Hello from the Gillespies

By: Monica McInerney

Narrated by: Ulli Birvé

For the past 33 years, Angela Gillespie has sent to friends and family around the world an end-of-the-year letter titled ‘Hello from the Gillespies’. It’s always been cheery and full of good news. This year, Angela surprises herself - she tells the truth....

The Gillespies are far from the perfect family that Angela has made them out to be. Her husband is coping poorly with retirement. Her 32-year-old twins are having career meltdowns. Her third daughter, badly in debt, can’t stop crying. And her 10-year-old son spends more time talking to his imaginary friend than to real ones.

Without Angela, the family would fall apart. But when Angela is taken from them in a most unexpected manner, the Gillespies pull together - and pull themselves together - in wonderfully surprising ways....

©2014 Monica McInerney (P)2014 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Critic reviews

"[McInerney] brings Maeve Binchy readily to mind" ( The Sydney Morning Herald)

"McInerney is an expert in portraying the nuances and complications of family life" ( Red Magazine)

Wonderful Characters - Thoroughly Enjoyable Story

I have decided that I will only give 5 stars to books that I can't stop listening to and can't wait to get back to when I have to stop. This book passes that test. The characters were so real and all so interesting, the plot twists so unexpected (well at least to me!), and the story so interesting and heartfelt that I was enthralled almost from the first page and just kept wanting to know what would happen next. This was a story full of expectations, disappointments, and lessons in the importance of honesty. Every character was developed emotionally and I really cared what happened to them all. For the last quarter or so of the book, I kept thinking "I hope the ending doesn't make me mad" because I've read a lot of books this year that did just that -- great build ups with totally flat endings. This ending fit well and made sense. Ulli Birvé's performance was spot on, and her subtle changes of accent and tone to make each character unique were nearly perfect. The only character that I thought she didn't perform well was Matt - the American accent just sounded pinched. That's about my only criticism. Thoroughly enjoyable book.

Great story...

Sweet story !! Wonderfull narration !! I could listen to this one again. Fell in love with the characters. I will recommend it to friends.

worth your time

Funny and moving story. Nice to have a middle aged heroine. Not easily predictable.

Engaging

Would you listen to Hello from the Gillespies again? Why?

I recommend it to those who have not yet listened to it. It captured my interest quickly to the extent I looked forward to my daily walks so I could listen to the book. However I don't re-read books .....unless firm favourites from years ago.

What about Ulli Birvé’s performance did you like?

I liked her sound. Good on the ear.

If you could rename Hello from the Gillespies, what would you call it?

I liked the title as it captures where the whole story began, the premiss for the story.

Any additional comments?

I am a fan. The characters are each developed with care, so the listener has a v good picture of the key and subsidiary players.

Funny to the last sentence

I loved this book! It had so many twists and turns. Can't wait to read another one by McInerney. I could really see the story unfold in my mind. The character development was excellent. A delight to listen too on a long commute.

Ok

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This book is mindlessly entertaining. Nothing about it overtly turned me off, but, it was very predictable and cliché. The narrator was good, with a soothing voice, but, her accents were not great. Particularly her New York boyfriend, terrible. He sounded like a Russian mobster. So distracting. I can't recommend it, but, I didn't hate it, and listened to the whole thing.

Great read

This is the first book I have read by this author and it won't be the last. I enjoyed the story very much, especially the characters.

Wonderful book

I am currently in mourning after finishing this book. I fell in love with all of the characters and I miss them already. The book is beautifully written with vivid, rich descriptions of the locations, the emotions, and all the situations.

Can we have more from the Gillespies, please?!

Enjoyable story with engageable characters

I enjoyed this book, and engaged with the characters. I wanted to continue reading and find out what happened to them, overall a pleasant story.

Loved the Gillespies!

Interesting story, skillfully woven by Monica McInerney. I feel hopeful that there could be a follow up to this one, as her characters live on in one’s memory banks.

Feeling bittersweet, however, as I’m up to date and there are no more of Monica McInerney’s books for the moment!