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The Hero of This Book
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Elizabeth McCracken
- Length: 4 hrs and 33 mins
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Publisher's summary
A Most Anticipated Book of Fall from: Los Angeles Times * Boston Globe * BookPage * Book Riot * The Millions * Publishers Weekly * LitHub * St. Louis Post Dispatch * Town & Country
A taut, groundbreaking new novel from bestselling and award-winning author Elizabeth McCracken, about a writer’s relationship with her larger-than-life mother—and about the very nature of writing, memory, and art
Ten months after her mother’s death, the narrator of The Hero of This Book takes a trip to London. The city was a favorite of her mother’s, and as the narrator wanders the streets, she finds herself reflecting on her mother’s life and their relationship. Thoughts of the past meld with questions of the future: Back in New England, the family home is now up for sale, its considerable contents already winnowed.
The woman, a writer, recalls all that made her complicated mother extraordinary—her brilliant wit, her generosity, her unbelievable obstinacy, her sheer will in seizing life despite physical difficulties—and finds herself wondering how her mother had endured. Even though she wants to respect her mother’s nearly pathological sense of privacy, the woman must come to terms with whether making a chronicle of this remarkable life constitutes an act of love or betrayal.
The Hero of This Book is a searing examination of grief and renewal, and of a deeply felt relationship between a child and her parents. What begins as a question of filial devotion ultimately becomes a lesson in what it means to write. At once comic and heartbreaking, with prose that delights at every turn, this is a novel of such piercing love and tenderness that we are reminded that art is what remains when all else falls away.
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- By Adam on 06-15-17
By: Paul La Farge
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Trying to Save Piggy Sneed
- By: John Irving
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Trying to Save Piggy Sneed contains a dozen short works by John Irving, beginning with three memoirs, including an account of Mr. Irving’s dinner with President Ronald Reagan at the White House. The longest of the memoirs, The Imaginary Girlfriend,” is the core of this collection.
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Unabridged?
- By K. Stiffler on 02-11-22
By: John Irving
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I'm Supposed to Protect You from All This
- A Memoir
- By: Nadja Spiegelman
- Narrated by: Nadja Spiegelman
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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For a long time, Nadja Spiegelman believed her mother was a fairy. More than her famous father, Maus creator Art Spiegelman, and even more than most mothers, hers - French-born New Yorker art director Françoise Mouly - exerted a force over reality that was both dazzling and daunting. As Nadja's body changed and "began to whisper to the adults around me in a language I did not understand", their relationship grew tense.
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Aweful
- By Haley Abreu on 07-05-17
By: Nadja Spiegelman
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Charms for the Easy Life
- By: Kaye Gibbons
- Narrated by: Kate Fleming
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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A family without men, the Birches live gloriously offbeat lives in the lush, green backwoods of North Carolina. Radiant, headstrong Sophia and her shy, brilliant daughter, Margaret, possess powerful charms to ward off loneliness, despair, and the human misery that often beats a path to their door. And they are protected by the eccentric wisdom and muscular love of the remarkable matriarch Charlie Kate, a solid, uncompromising, self-taught healer who treats everything from boils to broken bones to broken hearts.
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So Lovely!
- By Doodle slave on 01-04-17
By: Kaye Gibbons
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Millard Salter's Last Day
- By: Jacob M. Appel
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In an effort to delay the frailty and isolation that comes with old age, psychiatrist Millard Salter decides to kill himself by the end of the day - but first he has to tie up some loose ends. These include a tête-à-tête with his youngest son, Lysander, who at 43 has yet to hold down a paying job; an unscheduled rendezvous with his first wife, Carol, whom he hasn't seen in 27 years; and a brief visit to the grave of his second wife, Isabelle. Complicating this plan, though, is Delilah, the widow with whom he has fallen in love in the past few months.
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great storytelling....
- By Anna Marie Bair on 01-18-20
By: Jacob M. Appel
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This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Ann Patchett
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Blending literature and memoir, Ann Patchett, author of State of Wonder and Bel Canto examines her deepest commitments: to writing, family, friends, dogs, books, and her husband in This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. Together, these essays, previously published in The Atlantic, Harper, Vogue, and The Washington Post, form a resonant portrait of a life lived with loyalty and with love.
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Entertaining, engrossing, and elucidative essays
- By Bonny on 01-07-14
By: Ann Patchett
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Until I Say Good-Bye
- My Year of Living with Joy
- By: Susan Spencer-Wendel, Bret Witter
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Susan Spencer-Wendel's Until I Say Good-Bye: My Year of Living with Joy is a moving and inspirational memoir by a woman who makes the most of her final days after discovering she has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). After Spencer-Wendel, a celebrated journalist at the Palm Beach Post, learns of her diagnosis of ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, she embarks on several adventures, traveling to several countries and sharing special experiences with loved ones.
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Until I Say Good-Bye is a paradox for me.
- By Bonny on 03-19-13
By: Susan Spencer-Wendel, and others
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In the Country
- Stories
- By: Mia Alvar
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu, Don Castro
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
These nine globe-trotting, unforgettable stories from Mia Alvar, a remarkable new literary talent, vividly give voice to the women and men of the Filipino diaspora. Here are exiles, emigrants, and wanderers uprooting their families from the Philippines to begin new lives in the Middle East, the United States, and elsewhere - and sometimes turning back again.
