Townie

A Memoir

By: Andre Dubus III

Narrated by: Andre Dubus III

Andre Dubus III, author of the National Book Award–nominated House of Sand and Fog and The Garden of Last Days, reflects on his violent past and a lifestyle that threatened to destroy him—until he was saved by writing.

After their parents divorced in the 1970s, Andre Dubus III and his three siblings grew up with their exhausted working mother in a depressed Massachusetts mill town saturated with drugs and crime. To protect himself and those he loved from street violence, Andre learned to use his fists so well that he was even scared of himself. He was on a fast track to getting killed—or killing someone else—or to beatings-for-pay as a boxer.

Nearby, his father, an eminent author, taught on a college campus and took the kids out on Sundays. The clash of worlds couldn’t have been more stark—or more difficult for a son to communicate to a father. Only by becoming a writer himself could Andre begin to bridge the abyss and save himself. His memoir is a riveting, visceral, profound meditation on physical violence and the failures and triumphs of love.

©2011 Andre Dubus (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“The best first-person account of an author’s life I have ever read.” (James Lee Burke, New York Times best-selling author)

“In this gritty and gripping memoir, Dubus bares his soul in stunning and page-turning prose.” (Publishers Weekly, Starred Review)

“Powerful, haunting. . . . Beautifully written and bursting with life.” (Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review)

My favorite audio book

Would you consider the audio edition of Townie to be better than the print version?

When the audio book finished I thought that the book was amazing and the performance was absolutely stupendous. Then I heard in the summary information that the author had done the reading. I gasped out loud and started laughing. That explained why the accents were so perfect and the voices were spot on. I am so glad that I listened to the book rather than reading it although I do love reading books.

What did you like best about this story?

I grew up in the same area as the author and I had thought the character of these towns was indescribable. Now I know better. The author captured the flavor better than Stephen King could have done it.

What does Andre Dubus III bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The reading was perfection.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I felt a sudden understanding of what my brother must have experienced when we were growing up. As a teenager he seemed to attract violence and now I understand a bit more of how that happens.

Any additional comments?

I've recommended this book at every opportunity. Especially for teenage boys and young men but as a middle-aged woman I absolutely loved it.

A very honest self portrait

Dubus III has achieved the ability to express poignance in this melancholic yet compelling memoir.

Thought provoking memoir

Although difficult to listen to at times because of the emotional and violent content and the cadence of the narration, I found this memoir to be real, raw and an important vehicle to encourage thought and empathy.

One of the best books I have ever read

Having read this book, I thought it would be really fun to listen to it now, with the author narrating. All I can say is I highly recommend both the read and the audio version. I am an awe of this author. Having heard an interview with. Mr. Dubus a National Public Radio, I knew I had to read everything he had written, and I’m on my way.

A book of two halves

I really liked this book, and the narration was very good. The only issue I have with it is the author's rather monotonous descriptions of situations. I lost count of the amount of smell references he made to scenes and places and the amount of cigarette smoke references were multiple.
That said, the second half of the book is truly compelling and a real coming of age tale, the first part did take some getting used to for me.