We Are Not Ourselves

By: Matthew Thomas

Narrated by: Mare Winningham

Length: 20 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Destined to be a classic, this "powerfully moving" (Chad Harbach, The Art of Fielding) multigenerational debut novel of an Irish-American family is nothing short of a "masterwork". (Joshua Ferris, Then We Came to the End).

Born in 1941, Eileen Tumulty is raised by her Irish immigrant parents in Woodside, Queens, in an apartment where the mood swings between heartbreak and hilarity, depending on whether guests are over and how much alcohol has been consumed.

When Eileen meets Ed Leary, a scientist whose bearing is nothing like those of the men she grew up with, she thinks she’s found the perfect partner to deliver her to the cosmopolitan world she longs to inhabit. They marry, and Eileen quickly discovers Ed doesn’t aspire to the same, ever bigger, stakes in the American Dream.

Eileen encourages her husband to want more: a better job, better friends, a better house, but as years pass it becomes clear that his growing reluctance is part of a deeper psychological shift. An inescapable darkness enters their lives, and Eileen and Ed and their son, Connell, try desperately to hold together a semblance of the reality they have known, and to preserve, against long odds, an idea they have cherished of the future.

Through the Learys, novelist Matthew Thomas charts the story of the American Century, particularly the promise of domestic bliss and economic prosperity that captured hearts and minds after WWII. The result is a riveting and affecting work of art; one that reminds us that life is more than a tally of victories and defeats, that we live to love and be loved, and that we should tell one another so before the moment slips away.

Epic in scope, heroic in character, masterful in prose, We Are Not Ourselves heralds the arrival of a major new talent in contemporary fiction.

©2014 Matthew Thomas (P)2014 Simon & Schuster

this book is a tragedy

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I wish I had know it was a tragedy before I started. I think this book does have inherent value, especially to healthcare and to people interested in Alzheimer's

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I think the demonstration of marital attraction was very interesting

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

the narration was average.

Was We Are Not Ourselves worth the listening time?

worth listening to this story

Any additional comments?

you will be glad you have the knowledge imparted by this story, somewhat haunting.

Too Wordy

Finally finished! Over 600 pages and not a page-turner. Repetitious at times. Boring sometimes, but I kept listening, expecting to get more from it. I didn't. By the time I reached Chapter 88 and saw there were still 14 more chapters to go, I just wanted it to be over, but I read through to the Epilogue. Matthew Thomas has a way with words, but he just used too many.

So real.

Beautiful and ugly. Tragic. Inspiring. I don’t think I have ever read a story that was so honest. Not only in the telling, but in the emotions I was taken through. I recognized my own journey from child to adult, surviving the injuries inflicted by my parents, and my journey through motherhood and being the fortunate enduring parent, unfortunately.

Beautiful, long, slow, captivating

Wonderfully narrated, beautiful story of regular people who are filled with longing and lack, hope and despair.

Moving.

Profound family saga. At first it feels as though the story is merely a recounting of the ordinary, but the reader comes to realize that is exactly what the author is trying to achieve. As the plot deepens, the characters develop and the reader is drawn to them with sympathy and understanding. It's impactful and quite moving,. This feels like real people dealing with real life problems. Well done.

Magnificent

Beautifully written, epic in scale, heart-breaking, extraordinary...this is the best audiobook I've heard/read since "Cutting For Stone." Makes you feel glad to be alive and human, and reassured to know there are writers capable of such feats of specific and universal brilliance.

okay but didn't really like two main characters

I had to force myself to keep reading. It was well written but the husband was the most appealing character. Eileen and Connell were selfish difficult people to care about.

Solid poignant plot, beautiful writing

An accurate representation of life. Beautifully written. My only complaint was that it seemed to drag through the middle.

We Are Ourselves

Where does We Are Not Ourselves rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Just below the top tier. This was a really good book, but it wasn't amazing. The book addresses the magnitude of Alzheimer's and its impact on everyone within its reach. I learned a lot about the disease and I'm grateful for such a gritty and real perspective. I'm not sure if it wasn't amazing because of the story, the subject matter, or the narration--perhaps it was a combination of the three. .

What was one of the most memorable moments of We Are Not Ourselves?

When Ed was diagnosed, only from the perspective that I didn't see it coming. I often don't read a books description because part of reading to me is to be surprised along a journey. I get a sense of a book's direction and then I take off. So, when the diagnose was given I was shocked and everything fell so neatly into place. I love that feeling in a book.

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

I think this is the first one I've listened to by her. I found the narration a bit too flat and steady for my liking...it could have used more peaks and valleys.

If you could rename We Are Not Ourselves, what would you call it?

We Can't Be Someone We're Not--We Are Ourselves

Emotionally revealing, not a wasted word.

Well drawn very human characters written with care and honesty. This story will stay with you like family. Will probably read it again and again.