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Title: The Understory
Author: Elizabeth Leiknes
Narrator: Karyn O'Bryant
Format: Unabridged
Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
Language: English
Release date: 09-15-12
Publisher: Bancroft Press
Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 9 votes
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary
Publisher's Summary:
Story Easton knows the first line of every book, but never the last.
She never cries, but she fakes it beautifully.
And at night, she escapes from the failure of her own life by breaking into the homes of others, and feeling, for a short while, like a different, better person.
But one night, as an uninvited guest in someone's empty room, she discovers a story sadder than her own: a boy named Cooper Payne, whose dream of visiting the Amazon rainforest and discovering the moonflower from his favorite book, Once Upon a Moonflower, died alongside his father.
For reasons even she doesn't entirely understand, Story decides that she will help Cooper and his mother. She will make his dream come true.
When the decision is made, the lives of other broken people start to come together: Hans Turner, the door-making magician who can't shut the door on his past; Martin Baxter, the author of Cooper's beloved book, who wrote it with the daughter he misses every day; and Claire Payne, Cooper's mother, struggling to keep her son sheltered from the anger that threatens to consume her.
The Understory is a magical, moving, funny, and poignant story of failure and success; of falling apart and rebuilding; and of coincidences that never really are. Part comedy, part drama, and part fairy tale, Elizabeth Leiknes's second novel is a wonder you won't soon forget.
Members Reviews:
No really, Let go!
I must admit I had no idea where the plot was going to go in the beginning but I was pleasantly surprised by how it unfolded to reveal a meaningful, funny, and authentic story. Journeying alongside Story Easton's failure of a life, she discovers that just when one thinks theyre at the end and nothing more can be done, all they have to do is let go and see what happens. Elizabeth Leikness masterly weaves the stories of all the characters to a magical end, leaving you feeling nostalgic and ready for new adventure at the same time.
I truly enjoyed Karyn O'Bryant's narration. She has a abundant range of voices that very with age and depth. I loved listening to her bring the story of Story to life.
I would recommend this book.
This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
A sweet story
A fantastic narrator brings this story to life. Karyn O'Bryant varies characters with nuance and style. A great listen!
so nice
Any additional comments?
I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher, and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlastdotcom
I cant say I was transported to another world while listening to this book. I cant say it moved me as it apparently has others (see the 5 star reviews). What I can say is that it is a unique combination of events put together in such a way as to be on the edge of enthralling. I simply couldnt stop listening.
Story Easton certainly grows and changes for the better. This is something that current writers are seeming to forget: that protagonists arent supposed to be the same at the end of the book as they are at the beginning. We read to escape, yes, of course. We read to peek into the lives of others. (BTW, Story takes that idea to the extreme by sneaking into the homes of others. We should understand that desire even if we never follow through.) Yet, ultimately, when we read, we should see that it is possible to learn, to grow, to change as a person. (OK, so the villains only seem to grow more villainous most times.
