
A Good Family
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Narrated by:
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Richard Powers
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By:
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Erik Fassnacht
About this listen
A dramatic, ambitious first novel of a Midwestern family's self-destruction and repair.
Meet the Brunsons of Downers Grove, Illinois: Henry, the once-magical father, whose fear of aging and endangered career lead him to the nightclubs of Chicago's Viagra Triangle; his wife, Julie, who struggles to reclaim her life with a bottle of Zoloft and dreams of her youthful independence; Charlie, the golden-boy son who leaves the lucrative job his father arranged to serve in Afghanistan - and returns angry, damaged, and uncertain of his place in the world; and Barkley, the bumbling youngest, an aspiring writer of geeky science fiction stories who is interviewing for his first job at a forbidding Catholic high school.
When Henry's health abruptly declines, he tries to return to the home and the life he had dominated. But his family - once totally dependent on his love, physical strength, and income - no longer needs him. As Julie, Charlie, and Barkley begin to find their ways forward, Henry tries desperately to bring them back together. In the end each one will arrive at a new understanding of what family can - and cannot - be.
Unusually assured and perceptive, combining narrative drive with humor, insight, and powerful family dynamics, A Good Family is a memorable debut.
©2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2015 Blackstone AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Performance
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Story
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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Worth a listen
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What listeners say about A Good Family
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Adele in CBus
- 09-19-15
Move Over, Jonathan Franzen
This novel interrupted my life for 3 days and it just blew me away. I thought it was an even better modern family saga than The Corrections and I liked The Corrections a lot. Paul Michael Garcia was a great narrator.
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Overall
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Performance
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- M. Whitaker
- 10-25-17
Violent and all dislikable characters
Had I known it was this violent with graphic war details, I wouldn't not have ordered it. None of the characters have a shred of compassion. I know flawed characters make good novels, but there is nothing likable about any of them. Couldn't finish the book.
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