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My introduction to Filipino literature and culture
- By Amazon Customer on 03-28-16
By: Mia Alvar
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Flesh Wounds
- By: Richard Glover
- Narrated by: Richard Glover
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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A mother who invented her past, a father who was often absent, a son who wondered if this could really be his family...Richard Glover's favourite dinner-party game is called 'Who's Got the Weirdest Parents?' It's a game he always thinks he'll win. There was his mother, a deluded snob who made up large swathes of her past and who ran away with Richard's English teacher, a Tolkien devotee, nudist and stuffed toy collector.
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Such a Meaningful Reflection
- By Awarenessing on 11-28-15
By: Richard Glover
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Bitter in the Mouth
- By: Monique Truong
- Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Growing up in the small town of Boiling Springs, North Carolina, in the 70’s and 80’s, Linda believes that she is profoundly different from everyone else, including the members of her own family. “What I know about you, little girl, would break you in two” are the cruel, mysterious last words that Linda’s grandmother ever says to her.
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"Tasting Words" made this hard to hear!
- By Kate Anderson on 11-06-11
By: Monique Truong
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Your Voice in My Head
- A Memoir
- By: Emma Forrest
- Narrated by: Emma Forrest
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Emma Forrest, a British journalist, was just 22 and living the fast life in New York City when she realized that her quirks had gone beyond eccentricity. In a cycle of loneliness, damaging relationships, and destructive behavior, she found herself in the chair of a slim, balding, and effortlessly optimistic psychiatrist--a man whose wisdom and humanity would wrench her from the dangerous tide after she tried to end her life.
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Great, quick read
- By Amazon Customer on 02-12-21
By: Emma Forrest
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One True Thing
- By: Anna Quindlen
- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A young woman sits in jail, accused of the mercy killing of her dying mother. She didn't do it, but she thinks she knows who did. In the last months of her life, Ellen Gulden's mother revealed startling secrets that challenged everything Ellen believed about her family. Now, in jail, Ellen believes those secrets will tell her who had the courage to end her mother's suffering.
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Quindlen's writing skills shine in One True Thing.
- By Bonny on 08-26-13
By: Anna Quindlen
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What listeners say about The Hero of This Book
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- LT
- 06-23-23
Needs a professional narrator
Really interesting style a mix of memoir/ fiction. And of course the writing was excellent. I thought long and hard about it but still believe this audiobook needed a professional narrator. Surely one can be found who imparts the same wry tone but brings more varied intonation than the author ( who all but admitted in her text that she is a poor actor).
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- KayMac
- 10-25-22
The narrator of this review is not the author
What a joy, the fey magic of this not-memoir.
Having now read the book on the printed page and listened to the author narrate such a brilliantly conceived whatever it is, I’m convinced there is no better master of well-mannered brutality.
Hell of a book. Highly recommend.
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- BC
- 03-09-23
From an Admirer of An Exact Replica...
I have read most of McCracken's books, and my favorite is her beautiful memoir, An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination. This book is a perfect companion to that one. It's brilliant and compact... and made me want to call my own mother and tell her I love her.
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1 person found this helpful
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Performance
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- Mary Keatley
- 08-24-23
A Wonder
Hmmmm. What word is worthy of this performance? Magical? No, too teenagery. Wonderful? No, too boring. Hmmmm. What is the word for a lot of unsentimental love, some prickliness, a sliver of macabreness, and an admirable vigor?
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- westernMA
- 03-28-24
Just lovely + perfect in the author's own voice
The wink and nod of the not-a-memoir bit is handled deftly and the reader never feels toyed with, thanks to a relatable frankness and wisely-timed peeks behind the privacy curtain McCracken sets up to shield her loved ones. If you can imagine vulnerable truth-telling by a person who by nature resists vulnerability and unvarnished sharing--that's what this is. Lightly varnished sharing. I came away respecting the boundary she established and grateful for the story she shared. She offered ample means to connect, as a reader. And I applaud her reading in her own voice. It's just the right voice for the material and the right material to eschew a high production value presentation. It felt intimate and real. Do recommend.
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- Elliott Wolfe, M.D.
- 11-11-22
Tribute to a Mother
The author views her mother’s life using the format of a novel. It required two listenings to appreciate the rich prose and appreciate the stature and contributions of this splendid woman. My mother and my wife, who is a mother, were there as I listened.
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- Chummy Mummy
- 10-20-22
Biased by catharsis
Thank you Elizabeth McCracken! I’ve lost my own mother within the past year, and she shared so many of your mother’s traits that they could have been doppelgängers. Listening to you read your own thoughts on your loss has been tremendously cathartic, and has helped me clarify many of my own. Beautifully written!
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- vxg241921
- 12-02-22
Walking together with Elizabeth in this grief
I lost my own mother on Oct 14, 2022. I am unclear how I came across the article recommending this book. I’m sure it was a Google search along the lines of “my mom just died and I need to hear someone else’s experience before I fall apart completely from my own.”
I am sitting here with many tears running down my face as I finished this book. The hero of this book is so, so much like my own hero, down to some of the same eccentricities and joy they imbued. My own mother uttered a version of “that’s one of my talents” on many occasions.
My affection for this book is deeply personal because of the mirrored images. Not the same, but similar.
There’s no other relationship like the mother/daughter dynamic, and there are many stories written and published painting the picture of so many of this dynamic. Not all are meant for everyone, but this one in particular was absolutely meant for me.
Thank you, Elizabeth. But also, how dare you! I can’t stop crying.
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- Sheila A. Ogorman
- 02-13-23
Surprising
I actually did not like the first half of this book, but grew to not only like it, but love it. The ending made me cry. Here’s to all the mothers! Especially mine!
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- pamela nelson
- 10-08-24
Truth
A short but very good tribute to motherhood and fatherhood. She understands family ties and is clever and funny.
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