Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for About Grace by Anthony Doerr - Available

About Grace

A Novel

by Anthony Doerr
George Newbern
Audiobook
3 of 4 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
3 of 4 copies available
The first novel by Anthony Doerr, the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning author of Cloud Cuckoo Land, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning #1 New York Times bestseller All the Light We Cannot See, one of the most beautiful, wise, and compelling debuts of recent times.
David Winkler begins life in Anchorage, Alaska, a quiet boy drawn to the volatility of weather and obsessed with snow. Sometimes he sees things before they happen—a man carrying a hatbox will be hit by a bus; Winkler will fall in love with a woman in a supermarket. When David dreams that his infant daughter will drown in a flood as he tries to save her, he comes undone. He travels thousands of miles, fleeing family, home, and the future itself, to deny the dream.

On a Caribbean island, destitute, alone, and unsure if his child has survived or his wife can forgive him, David is sheltered by a couple with a daughter of their own. Ultimately it is she who will pull him back into the world, to search for the people he left behind.

Doerr's characters are full of grief and longing, but also replete with grace. His compassion for human frailty is extraordinarily moving. In luminous prose, he writes about the power and beauty of nature and about the tiny miracles that transform our lives. About Grace is heartbreaking, radiant, and astonishingly accomplished.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 7, 2015

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781442394216
      • File size: 372010 KB
      • Duration: 12:55:01

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 30, 2004
      The majesty of nature, the meaning of courage, the redemptive power of love and the pathos of isolation—all are gracefully explored in Doerr's story of the price paid for a gift. So why does so little seem to happen in this beautiful, ponderous and sometimes monotonous first novel by the author of the exquisite collection The Shell Collector
      ? David Winkler has seen glimpses of the future ever since he was a boy. As a 32-year-old hydrologist in Anchorage, Alaska, he dreams of his future wife; soon they meet, fall in love and run away to Ohio, where she gives birth to their daughter, Grace. But when he dreams that he fails to save Grace from a flood, Winkler abandons wife and child, hoping to flee the future. He becomes a hermetic handyman on a Caribbean island near St. Vincent, befriended by a local family. The years pass until, emboldened by his surrogate family's grown daughter, a gifted marine biologist, Winkler realizes that he must embark on a journey to discover if Grace is alive. This is a lyrical tale tuned a bit too fine: Doerr's dreamy prose accords more attention to nature than character, so that Winkler, transfixed by the wonders of water and snowflakes but singularly unreflective about his actual life, is a frustratingly opaque protagonist. There are gorgeous moments here, but a stifling lack of story. Agent, Wendy Weil
      . 9-city author tour.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Dr. David Winkler is studying the intricately connected natural patterns of water and snowflakes. He dreams that his infant daughter will die in a flood as he tries to save her. Terrified and guilty, he runs away to prevent this happening. For 25 years he wanders like Odysseus over seas and across continents. Returning at last, he finds that the end of his odyssey has been guided both by the gods and a kind of grace. Henry Strozier's reading lends energy and strength to Doerr's subtle depictions and poetic text. His voice struts manfully through Winkler's painful hesitations; it is bold yet tentative, sensitive both to the rich poetry and scientific preciseness of Doerr's text. P.E.F. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      What if having one's dreams come true were to lead to a kind of living nightmare? This audiobook explores that idea with startling realism, thanks to George Newbern's bold voice and confident delivery. Newbern approaches the story of Winkler, a man whose dreams foretell reality, with a clarity and sincerity that are largely engrossing. Winkler endures a dream that changes his entire life, and his attempt to escape what he believes is inevitable lends the novel its heart. Newbern's style lends that heart its beat. Doerr, whose skill with storytelling and detail is evident here, sometimes slows the story in a way that is tough on an audiobook listener, but Newbern ensures that it's worth a listen. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading