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The Snow Queen
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Claire Danes
- Length: 6 hrs and 47 mins
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Publisher's summary
A darkly luminous new novel from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Hours
Michael Cunningham's luminous novel begins with a vision. It's November 2004. Barrett Meeks, having lost love yet again, is walking through Central Park when he is inspired to look up at the sky; there he sees a pale, translucent light that seems to regard him in a distinctly godlike way. Barrett doesn't believe in visions—or in God—but he can't deny what he's seen.
At the same time, in the not-quite-gentrified Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, Tyler, Barrett's older brother, a struggling musician, is trying—and failing—to write a wedding song for Beth, his wife-to-be, who is seriously ill. Tyler is determined to write a song that will be not merely a sentimental ballad but an enduring expression of love.
Barrett, haunted by the light, turns unexpectedly to religion. Tyler grows increasingly convinced that only drugs can release his creative powers. Beth tries to face mortality with as much courage as she can summon.
Cunningham follows the Meeks brothers as each travels down a different path in his search for transcendence. In subtle, lucid prose, he demonstrates a profound empathy for his conflicted characters and a singular understanding of what lies at the core of the human soul.
The Snow Queen, beautiful and heartbreaking, comic and tragic, proves again that Cunningham is one of the great novelists of his generation.
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Critic reviews
“Narrating with clarity and a touch of gentleness, Danes voices characters who sound typically American, while also infusing them with a wonderment that subtly signals Cunningham's transcendent examination of love, fate, and the meaning of it all.” —AudioFile Magazine
“Narrator Claire Danes delivers an exceptionally good performance. Her clear, thoughtful reading is suited to both Cunningham's moments of soaring, lyrical language and to the casual, irreverent tone of the dialog among friends. A well-written novel that's enriched by the audio performance.” —Library Journal
“Like By Nightfall (2010), Cunningham's elegant and haunting new novel examines the complex dynamics among a couple and a brother. In this configuration, Barrett Meeks, a poetically minded man in his late thirties who has just been dumped by his most recent boyfriend via text message, shares a Brooklyn apartment with Tyler, his older musician-bartender brother, and Beth, Tyler's great love. Beth and Barrett work in Liz's vintage shop. She's 52; her current lover, Andrew, is 28. Beth is undergoing full-throttle treatment for cancer. Tyler is struggling to write the perfect love song for their wedding, and breaking his promise not to do drugs. Barrett, long afflicted by his flitting interest in everything, remains in an altered state after seeing a strangely animated "celestial light" over dark and snowy Central Park. As his characters try to reconcile exalted dreams and crushing reality, Cunningham orchestrates intensifying inner monologues addressing such ephemeral yet essential aspects of life as shifting perspectives, tides of desire and fear, "rampancy" versus "languidness," and revelation and receptivity. Tender, funny, and sorrowful, Cunningham's beautiful novel is as radiant and shimmering as Barrett's mysterious light in the sky, gently illuminating the gossamer web of memories, feelings, and hopes that mysteriously connect us to each other as the planet spins its way round and round the sun.” —Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred review)
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For years, guitarist Quinn Porter has been on the road, chasing gig after gig, largely absent to his twice-ex-wife Belle and their odd, Guinness records-obsessed son. When the boy dies suddenly, Quinn seeks forgiveness for his paternal shortcomings by completing the requirements for one of his son's unfinished Boy Scout badges. For seven Saturdays Quinn does yard work for Ona Vitkus, the spry 104-year-old Lithuanian immigrant the boy had visited weekly.
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Loved it
- By Justin on 10-20-16
By: Monica Wood
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Insomniac City
- New York, Oliver, and Me
- By: Bill Hayes
- Narrated by: Stephen Bel Davies
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Bill Hayes came to New York City in 2009 with a one-way ticket and only the vaguest idea of how he would get by. But, at 48 years old, having spent decades in San Francisco, he craved change. Grieving over the death of his partner, he quickly discovered the profound consolations of the city's incessant rhythms, the sight of the Empire State Building against the night sky, and New Yorkers themselves, kindred souls that Hayes, a lifelong insomniac, encountered on late-night strolls with his camera.
