Same as It Ever Was

A Novel

De: Claire Lombardo

Narrado por: Emily Rankin

Duración: 18 h y 21 m

Resumen del Editor

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NAMED A BEST BOOK BY PEOPLE AND PARADE • The New York Times bestselling author of The Most Fun We Ever Had (“wonderfully immersive…deliciously absorbing”—NPR) returns with another brilliantly observed family drama in which the enduring, hard-won affection of a long marriage faces imminent derailment from events both past and present.

“Infidelity, dysfunction, secrets – this family novel delivers."—The New York Times • "Lombardo has such a fine eye for the weft and warp of a family’s fabric." —The Washington Post • “Witty and insightful...a powerful exploration of marriage, motherhood, and self.”–Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry

Same As It Ever Was showcases the consummate style, signature wit, and profound emotional intelligence that made The Most Fun We Ever Had one of the most beloved novels of the past decade. Featuring a memorably messy family and the multifaceted marriage at its heart, Lombardo’s debut was dubbed “the literary love child of Jonathan Franzen and Anne Tyler” (The Guardian) and hailed as “ambitious and brilliantly written” (Washington Post). In this remarkable follow-up—another elegant and tumultuous story in the tradition of Elizabeth Strout, Ann Patchett, and Celeste Ng—Lombardo introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters, this time by way of her singularly complicated protagonist.

Julia Ames, after a youth marked by upheaval and emotional turbulence, has found herself on the placid plateau of mid-life. But Julia has never navigated the world with the equanimity of her current privileged class. Having nearly derailed herself several times, making desperate bids for the kind of connection that always felt inaccessible to her, she finally feels, at age fifty seven, that she has a firm handle on things.

She’s unprepared, though, for what comes next: a surprise announcement from her straight-arrow son, an impending separation from her spikey teenaged daughter, and a seductive resurgence of the past, all of which threaten to draw her back into the patterns that had previously kept her on a razor’s edge.

Same As It Ever Was traverses the rocky terrain of real life—exploring new avenues of maternal ambivalence, intergenerational friendship, and the happenstantial cause-and-effect that governs us all. Delving even deeper into the nature of relationships—how they grow, change, and sometimes end—Lombardo proves herself a true and definitive cartographer of the human heart and asserts herself among the finest novelists of her generation.

©2024 Claire Lombardo (P)2024 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

NAMED A BEST FICTION OF 2024 PICK BY PEOPLE

“Pitch-perfect. . . Lombardo is compulsively readable and consistently funny, and it’s impossible to look away as Julia continues to self-sabotage. This domestic drama hits all the right notes.”
–Publisher's Weekly (Starred Review)

“Infidelity, dysfunction, secrets – this family novel delivers. . . Poignant, punctilious. . . [Lombardo] refashions domestic drama into something rich and strange, with echoes of Lorrie Moore’s sardonic humor and Jonathan Franzen’s dissection of class. . . In less skillful hands, Same as It Ever Was would lose control over its transitions and veer toward soap opera; yet like Franzen’s Marion Hildebrandt, or Faye, the narrator of Rachel Cusk’s Outline trilogy, Lombardo gives us a woman whose inner life is knotted and revelatory. . . Same as It Ever Was is a brave, nuanced book, lulling us with its rhythms but taking risks when we glance away.”
–Hamilton Cain, The New York Times

“Lombardo’s witty, sympathetic take on motherhood exudes the sharp scent of fermented apple juice and a full diaper… Lombardo has such a fine eye for the weft and warp of a family’s fabric. She understands the chemistry of that special epoxy of irritation and affection that keeps a marriage glued together. One finishes Same As It Ever Was with the satisfaction of knowing this complicated woman well — and the poignant disappointment of having to say goodbye.”
–Ron Charles, The Washington Post

Great story

Good character development- I loved her first book - this book was similar in richness but a bit more depressing I wish there had been more levity. But I still enjoyed it.

Staggeringly stunning!

This is a masterpiece, an epic love story about the connections and fractures in families, and, ultimately, the memories that carry them onward.

Quiet, engaging story of a life.

I love Lombardo’s writing and I was thoroughly engaged by this story and character. This did cement Lombardo as an author I will look out for and read when she has a new work on offer.

For this family, I thought that the characters were well drawn and believable. I really felt like the various reactions and perspectives were valid and the many relationship dynamics were beautifully described.

Highly recommend to anyone who can get behind a character study kind of book with excellent writing but doesn’t need a dozen twists or racing plot.

Richly beautiful story of motherhood

The prose of this book was rife with deeply evoking lyricism that made me think again and again how masterfully Claire Lombardo captures the inner life of a mother and wife. The last chapter made me cry with the poignancy of it all. Highly recommend.

Brilliant!

Claire Lombardo’s brilliant use of language to craft a magnificent telling of one woman’s life in all of its complicated humanness.
Emily Rankin is a narrator of extraordinary talent and nuance.

A Gloomy 18 Hour Trudge

I can’t believe I made it to the end of this book. The writing and narration were good, and perhaps if it was edited to a quarter of its length I could better appreciate a well-written tale of a life of unrelenting disappointment and drudgery.

Complex but beautiful family story

5 stars for Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo. I really liked Lombardo's other book The Most Fun We Ever Had but it fell just shy of 5 stars when I read it- probably because I'm very critical of adoption themes and wasn't 100% on board with one aspect of that part of the story. (And I thought the amorous middle aged parents to be a bit over the top, too!) This book, however, landed perfectly on the 5 star runway as it ended up making me both laugh and (surprisingly) cry at multiple points and I have not been able to stop thinking about it since I read it. Additionally it's a book I feel is SO well written with such enduringly memorable characters who were flawed and messy but in the way that is just so relatable you can't help but care about them. Honestly, I loved the whole family - the "incremental vegan" 18 year old daughter who sometimes loves/sometimes hates her mom, the firstborn son who is ever so gently trying to disconnect from his mother's loving arms and I even loved Suzanne the worshipful dog!
Claire Lombardo is really at the top of her game creating complex family drama that doesn't pull punches but never feels heavy handed or melodramatic. I just despise syrup and superficiality in family drama. This author has proven she can write a really good story without either. The relationship between Julia and Anita, her long estranged mother, was so complicated and painfully touching. The push and pull between the two women - each trying to preemptively reject the other so as not to be the one rejected - was some of the most moving mother daughter literature I have read. And the gold star in this shining saga is the intergenerational friendship between Helen and Julia. Truly brilliant. I just have so much respect for Lombardo's observations and craft in creating this intricate spider web of connections within this family that appear delicate but like most families - are actually very strong bonds that can withstand an enormous amount of injury. Just like her previous book this is a character driven novel - but with a few plot lines to keep the most literary averse reader engaged! I think everyone would enjoy reading it and highly recommend!

Beautiful story of relationships over time

A little long at times but whooo the end really brought it all together. What a lovely weaving of people and families and different kind of love over a life time. I’d listen again just to listen to the last 20 minutes. Really beautiful.

Love , life and humans

Thank you Claire Lombardo for this extraordinary novel. A glimpse into relationships, exposing all facets of the complex nature of being human.

Life is Brutiful

If you have a complicated relationship with a mother or a child, this book will make you feel it all. Well written story with characters you truly care about. You want to know how it ends, but like most endings, it’s not what you necessarily expect.