We All Want Impossible Things
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We All Want Impossible Things
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Narrated by:
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Jane Oppenheimer
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By:
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Catherine Newman
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
The uplifting and moving Richard and Judy Book Club pick.
Edi and Ash have been best friends for over forty years, a bond formed by a lifetime of memories. Since childhood they have seen each other through life's milestones: stealing vodka from their parents, REM concerts, unexpected Scottish wakes, marriages, infertility, children. As Ash notes, "Edi's memory is like the back-up hard drive for mine."
When Edi is diagnosed with the final stages of terminal ovarian cancer, she makes the painstaking decision to leave behind her husband and son to move to a hospice down the road from Ash. Fierce and loving, Ash's world reshapes around the rhythms of Edi's palliative care, from chipped ice and watermelon cubes to music therapy; from inadvisable Pringle-consumption to impromptu excursions out into the frozen Massachusetts winter night.
As the novel winds to its powerful conclusion, We All Want Impossible Things' unforgettable characters and the forcefields of love between them will touch readers to the core, throwing the full panorama - the humour, compassion and absurdity - of not only dying, but also of living, into bold relief.
'Devastatingly humorous and humorously devastating...an unbelievably brilliant and funny book about friendship, family, food, sex, and death. Catherine Newman serves up a masterclass in narrative - you'll stay up late devouring every word.' KATHERINE HEINY
'Nora-Ephron-style wit...comforting, so funny, moving but never mawkish and packed with all kinds of love. It's one of my favourite books ever' MARIAN KEYES
'Dazzling, heart-wrenching, snorty-hilarious...a masterclass on friendship, family love, memory, and the messiness of life, love and dying. An utter joy to read.' RACHEL JOYCE
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What listeners say about We All Want Impossible Things
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lynne Suo
- 03-01-23
Brilliant!
Read with the moving sympathy this book deserves. Highly recommended for everyone who is still breathing. What we need to know before we die. A celebration of individual humanity.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- natasha armstrong
- 14-10-24
Just a beautiful story
The detail and yet simple words of comfort throughout this story just kept me captivated. Such a beautiful story
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- victoria bailey-king
- 27-03-23
A manifesto for friendship
So enjoyable. So much funnier than the synopsis would suggest. Beautiful and poignant. Life affirming.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rebecca Poulter
- 11-02-23
This made me laugh out loud and cry in equal measure
A truly memorable story of friendship, love and just how messy life can be. This will uplift you and make you want to tell all your friends and family just how much you love them.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Victoria
- 10-01-23
A beautiful journey through loss
This was beautifully written. It felt very real and very poignant. I’m not sure what genre it would fit in but wonderful nonetheless.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- SLA
- 24-11-23
Slightly disappointing
I wonder if I might have enjoyed this book more if I’d read it rather than listened to it but I suspect not….disappointing really, particularly after hearing so many good reviews. I just could not warm to the character of Ash at all, I appreciate that she was the narrator of the story but I just could not feel any empathy for her - I found her selfish, possessive & her behaviour so offputting. I hate to not finish books, that was the only thing that kept me going until the end….
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs Natasha Richardson
- 07-02-23
a beautiful, brilliant and sad story
this story is about friendship, marriage, loyalty and family with all its messy, complicated and conflicting emotions experienced while navigating the most profound impending inevitable, grief. The story should be sad and it is, it's heartbreaking, but it's also funny, uplifting and relatable. I would recommend the book/audiobook but I wouldn't recommend listening to the last few chapters while.driving!!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Rosie Tiley
- 11-02-23
Heart warming
I’ll be listening to this a few times over to make sure I fully digest this wonderfully sensitive and honest book
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- An Avid Reader
- 26-01-23
So beautiful
So poignant. Sad & funny and ultimately a life-affirming testimony to love & friendship. Stunningly good narration.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Lorraine Simpson
- 03-12-23
very good
I really liked this book. It's sad but sort of life-affirming at the same time. I thought the reader was just great and really brought the characters to life. There are a couple of negatives. I found myself losing patience a little with the main character. Really, your best friend is dying and you're jealous of another friend? But then that's how we are as people isn't it - we don't always feel things rationally or behave well. So it was very honest. The other negative for me was I felt the last chapter was a bit surplus to requirements. However all in all its good and I would recommend it.
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