The Breakdown Lane

As usual, Mitchard takes a situation that any of us could find ourselves in and provides a look into it from two very different angles. Loved having a heroine with such sass & humor, which tempered the sadness of the situation. The narration made a wide variety of characters so unique it was always clear who was speaking - so unfortunate that the talented Anna Fields is no longer with us.

To while away 2 hours of commute each work day, I "read" (aka - listen) to Audio Books. My latest read was "The Breakdown Lane". This book was extremely compelling. I found myself anxiously awaiting to be back in the car on my way to work each morning (isn't that must nuts!) to "read" - similar to not being able to put a book down. The author blended the main character story line, Julianne Steiner, into her son Gabe's journal readings - those journal readings being sometimes of events yet to occur. What a splendid read, Susan in NJ

A GREAT book to listen to! Another terrific Anna Fields. Laughing, crying, fully entertained during long car rides. Get it!

This book is a real gem. It will take you through the full range of emotions. You will laugh aloud, get angry, be sad, and not want to stop listening. Wonderful character portrayal. Realistic dialog. I only wish I could "discover" this novel all over again!

I enjoyed this book much more than I had expected. I ordered it because of the narrator, Anna Fields -- I really like her work. But I ended up liking the story for itself. The characters are interesting, and the author did a good job of showing differences in age and temperament with them. What one "normal" person sees as immoral, another "normal" person can perfectly justify. It was also an excellent (devastating) description of MS.

Wordy and rambling, and completely depressing, the first five tapes were more than enough to make me hit the "delete" box for the second half. The story is told through several different characters which are poorly read/portrayed and a plot that is exceedingly slow to get to anywhere.