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Every Last One
Every Last One
Every Last One
Audiobook10 hours

Every Last One

Written by Anna Quindlen

Narrated by Hope Davis

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

2011 Audie Award Finalist for Fiction

Beloved blockbuster storyteller Anna Quindlen’s powerhouse new novel, her first since the #1 bestseller Rise and Shine , confirms her status as an incomparably accurate and compassionate observer of families and the tragedies they face.

This moving, suspenseful, and surprising new novel by beloved author Anna Quindlen is about a suburban family and the unintended, explosive consequences of what seem like small, casual actions. Quindlen returns to the subject of family, and family in turmoil, a subject she’s explored with great success in all of her previous novels thanks to her insightful, compassionate understanding of the intricacies of human relationships.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 13, 2010
ISBN9781442334014
Every Last One
Author

Anna Quindlen

Anna Quindlen is a novelist and journalist whose work has appeared on fiction, nonfiction, and self-help bestseller lists. She is the author of nine novels: Object Lessons, One True Thing, Black and Blue, Blessings, Rise and Shine, Every Last One, Still Life with Bread Crumbs, Miller’s Valley, and Alternate Side. Her memoir Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, published in 2012, was a #1 New York Times bestseller. Her book A Short Guide to a Happy Life has sold more than a million copies. While a columnist at The New York Times she won the Pulitzer Prize and published two collections, Living Out Loud and Thinking Out Loud. Her Newsweek columns were collected in Loud and Clear.

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Reviews for Every Last One

Rating: 4.378723404255319 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

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  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I really like Anna Quindlen and all my reading experiences with her works have been positive, until now. Let's start with the positives. Quindlen is a beautiful writer. It is the thing I love best about her novels. The way her narratives are constructed are so alluring and pull you in little by little until you are knee deep in the plot. It is because of her beautiful writing that I was almost halfway through the novel before I realized I didn't like the novel.The plot wasn't great. The plot moved very slowly and it was at the mid-point of the novel before any real action, or the crux of the plot was actually realized. That makes for 150 pages of exposition and relationship wrangling that wasn't strong enough or interesting enough to carry me through those 150 pages. By the time the time the "shocking act of violence" occurred, I was completely ready for the novel to take off and pick up the pace, but it didn't. The act of violence that this novel is constructed around does not play out for the reader. We learn about this act of violence as the narrator does, second-hand and delayed in time. This split the novel into two parts: pre-violence exposition and post-violence exposition. The problem being that there was no action.I wasn't expecting gory details or anything like that from Quindlen. I've read her before and that is not what she is about. But I expected there to be something to urge me on in my reading and there just wasn't.Likewise, the characters were not vibrant to me. They were all muted and uninteresting. I couldn't connect with them and had a hard time caring about them.Overall, this was not a good reading experience. I would definitely recommend some of Quindlen's other works, but not this one. If you feel compelled to read this novel, check it out from the library.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I used to love Anna Quindlen's columns in Newsweek, and I was excited to pick this book up at a library book sale. The first half of the book is the story of a typical family (if there is such a thing). Mary Beth Latham is a wife and mother of three teenagers. Each has their own triumphs and their own issues. Quindlen captures the daily moments of being a mother beautifully, while at the same time building subtle tension. A string of crimes in their safe suburban neighborhood, an ex-boyfriend who continue to obsess over Latham's daughter, a son who shows signs of depression - these are the things that keep Latham up at night. But I never imagined what tragedy the Lathams would face. Because I had developed a relationship with Mary Beth, I felt her emotions deeply and had to read the rest of the book in small chunks. A book that can evoke that kind of emotion is a good read in my book.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I liked the idea of story, but I have to say, the writing wasn't what I am used to reading from Quindlen. There was too many boring details for such intense subject matter. I was not impressed.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Every Last One by Anna Quindlen is a notable novel. Initially, I thought the introduction of Mary Beth?s life ?before? was a bit drawn out. I kept silently urging the author to get to the point of the story. Then I realized that this was the point. This is a portrait of a loving family, warts and all, with moody kids, tired parents, sniping siblings, loyalty and love. The finely drawn portrayal of this ordinary family when shown in juxtaposition to the ?after? is heartbreaking. It?s almost impossible to read this novel without occasionally feeling a twinge of fear, a cold frightened feeling that this is plausible. This terrible thing could happen to almost any average family. From there, it isn?t a stretch for the reader to wonder if anyone, including themselves could endure and begin to live again.Mary Beth is an interesting character. While it was easy to point a finger at her and say, ?It was right there?how could you NOT see it?? But then I would stop and think, ?Oh wait, I think I?d probably do the same exact thing. If my son was that depressed and on the surface the other kids seemed great, I?d most likely focus myself on the one that appeared to be in the most trouble.? Who wouldn?t? In retrospect, the reader can easily see that clues that lead to the tragedy, but hindsight is always 20/20. Quindlen doesn?t sugar coat Mary Beth and her reactions. We are shown a woman who is devastated by loss, and yet trying to survive and interact in a world where social conventions are observed. She is self-aware and realizes that her pain is not something others are comfortable with after a certain point in time, and she manages to develop a persona of healing long before she begins to heal. Her interactions with the other characters, major and minor unfold in a realistic and affirming fashion.Every Last One was a difficult book to read, mostly because of the uncomfortable nature of the subject. But it was ultimately it was time well spent.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a totally awesome book about a seemingly average family living their lives when unseen tragedy hits them. Ms. Quindlen is one of my favorite authors. She has great skill in describing the ordinary leading to the extraordinary. Very highly recommended.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Very good book. What a twist! Enjoyed listening to it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Slow at first I almost put it down . I'm so glad I didn't and I found that the book really made me think about family life


