Go Ask Fannie

By: Elisabeth Hyde

Narrated by: Julia Whelan

Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Winner of the Colorado Book Award for Fiction

"All the feels of a This Is Us episode." (Booklist)

When Murray Blaire invites his three grown children to his New Hampshire farm for a few days, he makes it clear he expects them to keep things pleasant. The rest of his agenda - using Ruth and George to convince their younger sister, Lizzie, to break up with her much older boyfriend - that he chooses to keep private. But Ruth and George arrive bickering, with old scores to settle. And, in a classic Blaire move, Lizzie derails everything when she turns up late, cradling a damaged family cookbook, and talking about possible criminal charges against her.

This is not the first time the Blaire family has been thrown into chaos. In fact, that cookbook, an old edition of Fannie Farmer, is the last remaining artifact from a time when they were a family of six, not four, with a father running for Congress and a mother building a private life of her own. The now-obscured notes written in its pages provide tantalizing clues to their mother's ambitions and the mysterious choices she once made, choices her children have always sought without success to understand. Until this weekend.

As the Blaire siblings piece together their mother's story, they come to realize not just what they've lost, but how they can find their way back to each other. In this way, celebrated author Elisabeth Hyde reminds listeners that family survival isn't about simply setting aside old rivalries, but preserving the love that's written between the lines.

©2018 Elisabeth Hyde (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Writing in a style both affecting and realistic, Hyde gives readers a family that could mirror their own, including the characters, the conversations, and the treasured family keepsake. With all the feels of a This Is Us episode, Hyde’s latest novel will delight readers.” (Booklist)

“Hyde’s insightful and engaging novel is highly recommended, especially for readers who enjoy family sagas by Sue Miller and Anne Tyler.” (BookPage)

"Hyde, whose best-known novel is The Abortionist's Daughter, is here an accomplished, assured and painstaking archaeologist of a multilayered family history, of its secrets, vulnerabilities and regrets. A richly rewarding read." (Sunday Times, UK)

ok

seemed to drag in places. several story lines could have been finished. not real impressed.

Family secrets, regrets and memories

a well narrated story of a family revisiting a tragedy and sharing their secrets and regrets.