The Chaperone

By: Laura Moriarty

Narrated by: Elizabeth McGovern

Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

The Chaperone is a captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922, and the summer that would change them both.

Only a few years before becoming a famous actress and an icon for her generation, a 15-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita to make it big in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle is a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip. She has no idea what she’s in for: Young Louise, already stunningly beautiful and sporting her famous blunt bangs and black bob, is known for her arrogance and her lack of respect for convention. Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together will change their lives forever.

For Cora, New York holds the promise of discovery that might prove an answer to the question at the center of her being, and even as she does her best to watch over Louise in a strange and bustling city, she embarks on her own mission. And while what she finds isn’t what she anticipated, it liberates her in a way she could not have imagined. Over the course of the summer, Cora’s eyes are opened to the promise of the 20th century and a new understanding of the possibilities for being fully alive.

©2012 Laura Moriarty (P)2012 Penguin Audio

Wonderful

This book is absolutely beautiful! The story of a women’s life with all its sadness and happiness. A must read!

An interesting subject made somewhat boring

I struggled to finish this book because it was so tediously drawn out. The story was good, Louise made a fascinating character, but Cora, despite her exciting story, was boring! She had everything she needed to make her compelling, but she wasn't. This did make me want to learn more about Louise and her life!

Very well done

Loved this book! Elizabeth McGovern does a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life.

Beginning Awfully Boring--Finishing it SO WORTH it

To start out, I want to say that the beginning of this book bored me enough to turn it off and download another book, doubting I'd ever come back to it. I did, however, come back to it.

I'll start with what I did not like about the book because I see so few negative reviews for this book.

I think what turned me off first of all was the narrator's voice (Elizabeth McGovern). It was so soft and that I had to turn my volume up more than I do for any other audiobook, but then there were parts that were way too loud so I had to position my earbuds and volume just right--that was very annoying. I work in a cubicle environment and generally have no problem with hearing my audiobooks over the chitchatter in the office, but I had trouble with getting the volume loud enough to hear it on this book without it bursting my ear drums. Eventually I found the sweet spot, or just got used to it, and I finished the book. Someone else described her voice as "precious" and it annoyed them I think. Without knowing anything about Cora and how this voice is perfect for her character, in the beginning, it's was very grating to me. So if you're in the same camp as I was, just tough it out because it gets better.

The beginning also feels very boring in general. Not very exciting, to me anyway. It wasn't until literally 1/3 or 1/2 way into the book that I actually began to care about the characters and where the story was going. Before that, I was simply toughing it out because someone said in a review that it gets more interesting later in the book. If you aren't the type of person who likes to wait this long for a story to pay off, this book may not be for you. For me, I listen to audiobooks at work and I hate to not finish an audiobook that I already paid for, so that is mostly why I finished this book. If I had borrowed it from a library, I probably would have quit listening, and then I would have missed out on how great this book is AFTER the first half.

I dislike how sometimes she would gloss over long time spans and was stingy with details that I thought would be interesting. It seems like this happened moreso in the later part of the book, especially the end. The end just seemed like a summing up of her life that was thrown in at the last minute. I'm not saying that it ended badly, because I like how it ended, but it felt rushed after the author took so long to describe so many other things earlier in the book.

So now that I've said all my negative opinions, I'll go on to the positives. I don't feel the need to go on and on about how much and what exactly I liked about this book, because there are already so many positive reviews that sum up how I feel. I really like the historical asides. They were awesome. I love Cora's journey of self-discovery. I love how the author explored morality.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and I'm glad I finished it.

Rising from the ashes more beautifully every time

I've never read a book that more persuasively showed that we are never too old, settled, broken, or drained to start a new chapter in life, that we can always become better versions of ourselves, or reinvent ourselves entirely. This book very gently handles some controversial topics, and shows how a warm heart, an open mind, and determination can nearly always find a solution, or become the solution. One of the most clear-eyed books about human frailty I've ever encountered, yet, by far, the most hopeful.

When faced with trauma and disillusionment, these characters find ways to rise, almost phoenix-like, from the ashes of their former selves. Because of this, there were multiple times when I thought, "This would make a good ending here." And the story continued... Then another seemingly good ending came, and the story continued... And on it went. Every reinvention is a marvelous story in itself, but strung together, they are breathtaking.

As long as we are breathing, we are not done yet.

One of my favorite listens ever!

A little bit of a slow start but once it got going, I couldn’t stop listening ! Beautiful story! Elizabeth McGovern was s wonderful narrator!

Didn't think I'd like it, and didn't

I don't read biographies because we all know how they end. I actually liked the first fourth of the book. It was well written, hopeful, and even uplifting. Then the casting about began as to how to best fill the rest of Cora's life. It could have been shorter. Nice twist on how to handle the surprises that life tends to bring.

Acceptable Coming of Middle Age Portrait

What did you like best about The Chaperone? What did you like least?

Cora accompanies a spoiled 15 yr old who's destined for greatness to New York. Fairly predictible, but well written and narrated. As a fan of Elizabeth McGovern, I enjoyed her range in bringing the different characters' voices to life. Cora's backstory is the most interesting part of the book. The author gives a lot of detail in some sections and then tries to wrap it up spanning long periods of time glazing over particulars to give each character a proper ending. Acceptable and interesting read, just don't expect a a neatly wrapped package nor a blockbuster.

Would you recommend The Chaperone to your friends? Why or why not?

Would pass on I like it and it's an interesting period piece; didn't love it.

Was The Chaperone worth the listening time?

Yes.

Enjoyable Book

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

interesting, captivating, and enjoyable

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the storyline. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. It definately was not what I expected it to be.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene is the scene with Cora, the main character, and the "german" in the diner.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

You never know how your life will change.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the fact that there are a lot of historical events that are explained in the book. Considering the time frame that the book takes place, there are so many events to cover and I thought that the author did a very good job in covering some of well known and not as well known thoughts, feelings and events that occurred. I would and have recommended this book for a good read.:)

Fun Book

While I don’t think I am a member of the demographic that this book was mainly written for, I did enjoy it a great deal. Moriarty hit just about every social issue that popped up in the first half of the twentieth century, and did a nice job trying to represent both sides of the issue. She also wove an engaging story. The biggest problem I have had with it, is how to explain it to someone without giving part of the book away.