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The Most Fun We Ever Had
- A Novel
- Lu par : Emily Rankin
- Durée : 20 h et 33 min
- Version intégrale Livre audio
- Catégories : Littérature, romans et fiction, Roman féminin
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Description
“A gripping and poignant ode to a messy, loving family in all its glory.” (Madeline Miller, New York Times best-selling author of Circe)
A New York Times Best Seller
Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction
In this “rich, complex family saga” (USA Today) full of long-buried family secrets, Marilyn Connolly and David Sorenson fall in love in the 1970s, blithely ignorant of all that awaits them. By 2016, they have four radically different daughters, each in a state of unrest.
Wendy, widowed young, soothes herself with booze and younger men; Violet, a litigator turned stay-at-home-mom, battles anxiety and self-doubt; Liza, a neurotic and newly tenured professor, finds herself pregnant with a baby she's not sure she wants by a man she's not sure she loves; and Grace, the dawdling youngest daughter, begins living a lie that no one in her family even suspects.
With the unexpected arrival of young Jonah Bendt - a child placed for adoption by one of the daughters fifteen years before - the Sorensons will be forced to reckon with the rich and varied tapestry of their past. As they grapple with years marred by adolescent angst, infidelity, and resentment, they also find the transcendent moments of joy that make everything else worthwhile.
Commentaires
Named a most anticipated book of the summer by O Magazine, People, Chicago Tribune, New York Post, InStyle, Good Housekeeping, Daily Beast, PopSugar, and LitHub
"A rich, engrossing family saga, spiked with sisterly malice...[rendered] with such skill and finely tuned interest that it feels like a quiet subversion of the traditional family saga." (The New York Times Book Review)
“Lombardo's impressive debut is a gripping and poignant ode to a messy, loving family in all its glory. She juggles a huge cast of characters with seeming effortlessness, bringing each to life with humor, vividness and acute psychological insight.” (Madeline Miller, New York Times best-selling author of Circe)
“A family epic…It resembles other sprawling midwestern family dramas, like Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections (2001)…The result is an affectionate, sharp, and eminently readable exploration of the challenges of love in its many forms.” (Booklist)
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Ce que les auditeurs disent de The Most Fun We Ever Had
NotationsCommentaires - Veuillez sélectionner les onglets ci-dessous pour changer la provenance des commentaires.
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Global5 out of 5 stars
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Interprétation5 out of 5 stars
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Histoire5 out of 5 stars
- Kaysi12
- 08/07/2019
Wonderful book
I recently saw that I have downloaded 700+ audiobooks over the years and this is one of my top ten favorites. It is a wonderful story. I’d love to see a sequel with Jonah as the central character, but I’ll read anything Claire Lombardo writes in the future and I hope she writes many more novels.
58 personnes ont trouvé cela utile
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Global2 out of 5 stars
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Interprétation2 out of 5 stars
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Histoire2 out of 5 stars
- Denise
- 28/07/2019
Disappointing at Best
I selected this book because both the author’s bio and the story synopsis seemed promising. Also, because I’m a Chicagoan, I thought it would be great to finally delve into a book set in my beautiful city. Boy, was I wrong!
Perhaps the Chicago aspect of the story was its most redeeming quality. To me, the majority of the characters were narcissistic and unlikable, especially Violet and Grace. Marilyn, the “saintly” mom, was really a pathetic martyr and a motherhood loser based on the behaviors of her daughters. Liza, the professor, was a ridiculous doormat. Only Wendy, underneath her crunchy facade, had an empathetic, caring and generous heart.
I kept asking myself, if these girls had such wonderful and perfect parents then why did they boldface lie about their lives and keep their failures a secret from them? That didn’t make sense to me at all.
I’m not a prude but like another reviewer mentioned, the swearing was over the top, totally unnecessary. On several occasions the language actually made me wince. It really detracted from the story and made the family even more unlikable and unbelievable.
Don’t waste your money or your credit on this book.
30 personnes ont trouvé cela utile
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Global4 out of 5 stars
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Interprétation4 out of 5 stars
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Histoire4 out of 5 stars
- Kelly
- 03/07/2019
An enjoyable story of multiple generations
4.5 stars.
This is one of those books that is 550 pages long and which I would have loved to be even longer.
It was exactly the kind of book I love. Emotional. Tragic. Character-driven. Dramatic yet funny.
Witty, with pages filled with themes of love, family, grief, misunderstandings, redemption and hope.
I loved that Lombardo created a multi-generational family who had secrets, held resentments, were selfish and self-centered, and who loved each other immensely. It was so real. Most of us can list 1,000 complaints about our siblings and parents. We think the other person lives a more blessed life. We think they are loved more. We fail to see the story through their eyes. And yet we would do anything for them, because we love them. This book is exactly that. It is family. And I cared about them all. I worried when they hurt each other that they would do permanent damage. I cried for their grief and pain. They were in my heart and I was sad when I closed the cover.