  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A profoundly thought provoking book that starts out with description of an average American family life. The beginning of the book got me hooked on this family. Then comes the twist which is devastatingly brutal! I almost wanted to stop reading but I’m glad I didn’t. As a mom to 3 children of my own I found myself feeling all of these feels. Great writing, the only reason I knocked a star is because of the overwhelming sadness of it all. Definitely not for everyone!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Up scale mother of 3 lives through tragedy. Though Quindlen's writing is elegant as always somehow this did not come off as her best work. Much of the time the mother seemed whiney rather than sad.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Anna Quindlen is an author I read sight unseen, as it were. I pick up her books and read them without perusing the reviews or the jacket summary, knowing she is a good storyteller and not needing further encouragement. That means that this book ended up taking me by surprise. It seemed like a little slice of life story that might have a grave illness or a case of infidelity that rocked the characters' world. So the brutal murder was unexpected! This is ultimately a story about grief and how to keep living when it seems that all you have lived for is gone. Beautifully and sensitively written, it's a touching and thought-provoking tale. Recommended!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The first hundred pages or so of this book are devoted to describing how ordinary Mary Beth Latham?s life is. The first few pages or so, she describes a day in her ordinary life. She?s the wife of an eye doctor, mother of three children, living in a pretty ordinary (there?s that word again!) town, vaguely located in New England. Then that major act of violence occurs that we?re promised in the book blurb, and her life changes drastically. For the first half of the book, as Mary Beth describes her life, you start to get comfortable with the characters and Mary Beth?s rather bland life. Then, unexpectedly, things change.The novel is not so much about what actually happens as what you do afterwards. After something truly horrific happens, how do you cope? Several of the characters have lost something or someone valuable to them, and each chooses to handle it in a different way. The book is also about how talking about a tragedy, or not talking about it, has an impact upon everyone involved. In fact, by not talking about the Event, there?s a great deal of uncertainty and tension between Mary Beth and her son, only alleviated when they actually sit down together in the presence of another (I?m being really vague here, but I don?t want to give anything away if you haven?t read the book).There are a couple of minor details that don?t quite add up (Mary Beth owns her own business, for example, but she doesn?t seem to have an office or a proper work space). But in the larger scheme of things, all of that is unimportant. The ending seemed to me to be a bit rushed, too inconclusive for me. However, the strength of the book lies in the messages it conveys. This novel?s themes are so powerful and complicated that I?m not sure I can fully express them here. Quindlen?s writing style takes some getting used to: she writes in the present tense, in short, choppy sentences. But be assured that this is a novel that will have you thinking about it long after you?ve put it down. My mom, who loves Anna Quindlen?s books, saw her speak at the Philadelphia Free Library recently, and Quindlen told her that she thought this was her best book. It?s easy to see why.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This story is about a nice family who is visited with tragedy, with only two family members surviving. The relationship between the two who have survived is forever changed. A great story about living and dealing with grief. I recommend this book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I’m not sure why I read this and I’m even more unsure why it was written.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What a heartbreaking tale. I did not know anything about this book other than something horrible happens to the family. The narrator truly makes the story resonate.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Mary Beth Latham is living an almost perfect life. She has a loving husband and three great children. Her daughter, Ruby, is the oldest of the three and about to start her senior year of high school. She is dealing with typical teenage issues: choosing a college, a painful breakup with her boyfriend, and preparing herself for adulthood. Mary Beth?s twin sons, Alex and Max, are facing different issues. Alex has always been the popular and athletic twin and Max has always lived in his brother?s shadow. Mary Beth fears that Max is becoming depressed and begins bringing Max to a therapist for counseling. While focusing on Max and his treatment, Mary Beth and her family suffer a horrific tragedy that no one could have predicted. This is the heart wrenching story of a family?s suffering and recovery from an act so violent that no one is left unscathed. While the subject matter is disturbing, this is ultimately a story of love, loss, and the will to carry on.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wow! I loved this book! Touching and heart-wrenching, this book won't let you put it down. This is a story of love, loss and healing. I highly recommend this book!