Love May Fail

A Novel

By: Matthew Quick

Narrated by: Cris Dukehart, Jim Meskimen, Lorna Raver, Tonya Campos, Tim Fannon

An aspiring feminist and underappreciated housewife embarks on an odyssey to find human decency and goodness—and her high school English teacher—in New York Times bestselling author Matthew Quick’s offbeat masterpiece, a quirky ode to love, fate, and hair metal.

Portia Kane is having a meltdown. After escaping her ritzy Florida life and her cheating pornographer husband, she finds herself back in South Jersey, a place that remains largely unchanged from the years of her unhappy youth. Lost and alone, looking to find the goodness in the world she believes still exists, Portia sets off to save herself by saving someone else—a beloved high school English teacher who has retired after a traumatic incident.

Will a sassy nun, an ex-heroin addict, a metal-head little boy, and her hoarder mother help or hurt her chances on this madcap quest to restore a good man’s reputation and find renewed hope in the human race? Love May Fail is a story of the great highs and lows of existence: the heartache and daring choices it takes to become the person you know (deep down) you are meant to be.

Invested

I was so invested in this story. The characters, and how they were connected. This is the second book I've listed to from Matthew Quick. I see more in the future.

What a pleasure

I smiled throughout this listen, sometimes a smile mixed with a few tears. I've listened to hundreds of books and never took the time to rate own. Clever structure with the different voices picking up the timeline, wonderful narration. Some of it was hokey and predictable but that was part of the charm. 5 stars, for sure

Loved it. Funny. Quirky. Sad

If you liked Silver Linings Playbook. You'll love this more. It has me smiling and crying

This is..♡

Loved it. If you are down this will bring light. amazing listen for fiction lovers!

Let the Past Go and Start Again

This is a nice quirky story. It held my attention and I found myself making time to read. It did get a bit draggy around 70% or 80% in, but it was a short stint and forgiven.

The characters are what made this book stand out for me - and what characters they are! The story opens with a scene in which a scorned wife, Portia, is hiding in her own closet in order to catch her husband, a director in the porn industry, cheating on her with the (very likely underage) "talent". Just from that right there, you know this isn't going to be an ordinary story. But wait! There's more. Portia hops on a plane and heads back to her hometown and she tells her tale to her seatmate, providing much too much detail - stuff one might not even share with a best friend - but our protagonist goes right on with her storytelling. The fact that she is discussing it with a nun does not stop her. Yep! A nun. This sassy little nun will pop up again in the book and she is a hoot! But before that happens, Portia arrives home and we meet her mentally ill mother who is an extreme hoarder. I'll never look at a Diet Coke Lime without thinking of Portia's mom (do they even make that stuff anymore?). Next, we meet Mr. Vernon, Portia's high school English teacher, who is now living a reclusive life with his one and only companion, Albert Camus. Not the French writer, no he died long ago. This Albert Camus is Mr. Vernon's dog. There are still at least two more main characters I need to tell you about, but this is getting long.

The story is cute, fun, funny, and thought-provoking - an inspiring story about not being ashamed of your past and being able to make a new beginning at any stage in life.