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

Entertaining, intriguing, sweet.

The main character, Hildy Good, is a likable, confident and witty woman who is finding her way in her relationship with alcohol, her children, and an old love. The author realistically portrays the insidiousness of alcoholism and what is commonly known as denial.
The narrator did the book justice. A great listen.

Mary Beth Hurt IS Hildy Good!

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

Perfect for driving!

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

Hildy's snarky side comments while she's doing "readings" of people are FABULOUS!

Have you listened to any of Mary Beth Hurt’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Never before, but I can't wait for more.

Different

I enjoyed the first half a lot but then it went down hill. I got to a point where I didn't even like Hildie. Thought the ending was good. Frank was my favorite. Reader was wonderful.

even better after a second listen

Mary Beth Hurt gives a wonderful performance to well-written characters. Funny, gritty, and addicting story. The plot is rich with a compelling ending.

Loved this book!

I love Hilde and the small town drama. The characters were so real and honest and even though gentrification and property values skyrocketed the loyalty and bonds between old time locals remains. hikde’s self assuredness was refreshing and her coming to terms with her drinking was a sad and yet a fun story. I highly recommend!

Truly Interesting story and FABULOUS NARRATION

Quite a clever story which made it interesting to follow along. However, the narrator was captivating! Kudos to the person(s) who matched this narrator to this particular story. She was fabulous!!

A charming book with a real look at real life

I truly loved this book! And, the person who read it, really brought it to life! It was a real book, about real people(not that the characters were real but the way she portrayed real people was authentic). Not so syrupy sweet that it made you gag and not so ridiculously evil that you are worried about where the authors mind is. But, people aren’t perfect, even the nicest person isn’t perfect. The perfect married couple isn’t perfect … but this book was perfectly imperfect and I enjoyed all of it. Love, jealousy, rage, egos, tragedy, suspense, mystery and romance … it’s all here in one book, it just needs a great musical score!!

Character development at it’s finest

Hilly Good will make you cringe and spit your coffee over and over! The whole story gave me a creeping sense of something about to go terribly wrong, I couldn’t stop listening!

Narrator deserves ten stars

Mary Beth Hurt is a fantastic narrator hitting the right tone and emphasis every time. She made this well written novel come alive. Hildy’s character was bravely developed and dominated the stories of the other characters. The psychiatrist’s behavior felt a bit underdeveloped. I loved this book!!

Wonderful audiobook!

Great story - very engaging all the way through. And, One of the best audiobook narrators I’ve heard.