A Home at the End of the World

By: Michael Cunningham

Narrated by: Colin Farrell, Dallas Roberts, Blair Brown, Jennifer Van Dyck

Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's Summary

From Michael Cunningham, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hours, comes the acclaimed novel of two boyhood friends A Home at the End of the World, now a feature film starring Colin Farrell and Dallas Roberts Jonathan.

There's Jonathan, lonely, introspective, and unsure of himself; and Bobby, hip, dark, and inarticulate. In New York after college, Bobby moves in with Jonathan and his roommate, Clare, a veteran of the city's erotic wars. Bobby and Clare fall in love, scuttling the plans of Jonathan, who is gay, to father Clare's child. Then, when Clare and Bobby have a baby, the three move to a small house upstate to raise "their" child together and, with an odd friend, Alice, create a new kind of family.

A Home at the End of the World masterfully depicts the charged, fragile relationships of urban life today.

©1990 Michael Cunningham (P)2004 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC

Critic Reviews

“Lyrical . . . Memorable and accomplished.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Novels don't come more deeply felt than Cunningham's extraordinary four-character study . . . The writing [is] a constant pleasure, flowing and yet dense with incisive images and psychological nuance.” —Matthew Gilbert, The Boston Globe

“Cunningham writes with power and delicacy . . . We come to feel that we know Jonathan, Bobby, and Clare as if we lived with them; yet each one retains the mystery that in people is called soul, and in fiction is called art.” —Richard Eder, The Los Angeles Times

ended too soon

I loved these characters. They draw the listener in and they become real. Cunningham received raves for The Hours, but this story and these characters are much more accessible and endearing.

This book did stuff to my heart.

There are books you don’t like, books you like, books you love & then there are the books you fall completely in love with. The latter is where I’d place this book for me. Never have I come across a book so realistic yet captivating. I can see these characters so clearly in my mind. I can believe everything that’s happening. Jonathan, Bobby, & Claire present an unconventional way of living that just felt so real to me. This book will not be for everyone but, you know, I kind of love that about it. The story stays strong from it’s beginning to it’s beautiful ending.
The audiobook itself is amazing. Read so perfectly by the four narrators.

Flaw in the recording?

A bit more than two and a half hours in, something odd happens. Every time before that, when the narrator changes there is a heading telling us the new narrator's name. But then, suddenly, the narration shifts from the mother to one of the boys, and we seem to have jumped ahead ten or so years. It's as though the recording is missing one of the CD's. I've noticed this problem before with Audible versions, and when I complain, they give me a refund, but they don't fix the recording. It's very frustrating, since what I want is a correct recording of the book in question.

Great book, excellent recording.

I was happily surprised to see that Colin Farrell and Dallas Roberts (from the cast of the movie version) were tapped to read the parts of Bobby and Jonathan. I think Farrell was great, but Dallas Roberts was exceptional. This is one of the first audio books I have purchased from this website, and I have enjoyed it so much that I have gone back to it three times, even before some other books that I have purchased.

A common affliction - story fades at the end

This book suffers from a problem I'm noticing more and more in books - it starts out strong and then peters out towards the end. I can only assume this comes from authors having a good idea, but not knowing how to wrap the story up. I found the first 3/4 to 5/6 of the book to be very engaging and the characters to be sympathetic and well-developed personalities. Unfortunately, near the end most of the characters became cloying and unlikable and the storyline stalled. Perhaps this was the sentiment the author was going for - I can imagine that the author might have been creating a metaphor for the real world: your friends are sometimes irritating and life sometimes feels meaningless. I have read, however, books that communicated the same meaning in a more meaningful and fulfilling way than this book.

Writing well is not enough...

I got almost annoyed with author of the book. He writes beautifully, but the plot is unconvincing and the three main characters are excessively self-absorbed in contemplating their unhappiness and , more generally, the unavoidable misery of the human condition. There is no room for real passion, hope, and engagement. It is all grey and hopeless.
My last book of Michael Cunningham !

make it stop!

I was so turned off by the self-absorbed nature of these characters, I really did not care how it turned out. The reading style was ok, but the brogue for the man from America was cute at first, but then got annoying. Save your money.

A compelling work . . .

The characters in this book speak about life – in the rawest sense of the word. The story line is somewhat fanciful – but the writing contains many important aphorisms about life and relationships. It is a compelling “listen” and is probably a book to which I will return. A very worthwhile work!

Beautifully written

A little slow starting but you become very invested in the characters. The story is really well written.

It surprised me

What did you love best about A Home at the End of the World?

I purchased the novel because I wanted to hear Colin Farrell's sexy voice narrate to spur me on in my biking & running. I must admit I was initially dismayed when it became apparent that it was about a gay relationship- which is just not my interest area. However, the masterful writing drew me in and I was pleasantly surprised to find I was moved by this beautiful story about relationships.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Home at the End of the World?

Truly, Colin Farrell has a gorgeous and sexy voice. When I am listening to books, the voice is almost as important as the writing and storyline. It can be a wonderfully written book but if the voice is unappealing to my ears, it is just not worth it to continue listening. I hope Colin is enticed into voicing more books.