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Touching and Intimate Portrait
- By Amazon Customer on 01-18-19
By: Bill Hayes
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Scale
- A Novel
- By: Keith Buckley
- Narrated by: Keith Buckley
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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As a hopeless and struggling indie rock musician, Ray Goldman's best chance of discovering any beauty and purpose in his dysfunctional life will come only when he ceases to struggle against life itself. Scale chronicles Ray Goldman’s journey downward through the adversarial trials that sometimes prove necessary in facilitating an eventual ascent into truth and happiness. The odd chapters of the novel find Ray, now a 31-year-old guitar player, seeking fulfillment in the wake of a life-altering tragedy.
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Poor Presentation
- By mmacedonia on 04-16-19
By: Keith Buckley
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We Are All Made of Stars
- A Novel
- By: Rowan Coleman
- Narrated by: Ben Allen, Avita Jay
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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We Are All Made of Stars is an unforgettable story about second chances, the power of words, and the resilience of the heart.
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An All-Around 5 Stars!!
- By Trosado on 02-28-20
By: Rowan Coleman
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Bright Lights, Big City
- By: Jay McInerney
- Narrated by: Daniel Passer
- Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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The tragicomedy of a young man in New York City, a writer, never named, who works as a fact-checker for a prestigious magazine. He struggles with the reality of his mother's death, alienation, and the seductive pull of drugs and a vibrant nightlife.
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Curiously, mundanely real
- By Amber on 01-07-12
By: Jay McInerney
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Eat the Document
- By: Dana Spiotta
- Narrated by: Rachael Warren
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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In the heyday of the 1970s underground, Bobby DeSoto and Mary Whittaker - passionate, idealistic, and in love - design a series of radical protests against the Vietnam War. When one action goes wrong, the course of their lives is forever changed. The two must erase their past, forge new identities, and never see each other again. Now it is the 1990s. Mary lives in the suburbs with her 15-year-old son, who spends hours immersed in the music of his mother's generation.
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Great ensemble piece!
- By Buyer009 on 08-08-17
By: Dana Spiotta
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London Fields
- By: Martin Amis
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 21 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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The murderee is Nicola Six, a "black hole" of sex and self-loathing who is intent on orchestrating her own extinction. The murderer may be Keith Talent, a violent lowlife whose only passions are pornography and darts; or the rich, honorable, and dimly romantic Guy Clinch. As Nicola leads her suitors towards the precipice, London--and, indeed, the whole world--seems to shamble after them in a corrosively funny novel of complexity and morality.
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Big chewy novel, excellent narration
- By Sand on 08-21-14
By: Martin Amis
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The Wife
- A Novel
- By: Meg Wolitzer
- Narrated by: Dawn Harvey
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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The moment Joan Castleman decides to leave her husband, they are 35,000 feet above the ocean on a flight to Helsinki. Joan's husband, Joseph, is one of America's preeminent novelists, about to receive a prestigious international award, and Joan, who has spent 40 years subjugating her own literary talents to fan the flames of his career, has finally decided to stop.
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A bit of a downer
- By Jody Cox on 08-01-18
By: Meg Wolitzer
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The Invisible Circus
- By: Jennifer Egan
- Narrated by: Madeleine Lambert
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In Pulitzer Prize-winner Jennifer Egan's highly acclaimed first novel, set in 1978, the political drama and familial tensions of the 1960s form a backdrop for the world of Phoebe O'Connor, age eighteen. Phoebe is obsessed with the memory and death of her sister Faith, a beautiful idealistic hippie who died in Italy in 1970. In order to find out the truth about Faith's life and death, Phoebe retraces her steps from San Francisco across Europe, a quest which yields both complex and disturbing revelations about family, love, and Faith's lost generation.
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Too bad zero was not a choice...
