The Rest of Our Lives

A Novel

De: Ben Markovits

Narrado por: Eric Meyers

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

FINALIST FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE

“Feels less like reading a novel and more like sitting in a car beside a dear friend as he navigates the road up ahead. A profoundly moving experience.” —Ann Patchett

“Deeply human...a beautifully quiet and devastating book.” —Sarah Jessica Parker

A triumphantly life-affirming road trip novel about marriage, middle-age, and a man at a crossroads in his life.

When Tom Layward’s wife had an affair twelve years ago, he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest child left the nest. Now, while driving his college-bound daughter to Pittsburgh, he remembers his promise to himself. He is also on the run from his own health issues and a forced leave from work.

So, rather than returning to his wife in Westchester, Tom keeps driving west, with the vague plan of visiting people from his past—an old college friend, his ex-girlfriend, his brother, his son—en route, maybe, to California. He’s moving towards a future he hasn’t even envisioned yet while he considers his past and the choices he’s made that have brought him to this particular present. Pitch-perfect, tender, and keenly observed, The Rest of Our Lives is a story about what to do when the rest of your life is only just the beginning of your story.

Disappointing

I wanted to love this book. I like the author’s style and I love books based in and around NY. But I just kept waiting for there to be a something marginally meaningful in this story and I couldn’t find it. While the book is tangentially about the marriage of Tom and Amy, there really is no development of what was the issue in their relationship (spoiler alert—the affair is clearly a symptom, not the reason). The character of Amy feels so underdeveloped that she doesn’t really seem to have much appeal as a human, so other than her physical attractiveness—mentioned often—it’s hard to know what kept these two people together. And the fact that Amy didn’t insist that her husband get to a hospital sooner is just bizarre within the context of the novel. Sadly, I don’t get the hype on this one.

Love the story but the medical descriptions were so wrong it was distracting

The story was good. Very real except for the medical story In The hospital that ruined it for me

not much

I kept waiting for "something" to happen. Just a mundane midlife crisis...blah...such a disappointment overall.

Thoughtful Story

The characters, especially the protagonist, were realistic and approachable. The family dynamics were relatable to anyone who has launched their children. Or been launched. Or married. Or been married. Themes of family, friendship, personal history, the arch of a long career, and how you can be intimately related to someone who is still a mystery. The pace was crisp but not rushed, The narration was good. It enhanced the story. Kind of sweet and reflective to finish.

So depressing

I thought the story would get to a point where something was resolved in this man’s life. The only thing concrete that happened is getting his health problem diagnosed. It must be more esoteric than I am able to grasp. But the book had very little meaning and just left me feeling depressed.