Listener, The, Rachel Basch
Listener, The, Rachel Basch
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Listener, The
A Novel

Author: Rachel Basch

Narrator: Robert Fass

Unabridged: 8 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/09/2019

Synopsis

Malcolm Dowd is almost positive he recognizes the freshman who shows up for a session at his office in Baxter Colleges Center for Behavioral Healthhe just cant place her. When suddenly she stands, takes off her wig, and reveals herself as Noah, the young man Malcolm had been treating months earlier, it marks the start of a relationship that will change them both. After losing his wife at a young age, Malcolm dedicated himself to giving his two daughters the stable, predictable childhood he never had. But now nothing is predictablenot his young-adult daughters, not himself, and certainly not Noah. Whether hes attending class or rehearsing for the campus musical, Noah finds hes often challenging everyones definition of gender. During the course of one semester, Noahs and Malcolms lives become entwined in ways neither could ever have imagined. Told alternately from Malcolms and Noahs perspectives, The Listener explores the ways in which we conceal and reveal our identities. As truth after truth is exposed, characters are forced to reconsider themselves and reorder their lives, with few easy answers to be found for anyone. The Listener is, ultimately, about the power of human connection and the many shapes that love can take.

About Rachel Basch

Rachel Basch is an author and teacher, as well as the recipient of the William Van Wert Memorial Fiction Award. She has reviewed books for The Washington Post, and her nonfiction has appeared in Parenting and The Huffington Post. When not writing, she can be found teaching in Fairfield University's MFA Program or in the Graduate Liberal Studies Program at Wesleyan University. She currently resides in Connecticut.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Scott on May 12, 2015

Rachel Basch's novel "The Listener" is a heartfelt, empathetic, intelligent novel that tackles many issues, mainly having to do with gender identity and sexuality. Her protagonist is a psychologist who provides talk therapy on a college campus---the "listener" of the title. It is a good novel but sh......more

Goodreads review by Sonya on April 06, 2015

Rachel Basch's writing engages both my heart and my mind in equal measure. I loved The Passion of Reverend Nash not only for its plot but for its layered presentation of spiritual issues, and her new book did not disappoint. In fact, while the novel itself is quite compact, the story itself has spra......more

Goodreads review by Justin on April 05, 2015

This novel is about our interpersonal relationships, how we love, how we lie, how we discover who we are in how we relate to others. The premise of two unlikely individuals connecting through a therapeutic relationship epitomizes how anyone can find and experience humanity in another person. Malcolm......more

Goodreads review by Mom2nine on January 17, 2015

Malcolm is a family therapist who works a couple of days a week at the local college. As story unfolds, we learn that Malcolm is a widower who has 19 and 23yr. old daughters. Story is based on relationships, particularly between parents and children, who are no longer children. I have a few children......more

Goodreads review by Jon on July 09, 2015

The Listener is a well-written story of different individuals seeking acceptance. Acceptance is more than from others, although this is a part of the need; acceptance comes from within too. The Listener shows the power of empathy in other lives... judgment is harsh at times but empathy opens us to a......more

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