
The Widower's Tale
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Mark Bramhall
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By:
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Julia Glass
In a historic farmhouse outside Boston, 70-year-old Percy Darling is settling happily into retirement: Reading novels, watching old movies, and swimming naked in his pond. His routines are disrupted, however, when he is persuaded to let a locally beloved preschool take over his barn. As Percy sees his rural refuge overrun by children, parents, and teachers, he must reexamine the solitary life he has made in the three decades since the sudden death of his wife. No longer can he remain aloof from his community, his two grown daughters, or, to his shock, the precarious joy of falling in love.
One relationship Percy treasures is the bond with his oldest grandchild, Robert, a premed student at Harvard. Robert has long assumed he will follow in the footsteps of his mother, a prominent physician, but he begins to question his ambitions when confronted by a charismatic roommate who preaches - and begins to practice - an extreme form of ecological activism, targeting Boston’s most affluent suburbs. Meanwhile, two other men become fatefully involved with Percy and Robert: Ira, a gay teacher at the preschool, and Celestino, a Guatemalan gardener who works for Percy’s neighbor, each one striving to overcome a sense of personal exile.
Choices made by all four men, as well as by the women around them, collide forcefully on one lovely spring evening, upending everyone’s lives, but none more radically than Percy’s. With equal parts affection and satire, Julia Glass spins a captivating tale about the loyalties, rivalries, and secrets of a very particular family. Yet again, she plumbs the human heart brilliantly, dramatically, and movingly.
©2010 Random House Audio; 2010 Julia GlassListeners also enjoyed...




















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beautiful
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Interestingly enough, I felt that Ira, the gay man, what is the least interesting character in the book. This is a little odd, because Julia Glass previously created really compelling portraits of gay men.
I’ve enjoyed all of her novels so far, and this is no exception. Her storytelling, characters, and especially her evoking the landscape and culture of wealthy suburban Massachusetts are vivid and engaging. It’s the kind of intelligent look at other peoples lives that I enjoy.
The Main Character Makes The Book
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Taler Made
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Loved this book!
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Besides that, the writer spends so much time on her political agenda that endearing things, meaningful things, like Celestino’s reaction to seeing his lover again are nearly lost. We KNOW she is rich compared to him!
In fact that agenda is hammered so hard that it, not Percy, nor Robert, is the main character in the book, if you can let go of your peevishness at Percy warbling “Daaaaugh-ter…” down the driveway.
Mr. Ira and his partner were a beautifully written couple as was the emotionally practical Sarah. As I said, the writing in most places was good.
However, re Trudy, I am exhausted with hero doctors/lawyers/politicians/police/PIs who are too busy to breathe from both nostrils because they are using one to sleep. That trope was old with Frank Furillo on Hill Street Blues.
Writing is good enough…
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Mark Bramhall was the perfect, slow, almost drawling voice of an older man, but far from boring. He made Percy Darling jump to life with his gently sardonic wit, and insightful self deprecations.
The book was a little slow going at times, and its punches were slow to build rather than a constant bombardment of action, but I think it was well worth the listen.
A Certain Kind of Maturity
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Baffling choice by the Narrator.
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Great!
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Narrator Bramhall does a wonderful job of narrating, but I agree with another reviewer that the Brahmin accent of the central character did not fit well. He distinguishes the characters very well.
So this wasn't a bad choice, just not stellar.
Too Many Ideas
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Very enjoyable
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