Doxology

A Novel

De: Nell Zink

Narrado por: Eileen Stevens

A Recommended Book of 2019 from Vulture and Esquire

Pam, Daniel, and Joe might be the worst punk band on the Lower East Side. Struggling to scrape together enough cash and musical talent to make it, they are waylaid by surprising arrivals—a daughter for Pam and Daniel, a solo hit single for Joe. As the ‘90s wane, the three friends share in one another’s successes, working together to elevate Joe’s superstardom and raise baby Flora.

On September 11, 2001, the city’s unfathomable devastation coincides with a shattering personal loss for the trio. In the aftermath, Flora comes of age, navigating a charged political landscape and discovering a love of the natural world. Joining the ranks of those fighting for ecological conservation, Flora works to bridge the wide gap between powerful strategists and ordinary Americans, becoming entangled ever more intimately with her fellow activists along the way. And when the country faces an astonishing new threat, Flora’s family will have no choice but to look to the past—both to examine wounds that have never healed, and to rediscover strengths they have long forgotten.

At once an elegiac takedown of today’s political climate and a touching invocation of humanity’s goodness, Doxology offers daring revelations about America’s past and possible future that could only come from Nell Zink, one of the sharpest novelists of our time.

Retro-hippie earth mother, '80s hipster dad...

and a rock god babysitter.

This story did not go where I expected it would when I first started listening. These punk band wannabe, Lower-East-Side social dropouts are far from stereotypical misanthropes. In fact, they’re not misanthropes at all, they’re kind and thoughtful and really uncool at heart. And while I would have openly welcomed a straightforward Gen-X take on things like 9/11 and Trump, it’s not that either. There’s a lot of nuance, and some truly inspired perspective coming from the Baby Boomer and Millennial characters too (something that narrator Eileen Stevens captures perfectly!). It’s multigenerational and sweeping, but at the same time super focused on this one small group of characters—a story about a family making its way in the world that reflects the recent past and present day in a totally fresh way.

Fresh

I loved this book because it felt fresh, contemporary, and relevant. The voice is vibrant, energetic. The prose is entertaining. I loved the character of Flora and the epic story of her family revolving around a punk rock star who once babysat her. I never knew what to expect next. Once again, this book is fresh. I highly recommend it.

Didn’t like the ending.

The story was good. Held my interest the whole time. I think the ending was horrible. Left the listener hanging.

Extraordinary

It took a few minutes to get used the the reader. After that I was part of the story, till the end. It is about new beginnings, always taking place in the present. Feels like the essence of Hannah Arendt's THE ORIGINS OF TOTALITARIANISM.

rock and roll, 9/11, and politics

I really enjoyed the characters, and I was glad 4 the starts and stops and happy and sad endings that I encountered. there was one slow part in the book and that was Flora's college career... if I hadn't had so many chapters remaining I may have just stopped. it was a very slow-moving and confusing. perhaps I should have been a separate essay or something. it did little to tell us more about Florida and even less to make us like flora more. in the end I felt like it was a story of pack of rather spoiled kids. .. though some of the kids were adults. but I liked that each character seemed to pretty much get what they deserve and then some and I mean that in a good way this was. not a feel bad book.