Escape

By: Barbara Delinsky

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

In her luminous novel, Barbara Delinsky explores every woman’s desire to abandon the endless obligations of work and marriage - and the idea that the most passionate romance can be found with the person you know best.

Emily Aulenbach is 30, a lawyer married to a lawyer, working in Manhattan. An idealist, she had once dreamed of representing victims of corporate abuse, but she spends her days in a cubicle talking on the phone with vic­tims of tainted bottled water - and she is on the bottler’s side.

And it isn’t only work. It’s her sister, her friends, even her husband, Tim, with whom she doesn’t connect the way she used to. She doesn’t connect to much in her life, period, with the exception of three things - her computer, her BlackBerry, and her watch.

Acting on impulse, Emily leaves work early one day, goes home, packs her bag, and takes off. Groping toward the future, uncharacteristically following her gut rather than her mind, she heads north toward a New Hampshire town tucked between mountains. She knows this town. During her college years, she spent a watershed summer here. Painful as it is to return, she knows that if she is to right her life, she has to start here.

©2011 Cassandra Campbell (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

Praise for Escape:

"Delinsky nails it in her trademark latest, a captivating and moving story about a woman who's had enough of her life and wants a fresh start. . . . [She] keeps the story moving with some nice twists on a familiar plot, rich characterizations, and real-feeling dilemmas that will keep readers hooked." (Publishers Weekly)

Praise for Not My Daughter:

“A topical tale that resonates with timeless emotion.” (People, 3½ stars )

“Delinsky proves once again why she’s a perennial best-seller with this thought-provoking tale... Timely, fresh, and true-to-life.” ( Publishers Weekly )

Escape

Great story and very heart warming. shows how important family and friends are to us.

Chic-lit with an edge

The story line is solid and a bit off the typical track - though variations of this tale are becoming more common. The protagonist, tired of her high-stress job, literally runs away to a former childhood summer retreat, and reconnects with figures from her past. It does require some suspension of disbelief, as the reader wonders who would actually do this. Yet it does make one think as to what variables could cause a person to need a total escape.

Message-wise, I like that her life is not automatically fixed by hooking up with the "right man".

The narrator is generally great, and I've read several books narrated by her. However, her rendering of an accent which I'll call "New England" is a bit intrusive and not really necessary. Why do people assume everyone in Massachusetts has an accent? When characters in the book speak in this dialect the narrator makes them sound older and judgmental. It doesn't quite work for me when contemporaries are speaking - some sound too old and conservative for the parts they are playing.

But on balance it's a very credit- or cash-worthy read and an enjoyable complement to working out, driving, relaxing by pool or ocean.

Bit shallow but nice escape ...

I enjoyed this book. I have never been one to read 'chic-lit' or dramatic fiction, but was looking for something light and fun for the beach and a departure from my usual thrillers. Since I am searching for my own escape from the horrible boring rat race, I enjoyed Emmy's escape and soul searching time away from her life in busy NYC. I found the end predictable and anti-climatic, and personally it took me quite a while to get used to the narrators various voices. Living in Boston and having many friends and many trips to New Hampshire, I've never heard accents like those of the narrators characters but it grew on me. All in all a fun book to listen and escape to!

Can an audiobook be called a page turner?

I really enjoyed this book! It really got me hooked from beginning to end! Was it a little out of the realm of reality? Perhaps. But I love "Days of our Lives" and nothing about that show is based in reality either! Terrific book and Great narration by Ms. Campbell. Not many people nail the voices of kids without them sounding weird but she did it!

Worst EVER!

Deserves NO STARS if that were possible! Never written a review before, but felt this time it was a must! Words "escape" me when trying to describe this book, nothing at all takes place in the story....Boring, Boring, Boring is the best way to describe it. Only fnished it because I finish all books I start, however, never had one so painful to get thru. If you are wanting to "escape" from everything.......including a good book! Then this is the book for you!

Shockingly boring

I want to start this review by saying that perhaps I am not in this book's target audience. While I enjoy nature, I am much more of a city girl. With that in mind, I found this book so boring and repetitive. This book is also slow moving and I think that it could be cut in half and be much more enjoyable. The premise is that the protagonist is tired of her life in NYC and has decided to escape to a small town. While that sounded good to me (We all need a break to recharge at some point) the incessant descriptions of the landscape, of how the air smelled, and of how the ground felt under her shoes became quite tedious to me. Also, the main character was so self-centered. I realize that while most people have time periods of being completely egotistical, this is not something I prefer to read about. During most of the book, I was irritated with her for how she treats the significant people in her life. I like to be able to root for the main character of a book. I waffled between liking the narrator (she did put emotion in her storytelling) to disliking the Kennedy-esque accents of the local townsfolk. Overall, if you really enjoy long winded descriptions of nature or of the protagonists self obsessed feelings this book is for you. If not, buy with caution.

Whiny Character

I had to stop listening almost halfway through when I realized that I didn't care what happens to the main character any longer. she was so self absorbed and whiny, I just couldn't stand to hear any more of her thoughts.