- By IVAL on 04-28-13
By: Jennifer Egan
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Stories
- All-New Tales
- By: Neil Gaiman - author/editor, Al Sarrantonio - editor, Joe Hill, and others
- Narrated by: Anne Bobby, Jonathan Davis, Katherine Kellgren, and others
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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The best stories pull readers in and keep them turning the pages, eager to discover more—to find the answer to the question: "And then what happened?" The true hallmark of great literature is great imagination, and as Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio prove with this outstanding collection, when it comes to great fiction, all genres are equal.
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Something for Everyone
- By Nicole on 05-24-17
By: Neil Gaiman - author/editor, and others
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Midnight Cowboy
- By: James Leo Herlihy
- Narrated by: Michael Urie
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Midnight Cowboy is considered by many to be one of the best American novels published since World War II. The main story centers around Joe Buck, a naive but eager and ambitious young Texan, who decides to leave his dead-end job in search of a grand and glamorous life he believes he will find in New York City. But the city turns out to be a much more difficult place to negotiate than Joe could ever have imagined. He soon finds himself and his dreams compromised. Buck's fall from innocence and his relationship with the crippled street hustler Ratso Rizzo form the novel's emotional nucleus.
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Superb
- By Macala Shon on 01-26-21
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City of Night
- By: John Rechy
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 17 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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When John Rechy's explosive first novel appeared in 1963, it marked a radical departure in fiction, and gave voice to a subculture that had never before been revealed with such acuity. It earned comparisons to Genet and Kerouac, even as Rechy was personally attacked by scandalized reviewers. Nevertheless, the book became an international best seller, and 50 years later, it has become a classic. Bold and inventive in style, Rechy is unflinching in his portrayal of one hustling "youngman" and his search for self-knowledge.
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A seminal classic
- By Robert Simmons on 09-22-19
By: John Rechy
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Shadow Show
- All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury
- By: Sam Weller - editor, Mort Castle - editor
- Narrated by: George Takei, Edward Herrmann, Kate Mulgrew, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Ray Bradbury - peerless storyteller, poet of the impossible, and one of America's most beloved authors - is a literary giant whose remarkable career spanned seven decades. Now 26 of today's most diverse and celebrated authors offer new short works in honor of the master; stories of heart, intelligence, and dark wonder from a remarkable range of creative artists.
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THE MAN WHO FORGOT RAY BRADBURY
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 05-27-17
By: Sam Weller - editor, and others
What listeners say about The Snow Queen
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Theresa
- 04-29-17
What?
No plot, no story, no fun. Check him off my list. I only hung in there thinking something was coming. At several moments I thought it was about to happen. Then nope
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- Beth Anne
- 06-01-14
bleh. just average, or worse.
gah. another so so read. my expectations may have been too high, but i really feel that the author didn't live up to what he was trying to achieve. i think Cunningham writes beautiful sentences. but when you put them together i think sometimes they become overwhelming. the plot of the story is lost in all the beautiful writing.
i didn't get any references to the Snow Queen (Hans Christian Andersen), except for the fact that there was snow. i didn't find the conflict worth anything. i didn't find either one of the brother's stories explored enough to get any true sense of either one of them -- and therefor i didn't really feel invested in either of their lives. i felt like i was reading an outline of a larger story that i wasn't privy to. i felt like i was reading the beginning of something great, that just never took off.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Barbara
- 06-09-14
Couldn't make it all the way through.
I just didn't care enough about the characters, their interactions, or the plot to force myself through this one. Claire Danes as the reader is wasted on what's just a bad book. I made it 3/4 of the way through and thought, why am I forcing myself to listen to something so unsatisfying? The nice thing about being an adult (and not a student with homework) is that you really DON'T have to finish a book that doesn't warrant the time or attention.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Kcinaz62
- 12-11-14
Uninteresting
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
People that are interested in feckless characters that chat about how terrible and horrible their lives are.
What do you think your next listen will be?
I haven't decided what my next listen will be, but probably something with more interesting characters.
