Florida

De: Lauren Groff

Narrado por: Lauren Groff

The universally-acclaimed return of the New York Times bestselling author of Fates and Furies, Matrix, and the highly-anticipated The Vaster Wilds

In Lauren Groff’s Florida, the hot sun shines, but a wild darkness lurks. Florida is a "superlative" book (Boston Globe), "gorgeously weird and limber" (New Yorker), "frequently funny" (San Francisco Chronicle), "brooding, inventive and often moving" (NPR Fresh Air)–as Groff is recognized as "Florida's unofficial poet laureate, as Joan Didion was for California." (Washington Post)

"Groff's gifts as a writer just keep soaring higher and higher.”–NPR’s Fresh Air

In her thrilling new book, Lauren Groff brings the audience into a physical world that is at once domestic and wild—a place where the hazards of the natural world lie waiting to pounce, yet the greatest threats and mysteries are still of an emotional, psychological nature. A family retreat can be derailed by a prowling panther, or by a sexual secret. Among those navigating this place are a resourceful pair of abandoned sisters; a lonely boy, grown up; a restless, childless couple, a searching, homeless woman; and an unforgettable, recurring character—a steely and conflicted wife and mother.

The stories in this collection span characters, towns, decades, even centuries, but Florida—its landscape, climate, history, and state of mind—becomes its gravitational center: an energy, a mood, as much as a place of residence. Groff transports the audience, then jolts us alert with a crackle of wit, a wave of sadness, a flash of cruelty, as she writes about loneliness, rage, family, and the passage of time. With shocking accuracy and effect, she pinpoints the moments and decisions and connections behind human pleasure and pain, hope and despair, love and fury—the moments that make us alive. Startling, precise, and affecting, Florida is a magnificent achievement.

©2018 Lauren Groff (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Lauren Groff is a great storyteller . . . Florida is restorative fiction for these urgent times. Its final gestures, even the most ominous . . . lean toward love and the promise of good people, in not just this state but the world."–New York Times

"Something untameable lurks restlessly beneath the surface of this book. Groff’s incomparable prose pulsates with peril; its beauty, like that of the titular state itself, lies in a certain wild lushness."–Financial Times

"These new stories are tight and contained, and they pulse with menace and feral energy."–Wall Street Journal

Beautiful

simple stories with heavy undertones. Lauren has captured Florida as a state and people I'm their natural state. loved it... once again

not what I expected but I loved it

this was a wonderful collection of characters that makes me selfish I could get to know them on a deeper level.

Experience Groff's vignettes w/ her narration

I'm a big Groff fan and have been since I was captivated by her lyrical, rich prose when reading Fates & Furies. I saw her speak on her book tour for Florida, and she mentioned that she felt it was her responsibility to write something very much in and of this world. And through this series, we see characters grapple with climate change, politics, gentrification, sexual violence, but it is often just a piece of the narrative. She's subtle in writing stories about the people, but illuminating the context in which they live while exploring their lives. I can be particular about what types of books I prefer to read vs. listen to, but I think the shorter vignette style works well in audio form and there is something intimate about hearing it in Groff's voice. But the prose is superb, so I've also picked up a physical copy so I can read and appreciate the particularly good bits of writing.

SEXUAL EQUALITY

“Florida” is a series of well written short stories. The binding theme of the author’s stories is her view of life. As Lauren Groff makes clear in her former book, “Fates and Furies”, there is little difference between the sexes. Women may give birth, but children are children who need care. The truth is men, more often than women, physically leave their children. Most women stay. Groff suggests it is not necessarily because women want to stay but they have fewer alternatives.

Groff infers women most often stay, but not because of a maternal instinct. A woman can choose to abandon their children just like men, but they may have grown to love their children. On the other hand, they may fear the social recrimination if they leave like fathers. Emotional human attachment is important in every story Groff writes. She is not suggesting either men or women are incapable of real love of each other and their children. She is arguing there are no intellectual, or emotional differences between the sexes.

Amazing

Brilliant storytelling and perfectly told. I loved listening to this audiobook at night as I was winding down for the day. It made my heart at times resonate with the story and I found it hard to stop listening.

Lush Florida storytelling

Ms. Geoff writes beautifully. This series of short stories winds together nicely. I enjoyed experiencing the perspective of young, educated, sometimes work-at-home, mothers.

Listening to this again

I don't always like it when the author narrates but in Florida, Lauren Groff is perfect. I'm listening to this book a second time which I've never done before.

Couldn't get enough

She is one of my favorite authors now that I've listened to this book. I will certainly read more of her works. The stories were so amazing and creative and unpredictable and unique.

Beware author readers

I knew it was a mistake to purchase this! Audible books are beautiful when performed by a pro. This author is no pro and I can only assume is motivated by greed. I am always reading and have for years now purchased both the audible and the text so that I never even drive to the grocery store without my book playing. Many times I have put a book down while reading so that I could listen to a passage on Audible because the reader is so good that I know it will be beautiful. But authors who read their own works as a commercial endeavor just don't pass muster. I'm giving up on this half way through, a practice that I try to avoid at all costs. Moving on.

She really understands North Florida

Lauren Groff's Florida is not Disney World or Ft Lauderdale. It is an earthy, scary place and Ms Groff has taken the time to understand its contradictions. Her portrayal of a woman's decent into homelessness was heartbreaking and the best I've read.