The Good House

A Novel

By: Ann Leary

Narrated by: Mary Beth Hurt

Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

The Good House, by Ann Leary, is funny, poignant, and terrifying. A classic New England tale that lays bare the secrets of one little town, this spirited novel will stay with you long after the story has ended.

Now a major motion picture starring Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline!

Hildy Good is a townie. A lifelong resident of a small community on the rocky coast of Boston's North Shore, she knows pretty much everything about everyone. And she's good at lots of things, too. A successful real-estate broker, mother, and grandmother, her days are full. But her nights have become lonely ever since her daughters, convinced their mother was drinking too much, sent her off to rehab. Now she's in recovery—more or less.

Alone and feeling unjustly persecuted, Hildy finds a friend in Rebecca McAllister, one of the town's wealthy newcomers. Rebecca is grateful for the friendship and Hildy feels like a person of the world again, as she and Rebecca escape their worries with some harmless gossip and a bottle of wine by the fire—just one of their secrets.

But Rebecca is herself the subject of town gossip. When Frank Getchell, an old friend who shares a complicated history with Hildy, tries to warn her away from Rebecca, Hildy attempts to protect her friend from a potential scandal. Soon, however, Hildy is busy trying to protect her own reputation. When a cluster of secrets becomes dangerously entwined, the reckless behavior of one person threatens to expose the other, and this darkly comic novel takes a chilling turn.

©2012 Ann Leary (P)2013 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Both Hildy's denial and her vulnerability are dramatized extremely well by narrator Mary Beth Hurt. Hurt deftly portrays Hildy's tendency to hide her alcoholism under a veneer of polished perfection; she's a woman who can deal with anyone's problems but her own. As the novel continues, the listener feels the pain of Hildy's breakdown and relapse in Hurt's Delivery, so well does she depict Leary's beautifully plotted story.” —AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner

“The Good House is told in first person, which makes it an ideal audiobook – especially in the hands of reader Mary Beth Hurt, who simultaneously portrays Hildy as smart, funny, prickly, sympathetic and – well, pathetic.” —The Star-Ledger

“Mary Beth Hurt does a fantastic job bringing Hildy to life vocally in all her facets…The author is talented and the reader adept; they have created a comprehensively compelling audio experience.” —New World Review

One of my favorites to recommend

I might have liked this book, but this is a prime example of how audio can bring a character to life. I can still picture the town and main character very clearly in my mind. I often recommend it to my friends who are trying out audio books for the first time because it is so well done.

Very real

I bought this book because I love the area of Massachusetts she is writing about. I was hoping for the sights and sounds of a place I hadn't seen since I was a girl. What I got was a very real, hard, yet somehow sympathetic and compelling look at a life unraveling. This is a Yankee kind of story - hard and unvarnished in the telling of both the good and the bad. Mary Beth Hurt's narration was spot on.

Great Listen!

I read other reviews before I decided to download this book - and all were good - but that doesn't always mean that I'm going to enjoy it. Well - this book was worth the "try"!
Interesting story - great narration - just plain - ol Good!
The characters were very "true" to life - (slightly "flawed" - like us everyday people) - that I thought at first that this book was more of a "memoir" and not a novel. I highly recommend this listen - and I look forward to more from the author .

One of the Best!

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

Wonderful compassionate story

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Good House?

Hildy's realizations of the truth.

Which scene was your favorite?

Her dreams

If you could take any character from The Good House out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Hildy, she's a hoot!

Any additional comments?

Probably one of the best narrated books I have ever heard.

A great listen.

I loved the story. This book is one that I believe is better listened to than it would have been by reading it, this may be due to the exceptional narration. Even though it was a fictional novel, it was as obviously well researched. The author did a fabulous job of taking what could have been simply a dreary story and bringing it to life with wonderful and real characters with large doses of lightness and humor.

Great Listen

What made the experience of listening to The Good House the most enjoyable?

The main character was amazingly funny, and so real. The story catches the reader from the beginning, and stays that way through out the story. I especially enjoyed the reader. She brought the story to life.

So good!

I absolutely loved this book! The author did a good job making you like the main character and question everyone’s intentions. And the narrator was amazing, I loved how much her voices changed when a character did. She kept it interesting and easy to follow. A great book altogether.

Something a little different

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

Family, Relatable, Good Humor

What did you like best about this story?

Her relationship with her high school love.

Which scene was your favorite?

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Any additional comments?

I like a break from the mystery's I usually listen to and this was a perfect little listen.

Life in a Small Coastal NE town

What did you love best about The Good House?

The character development, seasonal descriptions and intertwining of lives in a beautiful, scenic, small New England fishing village. Lots of technical insights into the jobs, history, family ties of a close knit, maybe too close town.

Great story, wonderful narration

Hildy is an alcoholic but in denial. Not only about her drinking, but her love life and children as well. When Rebecca moves to the sleep village of Wendover, Hildy befriends her. But soon things go from bad to worse and Hildy has to make some difficult choices, but will she make the right ones?