The Most Fun We Ever Had: A Novel (Unabridged)
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3.6 • 30 Ratings
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- $26.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK • “A gripping and poignant ode to a messy, loving family in all its glory.” —Madeline Miller, bestselling author of Circe
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.
Don't miss Claire Lombardo's new book, Same As It Ever Was!
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This dysfunctional-family novel is quite a ride. Prosperous suburban Chicago couple Marilyn and David Sorenson are as crazy about each other as they were when they met 40 years ago. But their four adult daughters…not so much. Tart-tongued Wendy’s had a tragic life, which she takes out on those closest to her, especially her control-freak sister Violet. Liza’s seemingly perfect professional life is rocked by an unplanned pregnancy with her severely depressed partner. And Grace, the baby of the family, has developed an entire invented life just to have something to talk about with her parents and siblings. And all that’s before Jonah—the newborn baby Violet had quietly given up for adoption 15 years ago—suddenly shows up in the family’s lives. First-time novelist Claire Lombardo goes back and forth between the present and the past to tell the Sorensons’ story, giving all the characters plenty of room to evolve. Narrator Emily Rankin does an excellent job with this wide-ranging saga, and does an especially wonderful job with Wendy’s verbal jabs and growing discontent. The Most Fun We Ever Had is an emotional roller coaster, and it’s worth every minute.
Customer Reviews
Beautiful family drama
The narrator is the star of this audiobook.
The story is captivating, heartbreaking and so very very well written. I didn’t want it to end.
Very moving and relatable..
I feel like I lived a whole different life through this book and found a little bit of myself in every character! A long journey of reading, to be sure, but worth it.