This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage

Patchett, Ann

ISBN 10: 0062282867 ISBN 13: 9780062282866

Publisher: Harperaudio, 2013

Synopsis

Blending literature and memoir, Ann Patchett, author of State of Wonder and Bel Canto examines her deepest commitments: to writing, family, friends, dogs, books, and her husband in This is the Story of a Happy Marriage. Together these essays, previously published in The Atlantic, Harper's, Vogue, and the Washington Post, form a resonant portrait of a life lived with loyalty and with love.

This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage takes us into the very real world of Ann Patchett's life. Stretching from her childhood to the present day, from a disastrous early marriage to a later happy one, it covers a multitude of topics, including relationships with family and friends, and charts the hard work and joy of writing, and the unexpected thrill of opening a bookstore.

As she shares stories of the people, places, ideals, and art to which she has remained indelibly committed, Ann Patchett brings into focus the large experiences and small moments that have shaped her as a daughter, wife, and writer.

About this title

Review:

I hope it will not sound disrespectful if I say that I read this book for fun . But when I got to the end of the book, I realised I hadn't taken a single note. I had been so engaged by Ann Patchett's multifaceted story, so lured in by her confiding voice, that I forgot I was on the job . So compellingly personal you feel you're looking over her shoulder as she sits down to write (International New York Times)

The pieces collected in This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage have exactly the tone of a good story told at a convivial dinner party, by someone who has told it often enough to have the timing down cold and who happily caters to her audience's desire ... Patchett writes gracefully (Laura Miller Guardian)

She has an authoritative, straightforward voice in exploring some of the milestones of her life ... A memoir about her friendship with the deeply tortured writer Lucy Grealy, form the most telling and moving selections ... Many of these selections reveal a candid, evolved self-reflection (Publishers Weekly)

Witty, warm reflections on life, love and art of fiction ... she speaks about the love and happiness of her second and enduring marriage with immense beauty and insight, and without an iota of smugness (Arifa Akbar Independent)

Electrically entertaining ... Each of these essays feels fresh and bright and, just as importantly, they seem to fit together to achieve a fascinating whole ... Funny, generous, spirited and kind (Julie Myerson, The Times)

Patchett's style at its best (Matilda Bathurst Spectator)

A brilliant mix of moving memoir and deeply personal essays ... consoling, inspiring, but, above all, true (Kathryn Hughes Mail on Sunday)

Book Description:

A compelling combination of literature and memoir revealing the big experiences and little moments that shaped Ann Patchett as a daughter, wife, and writer

About this edition

• Publisher: Harperaudio
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0062282867
• ISBN 13: 9780062282866
• Binding: Audio CD