600 Hours of Edward

By: Craig Lancaster

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

A 39-year-old with Asperger’s syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder, Edward Stanton lives alone on a rigid schedule in the Montana town where he grew up. His carefully constructed routine includes tracking his most common waking time (7:38 a.m.), refusing to start his therapy sessions even a minute before the appointed hour (10:00 a.m.), and watching one episode of the 1960s cop show Dragnet each night (10:00 p.m.).

But when a single mother and her nine-year-old son move in across the street, Edward’s timetable comes undone. Over the course of a momentous 600 hours, he opens up to his new neighbors and confronts old grievances with his estranged parents. Exposed to both the joys and heartaches of friendship, Edward must ultimately decide whether to embrace the world outside his door or retreat to his solitary ways.

Heartfelt and hilarious, this moving novel will appeal to fans of Daniel Keyes’ classic Flowers for Algernon and to any reader who loves an underdog.

©2012 Craig Lancaster (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Wonderful! Moving

If you could sum up 600 Hours of Edward in three words, what would they be?

Moving, informative, entertaining

What other book might you compare 600 Hours of Edward to and why?

I've heard it compared to FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON, which I agree with somewhat. Fortunately it has a much more upbeat ending. I also would compare it to THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTIME, though Edward is much more lucid and self aware than the narrator of CURIOUS INCIDENT.

Have you listened to any of Luke Daniels’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes. He is always great. I am really impressed at how he voices the subtleties of character and emotion in this book. Also, there are some repetitive elements, key to Edward's character, which Luke Daniels handles beautifully, honoring the truth of Edward and the listeners' needs (for variety or at least acknowledgement of the repetition).

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

I don't want to give too much of a spoiler. The letters throughout are great: entertaining and moving. There is one in particular kind of near the end.

Any additional comments?

Really moving insight into the world of an individual with OCD/Asperger's. I was fascinated by how much I related to and how much I came to relate to as Edward revealed his thought process. Also huge story about parents and children and expectations and independence. Incredible book, beautifully read.

My data is complete!

This is a wonderful book about adjusting to life's ebbs and flows, especially for Edward whose OCD makes change especially difficult.

Delightfully original!

Any additional comments?

Really interesting. This book was written as a stream-of-consciousness slice-of-life from the perspective of an intelligent, kind man who is crippled by OCD. It is easy to follow, fascinating and full of pathos. We all understand how confusing people can be in their communication, how anxiety-provoking change can be, and how crippling our efforts to cope can become. My heart goes out to Edward, who is as sweet and desperate for connection as Bob Wiley in "What About Bob?" The author has a lot of heart, and the narrator was perfect. I highly recommend this book if you find you are in a genre-rut.

Hated to see it end!

Thoroughly enjoyed this story - Edward and his journey tugged at your heart and had you cheering for him until the very end. It was just fantastic (I love that word ;) and I’d recommend it to anyone.

exemplary (I love that word)

I was engaged from the first page . very believable, at times funny, other times heartbreaking, a story worth hearing from Edward's point of view

Wow!

I was unprepared for how much this book would affect me. It was a turns funny, boring (when Edward was in full data completing mode), stirring, and heartbreaking. I loved it!

Eye-opening! Luke Daniel's narration was perfect!

I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this book! It really helped me get an idea of how a person with OCD and Asperger's navigates through the world, which can be challenging enough for those of us not afflicted with these issues. The narration was outstanding!!!

An excellent performance of a powerful story!

Luke Daniels did a fabulous job narrating this book!! There were many different "voices" of people speaking in the book, and Luke made all of them distinct and interesting (and did it consistently!!).

600 Hours of Edward is written from the point of view of a man with Asperger Syndrome. If you enjoyed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, you'll enjoy this book. It takes a bit to get used to Edward, and to get to know his quirks, but once you settle into the pattern, it is very enjoyable and interesting.

He prefers facts. He keeps track of when he wakes up every morning (7:38 am most days), and what the temperatures were the day before. He watches Dragnet every night at 10:00. He writes letters of complaint every night, but never mails them.

He is struggling to figure out how to navigate a world in which not everyone thinks the same way he does.

Throughout the course of the book, we watch has he grows and learns, and actually makes some connections with people.

It is a very good book, read expertly. You won't be sorry.

Amazing!

I have been on a sci-fi binge for such a long time and decided to take a break. This book and Edward captivated me. From the very first few minutes until the end I could not stop listening. Narrator was perfect for this book as his voice completely relayed to me exactly how Edward should sound as well as made me laugh with little bits of voice changes that were perfect in every way. This story ended the way it needed to but I must admit to hoping for more of Edward. Just LOVED IT truly!!!!

WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG

I've had this book in my library for years. Just kept passing it over. Finally I listened to it. It was amazing. It was very endearing.

Edward has aspergers and is also obsessive/compulsive. At times he's very hard to deal with. So much so that the police can become involved. But with good therapy and prozac he's doing ok. At times. Except for his father. But slowly there are subtle changes that bring new people into his life. This is a very interesting story. I highly recommend it.