Cobble Hill

A Novel

By: Cecily von Ziegesar

Narrated by: Pete Simonelli

Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

Best Novels of Fall 2020 (Vogu­e)

Most Anticipated List for Fall 2020 (Parade)

Best of Fall 2020 (PopSugar)

Best Books of 2020 (Marie Claire)

From the number one New York Times best-selling author of the Gossip Girl series, a deliciously irresistible novel chronicling a year in the life of four families in an upscale Brooklyn neighborhood as they seek purpose, community, and meaningful relationships - until one unforgettable night at a raucous neighborhood party knocks them to their senses.

Welcome to Cobble Hill. 

In this eclectic Brooklyn neighborhood, private storms brew amongst four married couples and their children. There’s ex-groupie Mandy, so underwhelmed by motherhood and her current physical state that she fakes a debilitating disease to get the attention of her skateboarding, ex-boyband member husband Stuart. There’s the unconventional new school nurse, Peaches, on whom Stuart has an unrequited crush, and her disappointing husband Greg, who wears noise-cancelling headphones - everywhere. A few blocks away, Roy, a well-known, newly transplanted British novelist, has lost the thread of his next novel and his marriage to capable, indefatigable Wendy. 

Around the corner, Tupper, the nervous, introverted industrial designer with a warehouse full of prosthetic limbs struggles to pin down his elusive artist wife Elizabeth. She remains...elusive. Throw in two hormonal teenagers, a 10-year-old pyromaniac, a drug dealer pretending to be a doctor, and a lot of hidden cameras, and you’ve got a combustible mix of egos, desires, and secrets bubbling in brownstone Brooklyn. 

Smart, sophisticated, yet surprisingly tender, Cobble Hill is highly entertaining portrait of contemporary family life and the colorful characters who call Brooklyn home.

©2020 Cecily von Ziegesar. All rights reserved. (P)2020 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Entertaining

This was an entertaining book with relatable characters. Not sure why a narrator who could not do accents or different voices was chosen though, particularly when at least two of the characters were supposedly British.

Unfortunately boring

I live in Cobble Hill. The best part about the book was the geography- it’s always fun to read about your own neighborhood. But I found the story and most of the main characters kind of outlandish- too cliched and goofy to enjoy. Which is unfortunate because I feel like much better commentary could be made describing the people here and the neighborhood. Read Jonathan Letham’s Fortress of Solitude for a much better Cobble Hill story.

no one to love

not a single loveable character: hardly even a likeable one! So who cares what happens?

not my cup of tea

struggled to finish. weak storyline..not a recommended read.would rate as horrible and I tried to like it.

Entertaining

Sooo entertaing with its mix of characters. Thouroughly enjoyed it. Wpuld love to read more from the author

Terrible

I was very excited to listen to this book based on the authors past successes. This book was ridiculous. Random ramblings about people. I literally stopped after two hours. I couldn’t take it. Total waste of money.

Cobble Hill

This listen was not as engaging as I had anticipated . While the characters are well developed, they are a tad too self absorbed to be truly likable . The exception is Peaches the school nurse . The plot moves forward but seems to miss something. Please, when a book is narrated and there are characters with different accents , the chosen narrator should be able to pull them off ! In this case English accents for Roy , Wendy and Shy would have been a significant improvement.