Foolish Mortals: A Novel cover art

Foolish Mortals: A Novel

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About this listen

After a shocking accident, one family gathers for an unforgettable Christmas overflowing with secrets and revelations in this deeply felt novel by one of Ireland’s foremost modern writers. Henry has been estranged from his children since his divorce with their mother, Stephanie. But when a car accident claims the life of his second wife and leaves him with partial amnesia, Henry embarks on the fraught journey of making amends. As the family gathers for Christmas dinner, Henry’s memory comes back in starts and stops - the wedges that drove his daughter, Ciara, away; the slow onset of his mother’s dementia; the real cause of his break with his ex-wife.

A tragicomedy of near-Shakespearean proportions, Foolish Mortals is at once a novel of the mending of a dysfunctional family and a portrait of the modernizing gradient blending old Ireland into new.

©2007 Jennifer Johnston (P)2014 Audible Inc. Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Marriage Winter Christmas
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There's is a great story here but it's marred by a narrator who does not differentiate between the voices of the characters at all from what I could hear. I did listen all the way to the end because of my faith in Jennifer Johnston's narrative. That's what made it worth it for me. But the reading was woeful and ultimately made this a less than satisfying listening experience - which is a shame because there's a good story in there somewhere.

There's great family fiction in this somewhere

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I first read Jennifer Johnston in the 70s and 80s, but was delighted to find this novel I had somehow missed. I find her novels absolutely wonderful and recommend her to anyone who enjoys a writer with the skill to invent a marvellous array of interesting characters, who find themselves in ambiguous situations for which there are usually no easy solutions.

A joyful discovery.

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Such a sad story. Regret, secrets and memories. Beautiful narrative well told by this narrator. Lovely though heart
breaking.

Beautiful

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Beautifully written and wonderfully read, thoughtful and captivating writing. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Excellent

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A well observed story of ordinary people. Rather sad, as life can be. Altogether lifted by the wonderful narration.

Brilliantly narrated.

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