Marilyn Connelly and David Sorensen met while in college in the mid-70s, and soon married. Forty years later they have raised 4 daughters, David is a retired family physician, Marilyn is a super-mom, and they are crazy in love with one another still. The novel covers is written with intimate glimpses of these 40 years, with portions of the story told in the current time (2016), and flashing back to many other stages of life. We get to know the couple and their girls -- Wendy, Violet, Liza, and Grace.
Violet and Wendy are a year apart--Irish twins, the sisters who were the closest and developed a love-hate relationship. Liza was considered the middle child, and Grace was born (on purpose, but everyone thought she was their Catholic accident) in 1993. The current year is 2016, but the novel moves back and forth in time, mounting little mysteries and hints and integrating interlocking narratives. Everyone has a storyline, independently and collectively. And that includes the loose cannon, Jonah, given up for adoption by Violet as an infant and, at age 15, has resurfaced, to Violet’s dismay.
Wendy is the oldest. She is sarcastic, irreverent and troubled. She has had a hard life, facing big losses. Unfortunately her losses have made her combative, and reliant upon alcohol. She keeps her family at arm's length, unwilling to lower her guard.
Violet was born less than a year after Wendy. She has control issues, and seeks perfection. Her husband and two young children are the perfect family. She has a big secret that will force her to open her heart and mind, and she becomes far more likable as we follow her story.
Liza, the third daughter is pregnant and a successful professor. But her boyfriend is severely depressed, and Liza isn't sure that she actually loves him or that she wants her baby.
And then there is the baby, Gracie. She is in Portland, where she is supposed to be attending law school. This is a lie and she is finding herself digging that hole bigger with every conversation.
The author beautifully shows the various elements of the story from viewpoints of several characters. We get to see how their memories and perceptions are colored through the tint of their selfish view of the world. We spy the missed opportunities and we find ourselves wishing that we could force a face to face discussion.
This book is like reading the story of your own family. It is warm and cozy in spite of the pain. It is full of love and laughter over shared memories, embarrassments and inside-jokes.
44 personnes ont trouvé cela utile
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Global5 out of 5 stars
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Interprétation5 out of 5 stars
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Histoire5 out of 5 stars
- Gary & Jay
- 02/09/2019
GOD! This was the most exasperating, involving,
heartfelt, nearly off-putting story about family I've experienced in a very long time.
At some point along the way, the Sorensen sisters are nicknamed what sounds like Wen, Vile, Lies, and I'm not sure if the youngest was ever called Gray, but it would have fit her as well as the others do their characters.
But this is a long tale, and one that provokes strong emotion in the reader (at least this reader), to an unusual extent. It isn't enough, for instance, to have knowledge and put together the cruel facts of one sister's life of illness and loss. Lombardo has us experience her cold, cutting humor as unredeemed for a long time before we feel any hint of her wonderful qualities.
And it's somewhat the same for most of the characters, who err and feel shame and conceal in such a way that we're angered and guilt-ridden as we turn away or identify with our own inner science.
There's no big secret here, nor any big reveal. It's life as it's mostly lived: A lot lucky sometimes, with lots of breaks, and a disaster sometimes, for no reason.
If this review seems a bit off-handed, it's because I didn't know how else to write how I felt. Be assured that when you begin this enthralling listen, there will be a couple of times that you'll be bored and ready to quit, and many more times that you'll be very emotionally involved, but you will definitely end up in love.
I highly recommend this novel, which is bravely narrated to perfection by Emily Rankin.
Jay Thomas
12 personnes ont trouvé cela utile
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Global3 out of 5 stars
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Interprétation4 out of 5 stars
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Histoire3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 03/07/2019
A Glass Half Full
The writing was simple enough, but the story had so much meat...So much more to grow on. The story highlighted the epiphany that we always get as adults that ‘everyone’s got mess’; lightly put. It was endearing, a sweet picture into a family that shows love at variations, but there was so much drama and room for elaboration on the characters that could have really made this a bit more juicy. There were situations that could have been a bit more climatic that just failed me with a very “fictional” response that most real families would have. Nonetheless, I could listen to the narrator again and maybe give the author another try in the future. Definitely more of a long flight listen when I don’t want to hold a book.
19 personnes ont trouvé cela utile
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Global4 out of 5 stars
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Interprétation5 out of 5 stars
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Histoire4 out of 5 stars
- Carolyn White
- 15/07/2019
Good story
I liked this book a lot. I did find there to be a lot of sex scenes between the parents. Their love was the central facet of the story, so I get it, but still, it felt repetitive. Great characters and wonderful writing, though.
18 personnes ont trouvé cela utile
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Global5 out of 5 stars
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Interprétation5 out of 5 stars
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Histoire5 out of 5 stars
- C. Stilwell
- 19/07/2019
Excellent
Sad when it was over. If you like stories that span decades and follow the lives of family members, you will love this. Each character is perfectly developed.
