The Scenic Route, Binnie Kirshenbaum
The Scenic Route, Binnie Kirshenbaum
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The Scenic Route
A Novel

Author: Binnie Kirshenbaum

Narrator: Gwen Hughes

Unabridged: 8 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 02/08/2012

Categories: Fiction


Synopsis

Sylvia is a forty two year old woman who is trying to make sense of her present using the only tool she has--her past. She must apologize to her best friend Ruby for what she has done, or failed to do, in their friendship. And so she begins the apology at the beginning of her love story with Henry, whom she met at a cafe in Europe, where she had fled following her (entirely reasonable) divorce. She and Henry begin an old fashioned, romantic tour of the Continent, putting to use Henry’s talent for finding a gem of a bistro or cafe for every meal as well as Henry’s generous budget from his estranged wife. Their deliciously hedonistic love affair is juxtaposed with Sylvia’s vivid memories of her soulmate parents, her calculating brother and his wife, and all the ancestors who have come before them.As ever in Kirshenbaum’s work, themes of love, self, ritual, faith, friendship, and family weave throughout the novel. Her consideration and care for the fate of her characters is deep, but her narrative is never without humor. Whether remembering a dateless prom night, or the lost friend who “went Navaho”, Kirshenbaum’s writing never fails to be poignant, fresh, and hilarious.

About Binnie Kirshenbaum

Binnie Kirshenbaum is the author of An Almost Perfect Moment, On Mermaid Avenue, A Disturbance in One Place, Pure Poetry, Hester Among the Ruins, and History on a Personal Note. She is a professor at Columbia University's School of the Arts, where she is chair of the Graduate Writing Program.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Angie on October 07, 2010

I loved how the format of this novel reflects its overarching theme. The book meanders through time (literally taking "the scenic route," just as the two main characters take the scenic route through Europe). Along the way, pieces of the past are revealed through flashbacks in seemingly random order......more

Goodreads review by Lurdes on January 26, 2014

When I read reviews like "witty and poignant," "a brilliant creation," and "a most virtuoso performance," my interest is peaked and I give a book try. Review fail. Kirshenbaum's protagonist is hardly witty -- in a rambling narrative filled with non sequiturs, she loses her job, travels Europe and ta......more

Goodreads review by Ron on November 27, 2013

Binnie Kirshenbaum's new novel looks like another year in Provence or another romance baked under the Tuscan sun. It begins with a recession fantasy: A middle-age, divorced woman gets laid off but uses her severance money for a trip to Italy. There, as usually happens, she strikes up a conversation......more

Goodreads review by Debra on July 30, 2023

2.4 This book lacks a definite purpose. It meanders physically across Europe and winds through an emotional journey of the baggage of life. The title is apt but disappointing in it’s follow through. I was excited to travel through Italy but each stop is barely mentioned let alone described. It is al......more

Goodreads review by Lisa on February 28, 2024

Brutal to finish this one.......more