The Paper Palace (Reese's Book Club): A Novel

Written by:
Miranda Cowley Heller
Narrated by:
Nan Mcnamara

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
281
Narrator
52
Release Date
July 2021
Duration
12 hours 37 minutes
Summary
REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK

INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

OVER 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE

THE PAPER PALACE IS:

“Filled with secrets, love, lies and a summer beach house. What more could you ask?”—Parade

“A deeply emotional love story…the unraveling of secrets, lies and a very complex love triangle.” —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club July ’21 Pick)

'Nail-biting.' —Town & Country

“A magnificent page-turner.” —Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author

“[An] irresistible placement of a complicated family in a bewitching place.” —The New York Times

A story of summer, secrets, love, and lies: in the course of a singular day on Cape Cod, one woman must make a life-changing decision that has been brewing for decades.

“This house, this place, knows all my secrets.”

It is a perfect August morning, and Elle, a fifty-year-old happily married mother of three, awakens at “The Paper Palace”—the family summer place which she has visited every summer of her life. But this morning is different: last night Elle and her oldest friend Jonas crept out the back door into the darkness and had sex with each other for the first time, all while their spouses chatted away inside. Now, over the next twenty-four hours, Elle will have to decide between the life she has made with her genuinely beloved husband, Peter, and the life she always imagined she would have had with her childhood love, Jonas, if a tragic event hadn’t forever changed the course of their lives. As Heller colors in the experiences that have led Elle to this day, we arrive at her ultimate decision with all its complexity. Tender yet devastating, The Paper Palace considers the tensions between desire and dignity, the legacies of abuse, and the crimes and misdemeanors of families.
Reviews
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Vera G.

Would not listen again And the ending was a bit strange, unclear and perhaps disappointing

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Marla F.

A generally good listen; intriguing plot, but the pace was too slow. The narrative bouncing between different times periods was confusing at times.

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Teresa D.

Eh. Good beach listen I guess but really nothing special. The author had this odd need to talk about dead animals, animals and bugs dying and being killed. It didn’t lend to the story so not sure what the point was.

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Anonymous

I was completely enraptured by this book.

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Anonymous

So I listened to the whole thing, so that means it was interesting enough. But the ending sucked, and the plot has some holes. Forbidden love murder mystery. Oh yeah there’s a rape scene.

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Anonymous

Loved this book! Loved the storyline and the characters!

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Anonymous

Pretty boring

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Anonymous

A little slow....

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Anonymous

I could not stop listening. As an abuse victim I could have done with less vivid realism. I enjoyed the book but I think Elle made a BAD decision at the end!!!

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Donna V.

Interesting book. Negatives: Were there any redeeming characters? the author used the F word way more than necessary. (Do you not know other words to describe sex?). Did the author have to describe the child molestation so grafically to get the point across? ( Hard to erase the image) Plus side: author has good description of the natural setting . She describes Eleanor's response to molestaion well( not telling, being

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Anonymous

Should have a gentle warning about the abuse that takes place. Ending was unclear.

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Jacqui S.

Not great .

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Anonymous

Slow. Backstory a bit difficult to listen to. Beware child abuse. Too much dirt and betrayal. Too little love and beauty of the location. Not the beach read for me.

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Patricia H.

I understand what other reviewers are sharing with the style of the back and forth in time periods but that’s the joy of reading/listening to different authors. A little slow in the middle but I enjoyed hearing the buildup and description of the different locations.

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Mary G.

It really wasn’t all that exciting.

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Bonnie M.

Too much foul language otherwise good story

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Anonymous

The writing was not impressive enough to put readers through some of the graphic impressions of the author. Couldn’t finish the book and that rarely happens to me.

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Nancy K.

Fun read. Great narration.

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