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I live in a nice town and am surround by similar towns that are a pleasant mix of victorians,colonials,dutch colonials,cape cods and added onto ranchers. All the years I have lived here while driving around,mostly taking the 3 kids places,I have always looked at these houses and wondered who lived there and what were their stories. Was the minutiae of their lives like mine?Thanks to the stellar writing of Ms. Quindlen, reading the first part of Every Last One is as if we are given the gifts of both invisability and mind reading. We are privy to all of Mary Beth's thoughts about her children,husband,the children's friends,her friends and neighbors even the illegals who do her landscaping work for her business. We get vivid descriptions of of her house and conversations held in her kitchen. Mary Beth's house is the house all the kids go to.All of this lulls us into the same upper middle class complacent thinking as Mary Beth's. As the story unfolds I found myself wishing Mary Beth was a much older mom to teens and young adults like me. The post-menopausal anxiety that greets me each dawn is fodder for the imagination of this worst case senario gal. I know that I would have thought of the horrible possibilities that became a reality for Mary Beth. However,then there would be no story for the second half of the book.Ms. Quindlen's handling of Mary Beth's new world is both haunting and hopeful. The subject matter in the second half of the book will make me hesiitate to recommend this book to certain woman friends in my world. For me it was a terrific read. So far it is number 1 of the 17 books I have read in 2010.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    An unimaginable loss handled so lovingly, a tour de force of writing.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Anna Quindlen's latest novel and her own personal favorite, as she stated at the book-signing. This is about a typical family of 5, nice people, a good family with its own strengths and problems, like all others. Quindlen's genius in this book is to let us come to know and care for this family, through the voice of the mother, Mary Beth Latham, before the unimaginable strikes them. The rest of the book is a very real, harrowing and heart-rendering journey to try to come back from the abyss. According to Quindlen, it was every bit as hard to write as it was to read. Filled with memorable characters, dialogue and phrases, this is probably her best work yet.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Mary Beth Latham has built her life around caring for her family. When one of her sons becomes depressed, Mary Beth focuses on him, only to be blindsided by a shocking act of violence. What happpens afterward is a testament to the power of a woman's love and determination.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was absolutely amazing! A+ a must read ! I was hesitant to give it a shot due to the poor reviews but im so glad i did! This is the best book I've read so far from this author.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I give this book five stars. It has stayed with me clearly in the months since I finished it---the characters emerged fully, their situation beautifully drawn. I can't say that about many books. I think this book stands head and shoulders over all Quindlen's others---she has really surpassed herself.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Exquisite, spellbinding, deeply poignant.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I have loved Anna Quindlen since I first discovered her "Living Out Loud" nearly 30 years ago. Once again she brings you into the depths of her characters lives - she is amazing.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Mary Beth loses her family, when her daughter's admirer brutally kills all but one son. This is how she survives and how her remaining son survives.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Really great book ; a story of a not-so-random act of violence that happens to a family which, though happy, have already had it's share of difficult times. The author does a great job of shaping the characters-nearly 3/4 of the book takes place before the tragic event.... So you really have attached to the characters and that makes the shock real to the reader
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I liked the idea of story, but I have to say, the writing wasn't what I am used to reading from Quindlen. There was too many boring details for such intense subject matter. I was not impressed.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Really depressing.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Readers of ?Every Last One? will not be disappointed in Anna Quindlan?s latest novel. Again, she tells the story of a relationship between family members. Here, the story is told by a mother of a family of five. She has three teenagers which include a daughter and twin sons and goes into detail about triumphs and difficulties in each of the family members? relationships with each other, as well as with her daughter?s boyfriend. Anna Quindlan does a wonderful job of making the reader feel like part of the family because it is easy to visualize what it is like, as many of the problems are relatable to most families. The depth of the emotional attachment that I felt to this family in ?Every Last One? compares to the mother-daughter relationship in ?One True Thing? and the mother-son relationship in ?Black and Blue.? However, just when I believed that I knew what this book was about, it sharply turned and became a different story altogether. It then explores how a family works through their pain when their world suddenly becomes turned upside down in an unthinkable way. I would easily rank this book at the top of her list of novels.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I found I could not put this book down. Iwas not prepared for the tragedy that happens in this bookeven tough I had read the cover. The story tells of a mother who faces atragedy with courage and all the emotions that go along with losing loved ones.