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    Mary and O'Neil
    Unavailable
    Mary and O'Neil
    Unavailable
    Mary and O'Neil
    Audiobook8 hours

    Mary and O'Neil

    Written by Justin Cronin

    Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Mary and O'Neil frequently marveled at how, of all the lives they might have led, they had somehow found this one together. When they met at the Philadelphia high school where they'd come to teach, each had suffered a profound loss that had not healed. How likely was it that they could learn to trust, much less love, again?

    Justin Cronin's poignant debut traces the lives of Mary Olson and O'Neil Burke, two vulnerable young teachers who rediscover in each other a world alive with promise and hope. From the formative experiences of their early adulthood to marriage, parenthood, and beyond, this novel in stories illuminates the moments of grace that enable Mary and O'Neil to make peace with the deep emotional legacies that haunt them: the sudden, mysterious death of O'Neil's parents, Mary's long-ago decision to end a pregnancy, O'Neil's sister's battle with illness and a troubled marriage. Alive with magical nuance and unexpected encounters, Mary and O'Neil celebrates the uncommon in common lives, and the redemptive power of love.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMar 12, 2013
    ISBN9780804126656
    Unavailable
    Mary and O'Neil

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    Reviews for Mary and O'Neil

    4/5

    74 ratings5 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The oddly-named O'Neil is the the center of these inter-linked stories. Justin Cronin describes the challenges and joys of this normal life as he advances from adolescence to maturity. The narrative of O'Neil's life is told beautifully by a very talented writer. Life's inevitable tragedies, regrets, joys and life-changing moments are told with a remarkable conveyance of understanding and empathy.
    • 4/5
      Justin Cronin has an exquisite command of language, nuance and ability to evoke emotional involvement.
    • 4/5
      Somewhere between linked stories and a novel, it's an exploration of a family dealing with the curves life throws at them. Pretty well written but seemed to rely on dreams and extreme physical crises overly much.
    • 4/5
      Linked stories, mostly about the oddly-named O'Neil Burke and his family, and the woman he marries, Mary. Despite the title, the relationship between the title characters is not fleshed out very well. We don't see them meet, nor spend much time together. But there are two sections about their getting pregnant, and going into labor. Most of the time, there's an emotional distancing between the narrator and the story, I felt. The relationship between O'Neil and his parents was handled very well, and was the strongest part of the book, for me. Cronin has an impressive understanding of what it's like to be a parent facing the empty nest stage (which I am just beginning to experience). There is emotional truth here without sentimentality. I hope he comes back to writing serious fiction once he's made a bunch of money selling Stephen King knock-offs. He's a great writer. (Cronin, not King.)
    • 5/5
      Eight stories of elegant and soulful writing and linked either by Mary, O'neil or both. Best book so far in 2010