The Green Road

By: Anne Enright

Narrated by: Alana Kerr Collins, Lloyd James, Gerard Doyle

From internationally acclaimed, Man Booker Prize - winning author Anne Enright comes a shattering novel set in a small town on Ireland's Atlantic coast. The Green Road is a tale of family and fracture, compassion and selfishness - an audiobook about the gaps in the human heart and how we strive to fill them.

Spanning 30 years, The Green Road tells the story of Rosaleen, matriarch of the Madigans, a family on the cusp of either coming together or falling irreparably apart. As they grow up, Rosaleen's four children leave the west of Ireland for lives they could have never imagined in Dublin, New York, and Mali, West Africa. In her early old age, their difficult, wonderful mother announces that she's decided to sell the house and divide the proceeds. Her adult children come back for a last Christmas with the feeling that their childhoods are being erased, their personal history bought and sold.

A profoundly moving work about a family's desperate attempt to recover the relationships they've lost and forge the ones they never had, The Green Road is Enright's most mature, accomplished, and unforgettable novel to date.

©2015 Anne Enright (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Sad story

I liked the writing, it is beautifully written but the story is just too sad for no specific reason which made the story of the characters even more sad.

Not an uplifting book.

This book was a sad story about an Irish family's troubled relationships inside and outside the family.

Wonderful

If you could sum up The Green Road in three words, what would they be?

simply enjoyable to listen to; to get into the hearts and minds, and the life uncertainties of such singular characters.

But... What Happened?!

Any additional comments?

I don't know what happened at the end of the book. There were several plot lines that had just come to an important juncture and suddenly the Audible voiceover comes on and says the book is over. What happened?

The writing was good, with great character development. I honestly thought something must have happened to my download. Was someone running late on their deadline so they just stopped? Very disappointing.

Why the need to come up with cutting edge style?

in trying to tell the story in a way that I can only describe as "connect the dots storytelling"... takes away from narrative. Plus pretty morose as well. Not a fan.

Gorgeous writing

What did you love best about The Green Road?

I felt like a bird reading the book perching on each point led by the strong narrative. I loved the way the author used non essential elements to move the narrative along. I would not recommend this book to book club, as certain members may find it too difficult to follow the plot. It takes a serious reader to enjoy this type of writing.

What other book might you compare The Green Road to and why?

Reminded me of Mrs. Dalloway.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Constance - except I wish the narrator had a more authentic Irish accent

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

When Dan reappears in the United States. Don't want to plot kill so I won't say why.

Any additional comments?

I love listening to Irish books because of the Irish narration. Its music to the ears. I could be wrong, but the narration at times sounded like American readers impersonating an Irish accent.

Anne Enright is awesome

Have now read 3 of Enright's books, and Actress and The Green Road are 2 of the best books I've ever read. And I read A LOT! (Conversely I returned The Pleasure of Eliza Lynch as, altho the subject is fascinating, Enright experiments with form and it's not to my mind a successful experiment.)
My only criticism of Green Road is the varying of the narrators' voices, which seems unnecessary and slightly wrong-footed, given that the actual author is clearly a woman. All through the narration the female voice still has to voice some male thoughts and dialog, and vice versa, so giving different sections to differently gendered voices really isn't logical or helpful.
But that's a minor caveat.
I'm delighted to save The Gathering for my next Christmas Eve read (our family instigated the Icelandic tradition a couple of years back). And will be pre-ordering any new work Enright publishes.

Phenomenal

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

The female narrator was spectacular! The Irish male narrator was much weaker (3 stars), less nuance and more sing-song-y. The American voice was great also.

Any additional comments?

Nearly didn't get this because of the negative reviews. This is easily one of the best books I've read this year. Literature for adults! My previous read was "The Marriage of Opposites," which is much more highly rated on Audible, but not even in the same league as this. Wish it had been longer.

Utterly fabulous

This representation of an Irish mother rang so true. Devastating and moving and encouraging and fucking depressing.

Had to stop - what a waste of money. Did t enjoy being tricked into hearing about gay sex.

No where was it stated that this was a gay journey of self discovery story.