Brawler

Stories

De: Lauren Groff

Narrado por: Lauren Groff

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“Groff is one of this country’s most successful and versatile literary figures.” —New York Times

“Required reading.”—Los Angeles Times

“A knockout.”—Minnesota Star Tribune

A stunning, fierce collection from a master of the short story and one of the most important writers of our time

Read alone, each story in Lauren Groff’s electric collection is an individual triumph, bold, agile, and packed with power. Read together, they hum in exhilarating resonance. Ranging from the 1950s to the present day and moving across age, class, and region -- from New England to Florida to California -- these nine stories reflect and expand upon a shared theme: the ceaseless battle between humans’ dark and light angels.

“In every human there is both an animal and a god wrestling unto death,“ one character tells us. Among those we see caught in this match are a young woman suddenly responsible for her disabled sibling, a hot-tempered high school swimmer in need of an adult, a mother blinded by the loss of her family, and a banking scion endowed with a different kind of inheritance. Motivated by love, impeded by the double edges of other peoples’ good intentions, they try to do the right thing for as long as they can.

Precise, surprising, and provocative, anchored by profound insight into human nature, Brawler reveals the repeated, sometimes heartbreaking turning points between love and fear, compassion and violence, reason and instinct, altruism and what it takes to survive.

Excellence

Absolutely wonderful. I’m not usually a fan of short stories, but each one was remarkable and the kind of writing that leaves you thinking about the story long after you finished.
My only criticism is the narrator. While I usually enjoy hearing an author read their own stories, this was the exception. The author’s sing-song delivery was a distraction from her wonderful stories.

A masterpiece

Profound in its truth and beauty. Breath-taking. I could not stop reading. So engaging and brilliantly written.

What a wistful voice…

The stories and characters were interesting, varied and engaging. The language is gorgeous and luscious.

the narrator loved her slow, deliberatel manner

no real endings to several of the stories left that uo to the listener to determine..i like closure with no loose ends. thats just me though

Excellent Collection of Dark and Sad Tales

I really enjoyed most of the short stories in Brawler as I enjoy the melancholy and I would describe the nine stories in this collection as dark or just plain sad. There are no happy endings in the bunch. I thought the stories were really well written and a few times was taken aback at the interesting way the author described a setting or the way a character was feeling. I listened to a few of the stories twice.

The author read this on Audible and thought her narration was really good. Sometimes a professional narrator can add to a story but for these downers Groff's voice fit well I thought.

The collection starts out really dark with "The Wind", a story about an abused wife who is trying to escape a small town with her two kids, and whose abusive husband happens to be a cop.

My favorites of the nine were:

"To Sunland" - after the death of their mother a teenage girl travels with her mentally disabled brother by bus to a home for such children in Florida where she intends to drop him off before heading back north for college.

"What's the Time, Mr. Wolf?" - a male heir of a family-owned bank ends up washing out at said bank and ends up struggling with alcoholism and finding his way in life, and ends up in a relationship which also doesn't go as planned. Sounds familiar.

"Under the Wave" - a woman and young girl whose families go missing during a flood natural disaster meet at a refugee camp and their lives intertwine in a weird way. Sad, in a creepy way.

I plan to read more by this author.