In A Widow for One Year, we follow Ruth Cole through three of the most pivotal times in her life: from her girlhood on Long Island (in the summer of 1958) through the fall of 1990 (when she is an unmarried woman whose personal life is not nearly as successful as her literary career), and at last in the autumn of 1995, when Ruth is a forty-one-year-old widow and mother (and she’s about to fall in love for the first time). Both elegiac and erotic, A Widow for One Year is a multilayered love story of astonishing emotional force.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
John Irving's A Widow For One Year is the epic story of a family, dysfunctional at best, unable to cope with tragedy--or with each other. The unabridged audiobook, narrated by George Guidall (The Cat Who Sang for the Birds, The Inner Sanctum, The Legacy) draws the listener in with a crisp, methodical vocal presentation. Guidall portrays each character with a convincingly distinct voice, accurately impersonating the characters' intonations and verbal habits. The interaction between characters is both conversational and believable.
We first meet Ruth Cole in the summer of 1958 when she walks in on her mother having sex with 16-year-old Eddie O'Hare, the assistant to Ruth's alcoholic father. The death of Ruth's older brothers (years before she was born) turns her mother, Marion, into a zombie who is unable to love her surviving daughter. Ted Cole is a semisuccessful writer and illustrator of disturbingly creepy children's novels. His womanizing habits prove he's "as deceitful as a damaged condom," but he remains the only stable figure in Ruth's life. The tempestuous tale fast-forwards to the year 1990 when Ruth's soaring writing career is faring far better than her lackluster love life. The final segment of the novel ends in 1995 when 41-year-old Ruth is ready to fall in love for the first time.
This profoundly absorbing story expresses the depths of misery and the healing power of love. Irving writes as a true storyteller, and Guidall executes the narrative with vigor and enthusiasm. (Running time: 24.5 hours, 14 cassettes) --Gina Kaysen
Ruth Cole is a complex, often self-contradictory character--a "difficult" woman. By no means is she conventionally "nice," but she will never be forgotten.
Ruth's story is told in three parts, each focusing on a crucial time in her life. When we first meet her--on Long Island, in the summer of 1958--Ruth is only four.
The second window into Ruth's life opens in the fall of 1990, when Ruth is an unmarried woman whose personal life is not nearly as successful as her literary career. She distrusts her judgment in men, for good reason.
A Widow for One Year closes in the autumn of 1995, when Ruth Cole is a forty-one-year-old widow and mother. She's about to fall in love for the first time.
Richly comic, as well as deeply disturbing A Widow for One Year is a multilayered love story of astonishing emotional force. Both ribald and erotic, it is also a brilliant novel about the passage of time and the relentlessness of grief.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Shipping:
US$ 3.99
Within U.S.A.
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: Acceptable. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00039386115
Quantity: 10 available
Seller: Gulf Coast Books, Memphis, TN, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Good. Seller Inventory # 0345424719-3-19653391
Quantity: 2 available
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00062127256
Quantity: Over 20 available
Seller: Orion Tech, Kingwood, TX, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Good. Seller Inventory # 0345424719-3-21527567
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Your Online Bookstore, Houston, TX, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Good. Seller Inventory # 0345424719-3-19917435
Quantity: 3 available
Seller: Gulf Coast Books, Memphis, TN, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Fair. Seller Inventory # 0345424719-4-20093354
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Orion Tech, Kingwood, TX, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Fair. Seller Inventory # 0345424719-4-20073010
Quantity: 2 available
Seller: ZBK Books, Carlstadt, NJ, U.S.A.
Condition: USED_GOOD. Used book in good and clean conditions. Pages and cover are intact. Limited notes marks and highlighting may be present. May show signs of normal shelf wear and bends on edges. Item may be missing CDs or access codes. May include library marks. Fast Shipping. Seller Inventory # ZBM.1GDX9
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ZBK Books, Carlstadt, NJ, U.S.A.
Condition: USED_FAIR. Used book - May contain writing, notes, highlighting, bends or folds. Text is readable, book is clean, and pages and cover mostly intact. May show normal wear and tear. Item may be missing CD. May include library marks. Fast Shipping. Seller Inventory # ZBM.1GGTA
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ZBK Books, Carlstadt, NJ, U.S.A.
Condition: USED_FAIR. Used book - May contain writing, notes, highlighting, bends or folds. Text is readable, book is clean, and pages and cover mostly intact. May show normal wear and tear. Item may be missing CD. May include library marks. Fast Shipping. Seller Inventory # ZBM.1GGTY
Quantity: 1 available