Signal Fires

A Novel

By: Dani Shapiro

Narrated by: Dani Shapiro

Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BEST SELLER • From the beloved author of Inheritance: "a haunting, moving, and propulsive exploration of family secrets” (Meg Wolitzer, author of The Interestings)

Two families. One night. A constellation of lives changed forever.

A TIME Best Fiction Book of the Year • A Washington Post Notable Work of Fiction • A Real Simple Best Book of the Year

An ancient majestic oak stands beneath the stars on Division Street. And under the tree sits Ben Wilf, a retired doctor, and ten-year-old Waldo Shenkman, a brilliant, lonely boy who is pointing out his favorite constellations. Waldo doesn’t realize it but he and Ben have met before. And they will again, and again. Across time and space, and shared destiny.

Division Street is full of secrets. An impulsive lie begets a secret—one which will forever haunt the Wilf family. And the Shenkmans, who move into the neighborhood many years later, bring secrets of their own.. Spanning fifty kaleidoscopic years, on a street—and in a galaxy—where stars collapse and stories collide, these two families become bound in ways they never could have imagined.

Urgent and compassionate, Signal Fires is a magical story for our times, a literary tour de force by a masterful storyteller at the height of her powers. A luminous meditation on family, memory, and the healing power of interconnectedness.

©2022 Dani Shapiro (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK: LitHub, BookPage, Library Journal, The Millions, She Reads

“Signal Fires is an urgent and compassionate meditation on memory, time, and space. Shapiro has created a world that's as wrenching as it is wondrous.”—Ruth Ozeki, author of A Tale for the Time Being

“Signal Fires is a haunting, moving, and propulsive exploration of family secrets.”—Meg Wolitzer, author of The Female Persuasion

“Acclaimed novelist/memoirist Shapiro (Inheritance) writes with compassion and a deep understanding of the damage that secrets wreak. Shapiro’s first novel in 15 years was well worth the wait.”—Library Journal

Great book, awful narration

The author should have let someone else read the book. The story was very well written but kind of depressing. I wish I had read it myself because the narration was so irritating- flat and automated, like a robot read the story. My daughter read the book and her comment- good book.. but sad, depressing.

Great read

Poignant, wistful, and ultimately redemptive, this story of two intersecting families over a span of decades was masterfully written.

Beautiful story!!

This was a beautiful book and was performed beautifully! I will definitely be recommending it to others!!

Sad but reassuring

Flipping through lives of two families heartache and success was compelling but sad as your own mortality and that of your loved ones keeps coming up….

Beautiful and resonant

A deeply poignant story featuring rich, complex characters you can’t help but love in all their imperfect glory.

Beautiful Writing, Terrible Reading

While I'm pleased to have discovered Ms. Shapiro's work, it's unlikely I'll want to listen to another reading in her voice, which is unfortunate because it looks like she narrates nearly all her work herself. Her reading voice is stilted, sharp, monotone and halting throughout-- an annoying distraction to an otherwise beautiful, emotional and thoughtful novel. I'll never understand why it happens so often that authors read their own books aloud when there are so many gifted narrators who can bring their words to heavenly heights. So much of this novel was ruined for me by the reading.

Great Book

An absolute listening joy. Great story, narration, and entertainment. Once you start you won’t want to stop.

Just be patient

The story itself moves across timelines and people pretty abruptly at first. It takes a bit to get used to, but once you get to know the characters, it all comes together beautifully.

Too much

I really wanted to like this book but I found myself wanting it to be over soon. It had a really good idea for the book and it really wanted to be profound but it felt like it built you up to this great peak to only be let down.

Wonderful story telling

As a fan of Dani Shapiro’s podcast and nonfiction works, I ordered this on audible within minutes of learning its upcoming publication.

I found it difficult to leave the story and looked for any excuse to do chores or errands or extra long walks since I only listen to books while driving or engaging in the above mentioned activities.

I can see how she pulled from her experience gathering ppl’s stories for her podcast, piecing together the myriad of ways secrets haunt us and, potentially, destroy lives.

I imagine this will be a NYTimes best seller. I can’t see a reason it shouldn’t be.