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Breathing Lessons
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
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Breathing Lessons
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Summary
Breathing Lessons covers the events of a day in the life of Maggie Moran, nearing fifty, married to Ira and with two children. Her eternal optimism and her inexhaustible passion for sorting out other people's lives and willing them to fall in love is severely tested one hot summer day.
Maggie and Ira drive from Baltimore to Deer Lick to attend the funeral of the husband of Serena, Maggie's childhood friend. During the course of the journey, with its several unexpected detours - into the lives of old friends and grown children - Anne Tyler shows us all there is to know about a marriage: The expectations; the disappointments; the way children can create storms in a family; the way that wife and husband can fall in love all over again; the way that everything - and nothing - changes.
A classic novel from one of America's greatest living novelists, now available as an audiobook.
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What listeners say about Breathing Lessons
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- yvonne
- 18-11-18
well crafted story , thoroughly enjoyable
you might not always warm to Maggie and Ira but the events of a single day are told in a beautiful melodrama around family life. Both funny and infuriating at times, very little happens in this witty and charming insight into lives and personalities of the main characters.
brilliant writing and excellent narration
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mrs Simpson
- 19-03-24
The looming dread of the empty nest
This wasn’t my favourite Anne Tyler novel, but it was engaging nonetheless and if you’re a fan of the author, I’d recommend it. As usual, the characters aren’t easily lovable, but it centres around the everyday heartbreak and unacknowledged looming dread of the empty nest.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Duvethead
- 12-10-16
A well crafted novel
A well crafted novel with a final paragraph which causes the entire book to shift into sharp focus.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sam Edwards
- 23-11-21
Beautiful characterisation - as ever
Anne Tyler once again with her eagle eyed accuracy weaves a lifetime of stories throughout a day in the life of Maggie and Ira. Perfect characters - if not all likeable. Just like real life. When people ask ‘what is the point?’ That is just it. Sometimes there is no destination or point of arrival. It’s the journey along the way where all the memories are established and developed. The beauty here is in the resonance of the familiar and lack of drama or theatre
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Fink Nottle
- 27-02-20
Well written but difficult to warm to
A well written journal of a couple of days in the long marriage of Ira and Maggie. The only problem is Maggie, one of the most annoying characters I’ve come across . I just wanted to scream ‘for God’s sake, get a grip’ - I had to force myself to persevere and could easily have abandoned the book half a dozen times.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- nicola spiers
- 18-02-23
bittersweet
A compelling and memorable novel something of a slow burn, an author the height of her powers. Many moment where you don't know whether to laugh or cry.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- helen lambert
- 30-03-15
Engrossing
I love Anne Tyler's writing. Her characters are well rounded and totally believable. Pathos and humour in one novel. Brilliant
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- fiona uzar
- 04-03-17
OMG ! What was the point....
I listened this book for our monthly book club and can honestly say it was very disappointing.
Maggie Moran had no redeeming qualities whatsoever, in fact there was not one person in this story I liked. It really was a major disappointment.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Janette Budge
- 22-08-22
Boring
I kept going with this story until the end as I was hopeful something interesting would happen. But sadly no. The characters were believable but it was a rambling story of a family's everyday life.
wouldn't recommend.
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