Emily and Einstein

A Novel of Second Chances

By: Linda Francis Lee

Narrated by: Dan John Miller, Cassandra Campbell

Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

He was a man who didn’t deserve a second chance... but he needed one. Emily and her husband, Sandy Portman, seemed to live a gracious if busy life in an old-world, Upper West Side apartment in the famous Dakota building. But one night on the way to meet Emily, Sandy dies in a tragic accident. The funeral isn't even over before Emily learns she is on the verge of being evicted from their apartment. But worse than the possibility of losing her home, Emily is stunned when she discovers that her marriage was made up of lies.

Suddenly, Emily is forced on a journey to find out who her husband really was... all the while feeling that somehow he isn't really gone. And what if he isn't?

Angry, hurt, and sometimes betrayed by loving memories of the man she lost, Emily finds comfort in a scruffy dog named Einstein. But is Einstein's seemingly odd determination that she save herself enough to make Emily confront her own past? Can he help her find a future - even after she meets a new man?

©2011 Linda Francis Lee (P)2011 Tantor

The Best Book I Have Read All Year!

This book is amazing. So many lessons amidst the trials. I enjoyed the mystery of it.

Kind of weird....

Any additional comments?

I like Linda Francis Lee's other audiobooks, so I was hoping to like this one too. But......unfortunately, that didn't happen. The premise in a nutshell: Emily's husband dies and comes back as a dog named Einstein. His mind is in tact and he remains the pompous jerk that he was in life....but as a dog.

This is one of those books that could be an easy, middle-of-the-road listen if the narrators were good. I actually found Cassandra Campbell to be great. Her reading really gave some depth to the Emily character that I think could have been lost with a lesser reader. But, Dan John Miller, was terrible! He paused at weird times, pronounced things incorrectly (a brown stone, instead of brownstone) and had an uneven pace. It really took me out of the book whenever his reading came. I was wishing that CC just read the male part too.

Overall, not terrible.....just not great or as good as her other books.

EXCELLENT!

I loved this book! tThe book and story itself are well worth buying and reading, but listening to this with these amazing actors reading and creating the two main characters made it so good! The man doing the voice of Einstein was better than I would have imagined that character. He made me be completely entertained by what is basically a despicable person. Bravo to all of them!

Requires a suspension of belief

Would you try another book from Linda Francis Lee and/or Dan John Miller and Cassandra Campbell ?

I purchased this book because I enjoyed Lee's "Devil in the Junior League". This book just isn't quite the same. The notion that a man reappeared in a dog's body after his death is just a little too much. The marathon sub-plot was also a bit far-fetched. For these reasons, I would be very skeptical about purchasing another book from this author. However, I adored the narrators! I would definitely listen to more of their work.

Any additional comments?

The editing on this version needs a little work. In the second half, there are many times where the editing failed to clean up the narrator's reading of the same line twice in a row.

Sweet, funny, just a little bit hokey

I like it and 'the man as a dog' that I thought I wouldn't like was the best part for me. I thought there was a lot of insight as to what's going on when a dog makes a mess in the house when the family's gone. Probably not everyone's taste, but it might surprise you.

One of the best books I'ves listen to

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the story line.

If you could rename Emily and Einstein, what would you call it?

Emily and Einstein is the perfect name

Any additional comments?

This is a great listen. I normally listen while I do yard work but this was one that I just couldn't put down

Loved it

I don't know what I expected, but this book was excellent. I loved the story and the characters. What a surprise.

A dog turns into a dog

What did you love best about Emily and Einstein?

I found lots to like about this audiobook. It was pretty funny and the narration was great. The best bits are when Sandy has to come to terms with being a dog and live life as a dog, and well do those things that dogs do. That was probably the best part of the story and when I laughed the most.

As the story unfolds you are told that Sandy was totally privileged and never really had to work hard at anything. He did fall hard for Emily in the beginning because she was a challenge but didn't appreciate her once married. So - when he suddenly passes and he comes back as a dog, most literally and figuratively he has to figure out how to make things right with Emily. And if it wasn't challenging enough being a man, imagine him trying to make it right as a dog. This self discovery bit while funny also got tiring because Sandy and Emily's relationship was never really explored and so I didn't get why he didn't like her. I didn't know where the breakdown happened in their relationship. You just get to hear that he was sick of her and didn't care for her without any real background It was a bit of a disconnect for me. It's as if the story had originally been longer and more developed and at the end was edited so severely to leave out some major key points.

But besides THAT, really enjoyed this book and still recommend.

If you could take any character from Emily and Einstein out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I'd bring Einstein to my house and feed him in a heartbeat.

Nice surprise,thoughtful book

What a clever angle from which to examine a relationship. Characters Well drawn, if at extreme poles, lighthearted and entertaining, fun to read. Nothing earthshaking about the main characters. When Mac, a minor character revealedc his feelings about surviving 9-11, I wished the story were more about him. I was in need of an easy read just now, and this book left me in a happy place.

I loved it

If you could sum up Emily and Einstein in three words, what would they be?

Kept me engaged

What about Dan John Miller and Cassandra Campbell ’s performance did you like?

Everything. I remained in the story. Never thinking about the performance, just involved