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Title: The Living

Author: Christopher Castellani

Narrator: Allan Robertson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-02-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Even with a successful career as a lawyer and a beautiful wife, Tony Greto is tormented by his secrets - secrets that finally begin to surface at his 25th high school reunion. An impromptu speech in front of his entire class and an encounter with a former classmate's son begin to unravel the threads of Tony's seemingly settled life.

In this modern retelling of James Joyce's "The Dead," acclaimed novelist Christopher Castellani ensnares you with a night in the life of an ordinary man struggling to reconcile the rift between who he is and who he's pretending to be.

Ploughshares, the literary magazine of Emerson College.

Members Reviews:

Worth a read.

A high school reunion, a clumsy speech, a missing watch. Castellani guides us through an awkward gathering of aging men who were once and, to the annoyance of their wives, remain boys. Through seemingly mundane exchanges, Castellani unfolds a brief (and not quite fully told) story of a man who has long carried a secret loss and longing.

The main character is drawn sparingly. Perhaps too sparingly.

A powerful tribute to Joyce's "The Dead"

In what is purportedly an outtake from an early draft of his 2013 novel, "All This Talk of Love," Castellani deftly re-casts James Joyce's beloved tale, "The Dead," with a number of modern twists and turns. "The Dead," published as part of the collection, "Dubliners," exactly 100 years ago, was part of Irish writers' efforts to forge a sort of national identity by examining contemporary middle-class life. In "The Living," Christopher Castellani updates this to late 20th century middle-America, where a man and his wife attend a party--a Catholic high school reunion--and this event, and a chance encounter with a ghost, dredges up memories that intersect with more recent struggles. In its way, "The Living" attempts to address mid-life questions of identity and choices made, as well as the emerging presence of public gay life and what it means to be gay in the United States (not unlike the questions Joyce and his peers were asking of their countrymen: "Who are we, anyway? Where did we come from? Where are we going?") As Castellani makes clear, there's no path forward to happiness that will not leave collateral damage, and no morality that quite fits--certainly not the moral certainty amid which his characters were so surely raised. One of the questions I took away from it was, "Given that we are alive--that we survive, while others we love or loved may not--what do we do with it that honors both them and ourselves?" This is a highly recommended selection.

Very interesting story

I liked the way the writer revealed the main character: slowly and from a distance, first, especially through scenes with other characters. Then at just the right moment, the protagonist is captured alone, with only his thoughts and deepest feelings, leaving the reader with a haunting sense, which remains long after the story's been put back on the shelf. This story kept me completely absorbed, beginning to end.

An unfinished thought

You think this could be a good story but it doesn't get to anything more than an idea for one.

Superb Storytelling from Christopher Castellani

I already knew that Christopher Castellani is a gifted writer, so I purchased this story as soon as I heard it was available. I wasn't disappointed.