Have you listened to any of Claire Danes’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Love Claire Danes as a narrator. Am going to look for other books she performs.
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Snow Queen?
I'd probably pare down the first four chapters into one.
Any additional comments?
After listening to the first hour of this audiobook, I decide that the book couldn't hold my interest. The two brothers seemed like the most miserable and feckless characters, that I really couldn't even form an interest in them.
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2 people found this helpful
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- KailuaTutu
- 10-28-16
Wonderfully descriptive writer. Very little plot.
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
Time well spent for aspiring writers. Cunningham is a master of detail, minutiae, and asides. Writers can learn a lot from him in these regards.
What was most disappointing about Michael Cunningham’s story?
For me, at least, the story did not take traction. There really isn't much of a plot -- the relationship between two brothers and their friends.
Which character – as performed by Claire Danes – was your favorite?
I'm sorry to say, none of them.
Was The Snow Queen worth the listening time?
Only to see how well Cunningham can put the reader in a scene by describing every aspect of the scene.
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- chetyarbrough.blog
- 03-11-15
COKE OR PEPSI?
In "The Snow Queen", Michael Cunningham cleverly riffs on more than choice in an innocent question–Would you like Coke or Pepsi? Cunningham’s story is about human choices, responsibilities, and compulsions. Cunningham’s first chapters flesh out details of three personalities, Tyler’s, Barrett’s, and Liz’s. (Beth is another important character, but more as she relates to the three main characters than as an individual.) Tyler is a musician. Barrett is Tyler’s younger brother. Liz is a kind of caretaker for both Tyler and Barrett, even though Tyler is in his early 40s and Liz is in her early 50s. Barrett, the youngest of the three, is employed by Liz in her clothing store.
Barrett, in his thirties, takes the first steps toward a mature and stable relationship with a partner that may break the bond with his unconventional and enabling family. Liz, now in her mid-50s, is thinking about taking a vacation in California; possibly with Tyler, but only if he quits drugs. Beth has died from cancer. The storm of snow and ice seems to be lifting for Barrett and Liz at the end of Cunningham’s story. But, Tyler appears to have had his heart pierced by the broken mirror that looks like snow and has turned to ice; i.e. snowy cocaine has turned to heroin. Tyler loses his fiancée, seems on the edge of losing his brother, and finally, his caretaker and ex-secret-lover. Tyler’s choice is Coke; while Barrett’s and Liz’s choice is Pepsi. Cunningham infers Americans are enabling dependence by children on their conventional and unconventional families; i.e. allowing children to remain adolescents for too long.
Drugs are a curse that distorts reality like broken shards of Hans Christian Anderson’s glass mirror. Religion is an opiate of the masses. Gen Xers are growing up too late in their lives. Winter is a time of dormancy for Gen Xers; spring may be coming, but Cunningham’s story is not reassuring.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Matthew
- 05-21-14
Most boring book I've listened to..
The writing was well done, if somewhat pathetic in the attempt to be hip and in the know, but I'm still trying to figure out what the point was. Very boring and extremely disappointing.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Heidi
- 06-03-14
Boring Listen
What disappointed you about The Snow Queen?
The story line, and Claire Danes narration wasn't good.
Would you ever listen to anything by Michael Cunningham again?
no
Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Claire Danes?
Someone with a better speaking voice
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
not to me
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- lucia
- 07-12-15
Breathtaking
This is my second book by Cunningham It was been at least 25 years since I have been this enthralled by an author. His stories and prose are radiant, captivating. His command of language is miraculous. I can't recommend this book too highly.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Teresa
- 06-28-14
kinda dragged on
What would have made The Snow Queen better?
There was nothing to capture my attention.
What was most disappointing about Michael Cunningham’s story?
The story just dragged on and the relationships between the characters was confusing and boring. It made me just feel sad and for the people and there sad choices.
What didn’t you like about Claire Danes’s performance?
The reader was good the story was bad
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1 person found this helpful