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The Beginner's Goodbye

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About this listen

When Dorothy came back from the dead, Aaron noticed that some people simply ignored the fact; some seemed to have forgotten she had died in the first place; and others just walked straight on by.

The accident that killed Dorothy -- involving an oak tree, a sun porch and some elusive biscuits -- leaves Aaron bereft and the house a wreck. As those around him fuss and flap and bring him casserole after casserole, Aaron ploughs on. He busies himself with work at the family firm, a publisher with a successful line in 'Beginner's Guides' to every stage and aspect of life. But then Dorothy starts to materialize in the oddest places. At first, she only comes for a short while, leaving Aaron longing for more. Gradually she stays for longer, and as they talk they also bicker ...

The cracks that start to reappear in their perfectly normal marriage are as well worn and familiar to Aaron as Dorothy herself. As Aaron starts to emerge from his grief, they are also a reassuringly poignant reminder that life may move on, but some things will forever remain the same.

 Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature Tear-jerking

Critic reviews

Brims with wry perceptiveness and rueful humour (Peter Kemp)
The most touching novel [I read this year] (Craig Brown)
Bitter sweet... Either a ghost story or a sideways portrait of a marriage (James Kidd)
The work of an artist at the peak of her powers... a brilliantly observed and mercifully unsentimental examination of the emotional arc of grief (Sarah Vine)
Tyler strips away layers of everyday life to reveal the abyss of pain underneath but does so with such skill and sparkling wit it makes this a real celebration of life (Vanessa Berridge)
This is what Tyler does better than almost any contemporary writer. She peers at the forgotten areas of the everyday, the bits that are hard to pinpoint, yet make up the bulk of our relationships. And this, ultimately, is why she is such a satisfying writer: she looks at people - at life - from the inside out (Lucy Atkins)
A simple, subtle and really honest account of how one man, Aaron, deals with the darkly comic death of his dumpy, clever and brilliant wife Dorothy... I finished it in one sitting (Alix Walker)
A perfectly judged and brilliantly executed novel of loss and recovery
A near flawless novel of love and loss...this exquisitely poignant but unsentimental portrait of a loving but tragic mismatch (Rosemary Goring)
Yet again she has articulated the supreme difficulties of human communication in a calmly insightful exploration of love and truth, grief and reality (Eileen Battersby)
All stars
Most relevant
Classic Anne Tyler, this is the first time I have listened to an audio book of hers instead of reading the book and it was wonderful. The reader's voice is very soothing and he brings out the different characters very well. Absolutely worth a listen.

Gentle and poignant

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If you could sum up The Beginner's Goodbye in three words, what would they be?

memorable, uplifting, surprising

What other book might you compare The Beginner's Goodbye to, and why?

I've not read a book like this one before, I'd compare it to the movie "The Lake House"

What does Kirby Heyborne bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

He has a wonderful voice, my only criticism is that at first listening I thought the characters were older than they were, his voice made me think of an elderly man looking back on his life

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Open yourself to love

Uplifting tale of love and loss

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This book was a bit of a wash out for me. Didn't really go anywhere. Didn't really grab me with huge interest. A take it or leave it book.

Much about nothing!

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