8 personnes ont trouvé cela utile
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Global3 out of 5 stars
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Interprétation4 out of 5 stars
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Histoire3 out of 5 stars
- adrienne waikel
- 17/07/2019
Wordy and long
I bought this because of the good reviews but found it very wordy and unnecessarily long. I’m not sure I can even finish it. So many long descriptions of chaos in the house which seems overdone. I have four kids too and it never seemed like the drudgery that the author goes on and on about. Interesting story of the family though and of the nuances of a marriage but not sure it’s worth the credit.
17 personnes ont trouvé cela utile
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Global5 out of 5 stars
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Interprétation5 out of 5 stars
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Histoire5 out of 5 stars
- starshockeymom
- 13/07/2019
Loved this book!
This was such a great story! I did not want it to end. Highly recommend.
6 personnes ont trouvé cela utile
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Global2 out of 5 stars
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Interprétation3 out of 5 stars
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Histoire1 out of 5 stars
- Karen Brow
- 29/07/2019
Ug. Disappointing
This book has really good reviews and I so wanted to like it, but had to stop half-way through because of boredom and frustration. All the daughter characters were either truly unlikeable or just so darn dumb it was actually uncomfortable. One has such an appallingly vicious mouth I wanted to slap her on several occasions and one is so painfully naive and helpless I wanted to strangle her. (I do not usually feel this violent towards imaginary literary characters.) The other two are more run-of-the-mill hateful and clueless and I couldn't muster any compassion towards any of them.
While this is supposed to be a modern story, I'm sorry-- the sexual detail is... well... creepy. It's way too detailed to be erotic and was usually describing some utterly crass or cringingly and/or stupid situation. (Mom and dad having sex in the living room one evening with not one of four young daughters in bed yet. "Gee we forgot we had daughters and how could we know this could turn out awkward?")
It's a shame actually, as I usually enjoy an author with good detail and descriptive skills, but I sometimes found myself asking why she'd go into so much fine detail about an ultimately irrelevant thing or inconsequential observation.
So I found the parents to be spineless push-overs and their tolerance levels far beyond reality and the daughters just...yuck. I couldn't spend any more time with any of them and pulled the plug.
20 personnes ont trouvé cela utile
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Global3 out of 5 stars
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Interprétation4 out of 5 stars
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Histoire3 out of 5 stars
- Utilisateur anonyme
- 21/08/2020
Ok story. Ok reading.
I skipped at the end, wanting the book to finish. Sure some parts in the story were interesting to stick around. But. Overall it felt like reading a high school essey in the length of a book. David was a female character in dads clothing and even Jonah was a grown up and understanding none boy. The character were immature, spoiled and whiney. I guess peiple are like that. The only person I kinda could stand was Windy cus she had some kind of background. The writing tried to connect to a ginko tree for no apparent reason and frankly this romantic type of loop writing is just a way to close a cute essey to me.
1 personne a trouvé cela utile
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Global5 out of 5 stars
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Interprétation5 out of 5 stars
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Histoire5 out of 5 stars
- BaS
- 28/04/2020
Keine Minute langweilig
Ein langes Buch, viele Protagonisten! Trotzdem hat mich diese Familiengeschichte keine Minute gelangweilt. Jeder der Charaktere ist gut ausgearbeitet, die Sprecherin liest in angenehmen Rhythmus.
1 personne a trouvé cela utile
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Global1 out of 5 stars
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Interprétation2 out of 5 stars
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Histoire1 out of 5 stars
- Gail Röthlin
- 27/03/2021
The most expletives I‘ve ever heard
This book would be only half the length if all the expletives were excluded. There is absolutely no way I would recommend this rubbish to anybody.
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Global1 out of 5 stars
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Interprétation1 out of 5 stars
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Histoire1 out of 5 stars
- Elizabeth Diablo
- 01/10/2020
Overly emotional characters & performance
I kept waiting for the book to redeem itself and finally gave up on the penultimate chapter. From he start, I was annoyed at how overwrought the characters frequently seem. I don't know whether this was because of the writing or because of the performance, which includes a lot of stuttering and half-finished sentences.
Spoiler (kind of): Some aspects of the characters stories and personalities touched me, but frequently they were over-emphasized to the point of making the characters seem one-dimensional. Because the personality defects are so glaring, it was even more implausible to me that towards the end a lot of problems somehow resolve themselves.
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Global5 out of 5 stars
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Interprétation5 out of 5 stars
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Histoire5 out of 5 stars
- Einat
- 30/06/2020
Such wonderful reading!
loved this family saga, being so realistic and down to earth while being at the same time extremely captivating and heart touching. highly recommended. The reading performance was simply fantastic!
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Global5 out of 5 stars
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Interprétation4 out of 5 stars
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Histoire4 out of 5 stars
- Myriam Aichinger
- 02/02/2020
Nice story that makes you believe in true love
What describes this book most is most likely the phrase: true love does not have to be perfect but should make you happy - An amazingly well-written book which deals with the thoughts of every person involved in order to make the reader dive into the specific thoughts of every character. I loved Rankings performance, imitating different pitches and voices, but missed sometimes differences of thoughts between the characters. Anyways, a very good book to listen to while doing basically anything- funny, detailed and lucid
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