Blue Shoe

Name: Blue Shoe
Brand: Penguin Random House
Availability: InStock
Author: Anne Lamott
ISBN: 9780593149843

Author: Anne Lamott

Narrator: Laural Merlington

Unabridged: 9 hr 48 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 05/07/2019

Categories: Fiction, Family Life, Women

Synopsis

The New York Times Bestseller from the beloved author of Bird by Bird, Hallelujah Anyway, and Almost EverythingMattie Ryder is marvelously neurotic, well-intentioned, funny, religious, sarcastic, tender, angry, and broke. Her life at the moment is a wreck: her marriage has failed, her mother is failing, her house is rotting, her waist is expanding, her children are misbehaving, and she has a crush on a married man. Then she finds a small rubber blue shoe—nothing more than a gumball trinket—left behind by her father. For Mattie, it becomes a talisman—a chance to recognize the past for what it was, to see the future as she always hoped it could be, and to finally understand her family, herself, and the ever-unfolding mystery of her sweet, sad, and sometimes surprising life.

About The Author

Anne Lamott is the New York Times bestselling author of Help, Thanks, Wow; Small Victories; Stitches; Some Assembly Required; Grace (Eventually); Plan B; Traveling Mercies; Bird by Bird; Operating Instructions, and the forthcoming Hallelujah Anyway. She is also the author of several novels, including Imperfect Birds and Rosie. A past recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and an inductee to the California Hall of Fame, she lives in Northern California.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jeff on November 03, 2008

Oh my, oh my, oh my! I really don't know what to say about this book except ... oh my, oh my, oh my! Anne Lamott is such an incredibly talented and honest writer, but this is a big unwieldy mess of a book. There are little gems in the writing, in the characterizations, and in the telling of this nove......more

Goodreads review by Sylvia on February 26, 2015

I read some reviews that were barely one star for this book. I am giving this book five stars because the writing craft is extraordinary! Period. This is my first Anne Lamott book. I had heard of her but had never read anything of hers. After finding it at Goodwill, where many gems are donated by ot......more

Goodreads review by Christopher on August 29, 2018

This was a weird book! I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either. I found it interesting at times but mostly the main characters were just so blah!! I was lost on the time period of this story. None of what the author wrote lined up. I could never figure out entire sequences of the book and that’......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on May 08, 2013

I wanted to like this book club selection but I found it too depressing and boring to finish. Here are a few comments from what I did read. Mattie Ryder is recently divorced with two young children. Somehow she makes a living from modeling size 12 clothing for Sears? She's depressed from her divorce,......more

Goodreads review by Sharlene on April 03, 2009

Many times while reading this book I asked myself why I didn't just stop and start something I might like better. As it was recommended by a friend, I remained hopeful that there would be some redeeming value to the story. Please--at least give me protagonist that exemplifies some values and good ju......more

Quotes

"Messy, brave and weirdly lovable...a substantial literary pleasure.”—New York Times Book Review"Moving and funny, fetchingly irreverent and soulful, Blue Shoe is an absolute joy."—Chicago Sun-Times”Everybody loves Anne Lamott...[she] writes with an emotional shorthand that’s instantly decipherable and funny to anyone who’s had children—or parents.”—The Christian Science Monitor"Irresistible...Lamott has created a work full of shaggy, truthful charm."—San Francisco Chronicle”Glorious...After reading Blue Shoe, you feel as if you had sat on the kitchen floor and talked with the author late into the night about your mothers, your bodies, your lovers, and God. And that, in a nutshell, is the minor miracle of Lamott’s writing.”—The Atlanta Journal Constitution”Philosophical, honest, and poignant, Lamott writes about real life and how it goes on, through good and through bad.”—Boston Herald”The novel’s effect on the reader is profoundly springlike: It is tonic.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune"Anyone who's ever had a heartache—or a family—will relate to Anne Lamott's poignant novels."—Rosie Magazine"Blue Shoe is a gift you will want to give yourself."—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Awards

San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year