On Helwig Street cover art

On Helwig Street

A Memoir

 Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

On Helwig Street

By: Richard Russo
Narrated by: Richard Russo
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Jean Russo was a single mother in the 1950s, badly paid and living with her parents in Gloversville, New York, a dead-end town whose heyday as the hub of the leather-goods industry was just a distant memory. ‘You are getting out of Gloversville’ was her mantra throughout Richard’s high school years. And when he finally made his intrepid escape from the family home on Helwig Street - fleeing to a far-flung college in a banger nicknamed The Gray Death - Jean saw her chance of a better life elsewhere, and jumped in for the first of many ill-conceived adventures.

But life on the run from home took its toll on them both, and in this captivating memoir Russo describes how childhood segued into adulthood and parenthood in the company of his restless mother, for whom the grass was always greener in the place where she was not. At the same time he recounts with touching honesty how his own contentment and literary success were at odds with her lifelong battle against disillusionment and anxiety - and the siren call of Gloversville.

©2012 Richard Russo (P)2012 Random House AudioGo Biographies & Memoirs
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake cover art
Empire Falls cover art
How to Be a Muslim cover art
The Opposite of Fate cover art
When I Married My Mother cover art
The Body Where I Was Born cover art
Rock Needs River cover art
A Dream Called Home cover art
Love and Fatigue in America cover art
The Art of Vanishing cover art
Navel Gazing cover art
My Dead Parents cover art
My Beloved World cover art
Vacationland cover art
Leviathan cover art
The Counterlife cover art

What listeners say about On Helwig Street

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.co.uk reviews

Amazon reviews
Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for hfffoman

Must-read for Russo fans

I listened to this through duty and interest to know a man who has given me enormous pleasure with his books. The book makes to attempt to offer the sparkle or humour of his novels, and is humdrum in places, at times getting bogged down with endless meetings with realtors as he struggled and agonised over house moves. None of this is helped by the author's somewhat dull narration.

But Russo fans should consider this is an unmissable book. The last third in particular offers wisdom and touching insight.

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!