The Good House

A Novel

By: Ann Leary

Narrated by: Mary Beth Hurt

Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

The Good House, by Ann Leary, is funny, poignant, and terrifying. A classic New England tale that lays bare the secrets of one little town, this spirited novel will stay with you long after the story has ended.

Now a major motion picture starring Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline!

Hildy Good is a townie. A lifelong resident of a small community on the rocky coast of Boston's North Shore, she knows pretty much everything about everyone. And she's good at lots of things, too. A successful real-estate broker, mother, and grandmother, her days are full. But her nights have become lonely ever since her daughters, convinced their mother was drinking too much, sent her off to rehab. Now she's in recovery—more or less.

Alone and feeling unjustly persecuted, Hildy finds a friend in Rebecca McAllister, one of the town's wealthy newcomers. Rebecca is grateful for the friendship and Hildy feels like a person of the world again, as she and Rebecca escape their worries with some harmless gossip and a bottle of wine by the fire—just one of their secrets.

But Rebecca is herself the subject of town gossip. When Frank Getchell, an old friend who shares a complicated history with Hildy, tries to warn her away from Rebecca, Hildy attempts to protect her friend from a potential scandal. Soon, however, Hildy is busy trying to protect her own reputation. When a cluster of secrets becomes dangerously entwined, the reckless behavior of one person threatens to expose the other, and this darkly comic novel takes a chilling turn.

©2012 Ann Leary (P)2013 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Both Hildy's denial and her vulnerability are dramatized extremely well by narrator Mary Beth Hurt. Hurt deftly portrays Hildy's tendency to hide her alcoholism under a veneer of polished perfection; she's a woman who can deal with anyone's problems but her own. As the novel continues, the listener feels the pain of Hildy's breakdown and relapse in Hurt's Delivery, so well does she depict Leary's beautifully plotted story.” —AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner

“The Good House is told in first person, which makes it an ideal audiobook – especially in the hands of reader Mary Beth Hurt, who simultaneously portrays Hildy as smart, funny, prickly, sympathetic and – well, pathetic.” —The Star-Ledger

“Mary Beth Hurt does a fantastic job bringing Hildy to life vocally in all her facets…The author is talented and the reader adept; they have created a comprehensively compelling audio experience.” —New World Review

Cheers to Hildy Good

This book is about Hildy Good. She's a 60-something mother, grandma and divorcee. Her daughters stage an intervention because they think she is an alcoholic, although Hildy doesn't see it that way, but she goes to rehab anyway. The book starts after she has finished rehab. This book is about Hildy's "secret" relationship with alcohol and with her friends and family. It is also about the residents of her small New England town, Wendover. She has lived there all her life and has an intimate knowledge about the town itself and what goes on there. I thought Hildy was a riot… I liked how she was brutally honest with the reader/listener even though she mostly put on a facade for friends and family. Her brutal honesty had me laughing out loud several times. Hildy's interaction and past with Frank Getchell, long time friend and town's garbage man were some of my favorite parts of the book. There were many different emotions within this book, ranging from laugh-out-loud funny to soberingly sad moments. The narration was superb. Mary Beth Hurt was Hildy. She doesn't have a beautiful voice, I even cringed a bit when she sang, but I loved it anyway. I guess you can say that Hurt's voice is memorable and charming when it comes to playing Hildy Good.

Very enjoyable!

The book centers around an alcoholic that is in complete denial. It's not a sad story, as you might expect, because it goes beyond her drinking problems. It's also the story of growing up in a quaint town with colorful characters. You will love Hillary, and the story is completely engrossing. You will also hear every rationalization ever mounted for having one more glass of wine. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Got To Love Hildy

I loved this book, didn't want to stop listening. Hildy is a classic character, a tough broad, so-to-speak. She's successful in business, raises her daughters, and does a pretty good job of hiding her liquor abuse from herself most of the time. I found Hildy's character to be interesting, lovable, while frustratingly alcoholic. This is not a depressing alcoholic's life but more a study of a woman who is struggling to find her way with the author always providing the reader with adventures and quirky, small town drama. It's great.

Great Way to Put Yourself To Sleep at Night

This was 10 hours of babbling and town gossip by an alcoholic, over-the-hill, has-been real estate agent. Nothing I can't get at family gatherings. The woman who narrated it was annoying at times—you could hear every cigarette she ever smoked.

From Good to Great

I am very careful about the books which I choose to download.

To be honest, I like modern detective books (Michael Connolly) and I like well-written mysteries..

As I listened into the 2nd hour of The Good House, I was wondering when the murder would take place. I was wondering what dramatic event would occur that would need to be resolved throughout the remainder of the story.

The book had a definite flow but I was swimming against the tide expecting something familiar. What I got instead, was something totally unexpected. An absolutely wonderful book which, at the same time, wove the characters and the feel of a charming New England town into the stark presentation of the alcoholic mind of Hildy, the main character.

If you have ever known or experienced addiction of any kind, exploring the mind of Hildy is a spell-binding revelation of how the addictive mind can survive, thrive and then dive into utter despair.

This book was so well written that I had trouble turning off my I Phone.

To top it off, I can say that I have never experienced any better narration. Usually when I finish a great book, I immediately search for other books by the same author, as I did with the Good House.

But this time, I made a point of searching for other stories with the same narrator and what did I find? I found The Darling, a wonderful book with the same narrator that I listened to three years ago. The narrator was so compelling that I have once again downloaded The Darling and will listen to it again tonight as I go for my nightly walk with my beautiful boxer.

Please listen to the The Good House. You will be glad that you did.

A must read.

Would you listen to The Good House again? Why?

Absolutely. Ann Leary puts you right into Hildie's mind-set. Could not stop listening to it.

What about Mary Beth Hurt’s performance did you like?

Mary Beth's performance made the story come to life.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Oh dear, yes! I was even late to a dinner engagement because I wanted to keep listening.

Any additional comments?

"The Good House," is a novel for everyone considering the legality of alcohol along with the abuse of it.

Thoroughly enjoyed

Mary Beth hurt was the perfect voice for this book!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

She has you at the first sentence!

Such a nice surprise! Had me laughing out loud, one of my favorite things to do, as well as shedding a tear or two. The mark of a great novel to me is evoking the realm of emotions and this book lives up to the mark. Long live Hildy❤️❤️❤️

pleasurable, but I wouldn't recommend

The narrator was great! Though I would have expected a New England accent for the character, her style was perfect for the story. I would have liked to see the main character have a bit more dramatic of a "jackpot" somewhere in the story, and to see her kids discover her secret drinking. I kept expecting that, but I guess in that way, the story surprised me.

A "Good" Read!

While Leary's story is compelling and interesting, Mary Beth Hurt is simply divine in her narration. Her rough voice accurately characterizes the older alcoholic Hildy Good perfectly. Leary's setting and characters well-drawn, and the portrait of the alcoholic in denial seems true-to-life (although in fiction, I don't require THAT). Unreliable narrators are wonderful, and Hildy really absorbs your sympathy, only to re-tell the events another way to reveal that you should not feel so badly for her in her dangerous choices and blurred understanding of others. Great read, perfect narrator.