belly-up.
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Really disappointing narrator!
- By Jessica Williams on 01-21-12
By: Wally Lamb
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Tryin' To Sleep In the Bed You Made
- By: Virginia DeBerry, Donna Grant
- Narrated by: Fran L. Washington
- Length: 16 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Gayle was the beauty who believed that a man could make her life complete. Patricia was the intellectual who thought that rising to the top of her career would make her happy. And then there is Marcus Carter, who has been linked to both Gayle and Pat since the tragedy that occurred when they were all children. Can either one save him from himself? Can friends survive a love that comes between them? Each of them gets what she wants, but no one counts on the price they have to pay.
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Better with each chapter!
- By Cyn B. on 02-09-16
By: Virginia DeBerry, and others
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My Life Next Door
- By: Huntley Fitzpatrick
- Narrated by: Amy Rubinate
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not: loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, 17-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them...until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?
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A well written coming of age book
- By Ezinwanyi on 10-23-15
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Falling Home
- By: Karen White
- Narrated by: Lyssa Browne
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Cassie Madison has it all: A high-powered advertising career; a stylish Manhattan apartment; and a sophisticated, rich, and gorgeous fiancé. It's a far cry from her childhood in Walton, Georgia, home of the annual Kudzu Festival and hot, sticky summers. And then there are all the bad memories, the heartache. When Cassie's estranged sister calls to say that her father is dying, Cassie knows it's time to set aside her feelings and go home and face the sister she hasn't seen in 15 years.
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Could not finish
- By G. Moore on 06-08-11
By: Karen White
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One More Summer
- By: Liz Flaherty
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Grace has taken care of her widowed father her entire adult life and the ornery old goat has finally died. She has no job, no skills and very little money, and has heard her father's prediction that no decent man would ever want her so often she accepts it as fact.
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800 Miles of Entertainment
- By Sandy on 01-10-12
By: Liz Flaherty
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The Sweethearts' Knitting Club
- By: Lori Wilde
- Narrated by: Lisa Zimmerman
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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The first audiobook in Lori Wilde’s new series set in small-town Twilight, Texas, The Sweethearts’ Knitting Club is the story of Flynn McGregor, a young woman who’s always done exactly what her friends, family, and fellow knitters have told her to do - until Jesse Calloway, her bad-boy high school sweetheart, roars back into town.
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Can we get a "soft porn" advisory?? Geesh.
- By Erin Pesznecker on 03-16-21
By: Lori Wilde
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The Untelling
- By: Tayari Jones
- Narrated by: Michele Blackmon
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Aria is no stranger to tragedy. Fifteen years ago, a family outing took the lives of her father and baby sister, leaving remaining members of this fractured family struggling with their own guilt - real and imagined. At 25, Aria believes she can reinvent herself through her planned marriage with all its promise of a family of her own. Her infertility changes her life as swiftly and irrevocably as the urban landscape around her.
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Don’t waste your time!
- By shasha on 09-18-20
By: Tayari Jones
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Hiding Out
- A Memoir of Drugs, Deception, and Double Lives
- By: Tina Alexis Allen
- Narrated by: Tina Alexis Allen
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Actress and playwright Tina Alexis Allen's audacious memoir unravels her privileged suburban Catholic upbringing that was shaped by her formidable father - a man whose strict religious devotion and dedication to his large family hid his true nature. When Tina was 18 her father accidently discovered the truth about her sexuality. Instead of dragging her to the family priest and lecturing her with tearful sermons about sin and damnation, her father shocked her with his honest response. The two became trusted confidants in a relationship that eventually spiraled out of control.
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Self-indulgent crap
- By Bridgid O'Donnell on 03-27-18
What listeners say about Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Sibyl
- 03-21-23
Just ok
The story line was all over the place. So many different stories and characters that didn’t seem to knit together very well.
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Overall
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- MLF
- 10-19-22
satisfying
great multi character development through writing and descriptive choices that made me feel like i was in their shoes.
performance was in my top 2 of all audible books ...what a talent to be able to play so many chatacters in a unique and distinguishable was...and so nice on the ears
gratitude to you both and the team
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2 people found this helpful
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- Ana Palacios
- 09-30-22
Loved
Came across this book at barnes & noble.
loved every detail & change in settings.
Overall my type of book
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1 person found this helpful
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Performance
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- CSisk
- 02-06-23
Aimless and cheesy
This slog of a book had a cast of underdeveloped, unlikeable characters. The plot was aimless, and the story was punctuated by cheesy descriptions of jazz. No one calls people “cat” anymore.
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- Leah
- 02-06-23
Why does anyone like this book?
Despicable main character, what is the point of him? All the female characters are so poorly written I could have sworn this book was written by a man!
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