Preview
  • The Woman Who Wouldn't

  • By: Gene Wilder
  • Narrated by: Gene Wilder
  • Length: 2 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (76 ratings)

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The Woman Who Wouldn't

By: Gene Wilder
Narrated by: Gene Wilder
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Publisher's summary

The beloved actor and screenwriter’s second novel, set in 1903, stars a young concert violinist named Jeremy Webb, who one day goes from accomplished adagios with the Cleveland Orchestra to having a complete breakdown onstage. If he hadn’t poured a glass of water down the throat of a tuba, maybe he wouldn’t have been sent to a health resort in Badenweiler, Germany. But it’s in that serene place that Jeremy meets Clara Mulpas, whom he tries his hardest to seduce.

Clara is so beautiful that Jeremy finds it impossible to keep from trying to detect a chink in her extraordinary reserve and elegance. He realizes he is reflexively flirting to get a reaction - after all, a tease and a wink have always worked before, with women back home. But flirting probably isn’t the best way to appeal to a woman who was married to a dumb brute and doesn’t want to have anything more to do with men. Jeremy isn’t sure how to press his case - but he won’t give up.

Wilder’s prose is elegant, spare, and affecting. But it’s his romantic’s eye for the intense emotions that animate a real love story that makes The Woman Who Wouldn’t an unforgettable audiobook.

©2008 Gene Wilder (P)2008 Books on Tape
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Critic reviews

"Wilder lovingly depicts the miraculous joy and inevitable loss that liberate true emotion in Jeremy and his music." (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Woman Who Wouldn't

Average customer ratings
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Wonderful short story 🌟

Liked it all. Enjoyed the character development and the positive changes people can make when they choose to be open to life.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Heartwarming

I'm not a big fan of fiction novels but this one kept me listening much of the time. Gene is a wonderful writer & narrator.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Another gem from Gene Wilder

I had listened to Gene Wilder's auto-biography Kiss Me Like a Stranger and had hoped to get My French Whore on audio book because of the excellent reading skills and pleasant voice Mr. Wilder possesses. My French Whore wasn't read by him so I bought a hard-copy of it and it was exactly what I expected; A pleasant and simple little story from Mr. Wilder. This second novelette is just as good. He isn't Dickens but he knows how to tell a story with enough description that you are able to paint a small picture in your head and care enough about the characters. There isn't much philosophy, just straight-ahead story telling and it works. I highly recommend all of his books.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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The woman who wouldn’t

I loved this story. I don’t know if he wrote it for his wife or if he wrote because of his wife. It almost seems that he wrote the story the way he wanted his life’s story to end or continue.

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Lovely

If you love listening to Gene Wilder speak, you won't go wrong with this audiobook.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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perfect sweet story! 💚💚💚

Gene wilder is amazing!
I so appreciate his knowledge about psychology and health. and he is delightful it doing voices and accents and it's just so lovable and charming and gentle

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Small story, Big Theme, A Great Success

The perfect mix of realistic and fantastical material, Mr. Wilder makes what some would call a small story. I don't. Intimacy and closeness to the characters is what a writer tries to do, the good ones anyway. Mr. Wilder succeeds wonderfully. -Lory Kaufman, Kingston, Canada

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Nice novel

Very nice read and also listen a lot of this is based on genes experiences and a great ending

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Wonderful

Excellent book from Mr. Gene Wilder, who also did fantastic narration. Great story. Loved it.

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Sweet story

Such a sweet story. Funny, charming and touching. Of course, the narrator really adds a certain something as well!

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