Imagine Me Gone

Written by:
Adam Haslett
Narrated by:
Ellen Archer

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
41
Narrator
8
Release Date
May 2016
Duration
11 hours 0 minutes
Summary
From a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist, a ferociously intimate story of a family facing the ultimate question: how far will we go to save the people we love the most?

When Margaret's fiancée, John, is hospitalized for depression in 1960s London, she faces a choice: carry on with their plans despite what she now knows of his condition, or back away from the suffering it may bring her. She decides to marry him.

Imagine Me Gone is the unforgettable story of what unfolds from this act of love and faith. At the heart of it is their eldest son, Michael, a brilliant, anxious music fanatic who makes sense of the world through parody. Over the span of decades, his younger siblings -- the savvy and responsible Celia and the ambitious and tightly controlled Alec -- struggle along with their mother to care for Michael's increasingly troubled and precarious existence.

Told in alternating points of view by all five members of the family, this searing, gut-wrenching, and yet frequently hilarious novel brings alive with remarkable depth and poignancy the love of a mother for her children, the often inescapable devotion siblings feel toward one another, and the legacy of a father's pain in the life of a family.

With his striking emotional precision and lively, inventive language, Adam Haslett has given us something rare: a novel with the power to change how we see the most important people in our lives.

'Haslett is one of the country's most talented writers, equipped with a sixth sense for characterization'-Wall Street Journal

'Ambitious and stirring . . . With Imagine Me Gone , Haslett has reached another level.'-New York Times Book Review
Reviews
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Sonja M

Well written, this novel provides poignant insight into depression. Interesting characters and some very moving sections, but I can’t say I recommend. Too much sadness.

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KIMBERLY Champion

I bought this because of its high praise but honestly I didn't care for it at all. I found it odd and disjointed. The parts of the story from Michael's point of view were insufferable. The narration was excellent. There were moments I liked and the ending was good but overall, it was not worthy of the rave reviews in my opinion.

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Edith kodmur

Despite the interesting set-up: each member of a family, in turn, at different times, telling the story, and having no quibbles or criticisms about the writing, I grew weary of what evolves as the main character. His constant preaching, whether about the musical genre he prefers or his crusade for restitution for the descendants of slaves, along with his almost stalking posture vis a vis a couple of women in his life grated on me and finally soured me on the book. I would not recommend it.

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William Alan Dishman

The story is powerful and moving. Having two narrators reading the various chapters made this more enjoyable than some books I have listened to.

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Laura Knapp

Great story telling. This is my first audiobook. Very easy to listen while driving. Relaxing and Hands free.

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