So Much Blue

By: Percival Everett

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Kevin Pace is working on a painting that he won't allow anyone to see: not his children, not his best friend, Richard, not even his wife, Linda. The painting is a canvas of 12 feet by 21 feet (and three inches) that is covered entirely in shades of blue. It may be his masterpiece or it may not; he doesn't know or, more accurately, doesn't care.

What Kevin does care about are the events of the past. Ten years ago he had an affair with a young watercolorist in Paris. Kevin relates this event with a dispassionate air, even a bit of puzzlement. It's not clear to him why he had the affair, but he can't let it go. In the more distant past of the late '70s, Kevin and Richard traveled to El Salvador on the verge of war to retrieve Richard's drug-dealing brother, who had gone missing without explanation. As the events of the past intersect with the present, Kevin struggles to justify the sacrifices he's made for his art and the secrets he's kept from his wife.

So Much Blue features Percival Everett at his best, and his deadpan humor and insightful commentary about the artistic life culminate in a brilliant new novel.

©2017 Percival Everett (P)2017 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

wonderful writing

A heartbreak in more ways than one. This novel is full of life, sentiment, adventure, humor, and art.

Well Woth the Wait

It is a good story once you figure out what is going on. So it takes some patience to get through the dry delivery and the shaping of the story. This title is very different than the only other two Everett titles I am familiar with.

The performer is very good but seems to be the wrong voice and inflection for this title. The innocent church-boy voice ditracts from the characters and their situation. I would listen to other titles read by this performer but it wasn't a good match for this title.

Like the other two Everett books I am familiar with, you will finish this title satisfied with your lack of satisfaction. If you can't handle that, skip this title; if you can, it is very much worth it. Tell a friend so you can argue for days.

It Could Have Been Stranger

The whole story was disconcerting. I didn’t like him much. He was so full of himself. He got by with so much for no reason. I’m glad his wife got recognition in the end.

A slow blossom, but worth the read

I was somewhat disengaged the first third of this book. The intertwined sub-stories seemed disjointed and somewhat superficial. But that changed slowly and beautifully. The writing is straightforward with poetic pops. Worth the read!

Was he Black?

Very weird main character and events even if he was an artist. Given the narration and dialog committed to this vague
character, the idea that he was a Black man was absurd.

Story telling

Great listen God Tier story telling. Hands down my favorite Arthur of all time master at his craft.

Non linear

You will need to concentrate to follow this story. it switches abruptly from characters in three different countries. So it's easy to loose your sense of place/time. But when you're ready, there are a lot of interesting surprises in this story. I really like the ending

Awesome author, presentation and story!!!

This story told a tremendous story of a man, his life, and his quest to better understand himself!!! I definitely recommend!!!!

Complicated story

This was a difficult story for me to connect with. However by the end I think I understood some of what the author was “painting”.

Well this was…

Okay, so this was… weird. Recently got into Percival Everett’s book. Most all have been wonderful and riveting. When I stumbled upon this, I fell in love with the cover and saw that it was included free in our membership so added!

Like most Percival books, the narration hits out of the ball park but this was a HARD miss. His books need to stay with people of color because they add so much to the author’s intent. First of all, it so does not help that Kevin is black but clearly voiced by a White man. This really watered down inflections and plain old nuances and musing required for Everett’s writing. Not sure if Everett has any say in who narrates his books, but this one could do a re-do. I’m wondering if I should read this again sometime on my own and I might have a different take.

Narration aside, this was an overall disappointing read. Erasure was sooo much better! I ended up skipping the Paris chapters which obviously wasn’t a big deal because there were no holes in the story by doing so. I felt like 3 different timelines in Kevin’s life wasn’t really needed. Made this book more boring than I think it needed to be and perhaps more than Everett ever intended. Giving this 2-3 stars. If it’s ever re-recorded with a new narrator (maybe Dominic Hoffman!) I’ll revisit. For now, I got through it but it was tedious.