The Man in the Window

Nancy Pearl's Book Lust Rediscoveries

By: Jon Cohen, Nancy Pearl - introduction

Narrated by: Jeff Cummings

Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Since he was disfigured in a fire sixteen years ago, recluse Louis Malone has remained hidden from the prying eyes of his neighbors in the small town of Waverly. Across town, Iris Shula, a lonely and unlovely nurse knows, at thirty-seven, it is unlikely that her Prince Charming will ever appear. But Iris is about to learn how wrong she is. When Louis accidently falls out of his second story window these two kindred souls are brought together. What unfolds is a most unlikely love story. One that will make you laugh and that will break - and remake - your heart.

©2013 Jon Cohen (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"An off-beat love story…alternately deeply moving and laugh-aloud funny." ( Good Housekeeping)

"Jon Cohen conjures magic, weaving a gentle romantic fantasy of piercing and eccentric beauty." ( Boston Globe)

The man in the window

It was a great Audible. the read was good and made the characters real. but I especially love the thought of Lewis and It's finding someone to love.

I loved this book

How could I have waited so long to listen to this wonderful book. I purchased it 4 years ago. Everything happens for a reason and it is clearly highlighted in this book. I loved the humor and the characters. Jeff Cummings did a great job with the voices and I laughed out loud so much at work that everyone started to give me weird looks.

It feels like this author is just trying too hard

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Probably not. This book is just so... flat. It's a shame really, because the characters could be very intriguing if the author would have put them in a better situation to display it.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Oh man, this guy's voice... It isn't a -bad- voice, but he actually puts too much personality into the voices. That's a weird thing to say, but it's the best way I feel I can describe it in a sentence. His female voices are almost entirely nasally and cringe-worthy. His male voices are over-the-top. In fact, the only voice I enjoyed was his take on Louis.

Was The Man in the Window worth the listening time?

At the end of the book, I felt as if I hadn't really gained anything from listening... so unfortunately, no, I don't think so.

Any additional comments?

It felt as if the author tried -very hard- to create a very poignant and touching book, but his attempts left me truly wanting to skip sections. He would drone on about an event or a memory for pages -- an attempt to offer a deeper insight into a character -- but it just felt so fake and dreamy that it was completely unbelievable for me. There were several times that I thought "Yea, you could have just said 'He's a good guy.' and skipped the attempt at a heart-wrenching back story." It wasn't a long read, but boy did it feel like it at times.

The romance in the story is about as flat as the attempt by the author to make me feel anything. You can barely even call it romance, to be honest. I appreciate that Cohen doesn't try to hide the blemishes of his characters or their relationships, but I feel as if there is only friendship between the characters. And that's fine really, but I was expecting a hint of a romance in there too.

Lovely story but the wrong narrator

What made the experience of listening to The Man in the Window the most enjoyable?

This is a lovely heartwarming character story with humor and pathos.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters were beautifully described and the sense of a small community with all it's unique inhabitants was delightful.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Jeff Cummings?

Not sure. He just can not do a woman's voice ! But he handled the humorous passages quite well.

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

No, it is meant to savored, not rushed.

Any additional comments?

I usually like stories that are grounded in realism, but I enjoyed the whimsical side of this story, represented by the appearance of angels and other unexplained signs of (perhaps)
spiritual intervention.

Narrator is very talented

I thoroughly enjoyed this playful over-the-top novel full of magical realism that read like a fairytale and a philosophical wonder all rolled into one.

Loneliness is unbearable

Quirky characters fill this story of a small town Waverly and the Monster of Waverly, a man burned as a boy who becomes a recluse and hides his disfigurement. Along comes Iris, a lonely nurse who recognizes a kindred spirit, who hopes to draw Louis out of his self-imposed exile. The story includes loss and growing older.