The Life List of Adrian Mandrick, Chris White
The Life List of Adrian Mandrick, Chris White
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

The Life List of Adrian Mandrick

Author: Chris White

Narrator: David Aaron Baker

Unabridged: 8 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 04/17/2018


Synopsis

H Is for Hawk meets Grief Is the Thing with Feathers in this evocative debut novel about a pill-popping anesthesiologist and avid birder who embarks on a quest to find one of the world's rarest species, allowing nothing to get in his way-until he's forced to confront his obsessions and what they've cost him. Anesthesiologist Adrian Mandrick is filled with contradictory impulses. He wants to be a good husband to his wife and a good father to his children; he wants to forgive his once-beloved mother for the crime she committed and the long lost father who accused her. But when he receives a call from his mother after years of silence, he takes solace in the very pain medication he prescribes, spiraling downward into addiction. His sole source of true comfort is his "life list"-the all-encompassing record of the 863 bird species he's spotted and identified. His is the third longest list in all of North America. But when Henry Lassiter, the legendary birder who held the region's second longest list, dies suddenly, Adrian seizes the opportunity to make his way to the very top. A desperate search for the extremely rare Ivory-billed Woodpecker eventually leaves him stranded in the thick swamplands of Florida's panhandle, where he is forced to confront his past and present failures, to reflect on what his obsessions and addictions have cost him, and to question what is truly important in his life. Combining wry humor and mystery with environmental adventure, The Life List of Adrian Mandrick is a fast-paced, engaging story that heralds the arrival of a new literary talent.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Stephanie on April 23, 2018

Thanks to Touchstone for sending me a copy to review! This was a thoroughly enjoyable, completely fresh read - I mean, who has ever read a novel about birding before? Adrian Mandrick, our main character, is a pill popping anesthesiologist. He's also a life long birder, and holds an impressive life li......more

Goodreads review by Tamara on October 02, 2018

Love this book! Such an original story and characters. His writing kept me interested all the way through.......more

Goodreads review by Alison on April 28, 2018

I liked this book a lot and the authors style of writing. It is a book about family, addiction, and birding. The main character Adrian, is an anesthesiologist, who loves his family, who is a big time birder trying to find one elusive bird for his list, but who also has a problem with pills. The stor......more

Goodreads review by Julie on August 04, 2018

I'd actually rate this one 3.5, but I'm feeling generous this morning, and I really did enjoy it overall. Chris White is clearly a gifted writer - crisp, vivid, interesting. And I am a birder with a special fondness for woodpeckers, so I was happy to follow Adrian Mandrick along on his quest. Poor A......more

Goodreads review by Sobana on July 11, 2018

Being a grad student I haven't read a new book in a while. But I got to know about this book from one of my birding groups and I was intrigued. It gave me the extra nudge I needed to read the book. Beautifully written, the book talks about a man's life as he goes through drug addiction, denial and a......more