The Big Door Prize

By: M. O. Walsh

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

DON'T MISS THE SERIES NOW STREAMING ON APPLE TV+

The New York Times bestselling author of My Sunshine Away returns with a gripping and heartfelt novel about a mysterious machine that upends a small Louisiana town, asking us all to wonder if who we truly are is who we truly could be.

What would you do if you knew your life's potential? That's the question facing the residents of Deerfield, Louisiana, when the DNAMIX machine appears in their local grocery store. It's nothing to look at, really—it resembles a plain photo booth. But its promise is amazing: With just a quick swab of your cheek and two dollars, the device claims to use the science of DNA to tell you your life's potential. With enough credibility to make the townspeople curious, soon the former teachers, nurses, and shopkeepers of Deerfield are abruptly changing course to pursue their destinies as magicians, cowboys, and athletes—including the novel's main characters, Douglas Hubbard and his wife, Cherilyn, who both believed they were perfectly happy until they realized they could dream for more....

Written with linguistic grace and a sense of wonder, The Big Door Prize sparkles with keen observations about what it might mean to stay true to oneself while honoring the bonds of marriage, friendship, and community, and how the glimmer of possibility can pull these bonds apart, bring them back together, and make second chances possible, even under the strangest of circumstances.

Enjoyable

I became fascinated by this premise after watching the Apple TV+ series. While the book is very different, I really enjoyed his writing style, and the way the narrator had a different voice for every character.

Great characters

I liked the colorful characters in the story. Now I am interested in watching the series based on the book

Marriage at its best and worse

Before you listen to this, curl up with a pot of tea and some sugar cookies. If it's raining, so much the better. This is a delicious book.

Interesting story

It was refreshing to listen to a story where the main characters where genuinely good and kind. The book is very different from the show, and really neither version appears to be better than the other. Just different. Each character in the book is fully developed and I enjoyed not knowing what was going to happen next. This book won’t change your life, but it is a good read.

Makes you think

This was a fantastic book to listen to! Makes you consider how everyone is viewing their lives at different moments.