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Title details for You Only Call When You're in Trouble by Stephen McCauley - Available

You Only Call When You're in Trouble

A Novel

by Stephen McCauley
André Santana
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available

"André Santana's impressive narration deals with one family's contemporary problems...As one crisis bleeds into another, Santana's cool performance and objective distance make this entertaining listening."—AudioFile
"I don't think I will find a book I love more this year."
—Jane Green, New York Times bestselling author
"Funny, poignant, joyous, explosive, but most of all affirming of our connections to one another. You Only Call When You're in Trouble is a book to cherish. A book that loves you back. What more could you want, my gosh? Read it!"
—Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less Is Lost
Is it ever okay to stop caring for others and start living for yourself?
After a lifetime of taking care of his impossible but irresistible sister and his cherished niece, Tom is ready to put himself first. An architect specializing in tiny houses, he finally has an opportunity to build his masterpiece—"his last shot at leaving a footprint on the dying planet." Assuming, that is, he can stick to his resolution to keep the demands of his needy family at bay.
Naturally, that's when his phone rings. His niece, Cecily—the real love of Tom's life, as his boyfriend reminded him when moving out—is embroiled in a Title IX investigation at the college where she teaches that threatens her career and relationship. And after decades of lying, his sister wants him to help her tell Cecily the real identity of her father.
Tom does what he's always done—answers the call. Thus begins a journey that will change everyone's life and demonstrate the beauty or dysfunction (or both?) of the ties that bind families together and sometimes strangle them.
Warm, funny, and deeply moving, You Only Call When You're in Trouble is an unforgettable showcase for Stephen McCauley's distinctive voice and unique ability to create complex characters that jump off the page and straight into your heart.
A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 9, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781250911148
      • File size: 342556 KB
      • Duration: 11:53:39

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 11, 2023
      In McCauley’s entertaining if overlong family saga (after My Ex-Life), a 30-something Chicago professor reckons with personal drama amid a professional crisis. Cecily, the subject of a Title IX case involving a student named Lee, receives an invitation from her mother Dorothy to visit her in Woodstock, N.Y. (Dorothy has attempted to lure Cecily by saying she’s finally ready to share the truth about Cecily’s paternity.) On the way, Cecily sees her uncle Tom, Dorothy’s brother, an architect and a surrogate father figure who looked out for Cecily when she was growing up with a single mother. Although Tom is struggling from a recent breakup and being forced to compromise on his newest architectural design, he welcomes her in Boston. Cecily happens to run into Lee at the airport, and Lee, who’s fixated on Cecily, claims that she wasn’t the one who lodged the complaint. Eventually, the story winds its way to Woodstock, where Dorothy makes some late-breaking yet unsurprising revelations. The dialogue is breezy, and Tom and Cecily are rendered dynamically, but McCauley loses focus in the overstuffed plot. This has its moments, but it’s not the author’s best.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Andr� Santana's impressive narration deals with one family's contemporary problems. Cecily, a college instructor, is currently under investigation for sexual misconduct with a student. Her manic mother, Dorothy, is trying to get her life on track with the assistance of a self-help guru by opening a spiritual retreat in Woodstock, New York. And her Uncle Tom is so obsessed with Cecily's well-being that his longtime partner has left him. When Dorothy invites Cecily to the opening of the retreat, all the dysfunction in the family comes to a head. The author's snarky comments about Woodstock, self-help retreats, and academia are delivered with nonjudgmental evenness. As one crisis bleeds into another, Santana's cool performance and objective distance make this entertaining listening. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      May 31, 2024

      Tom is finally ready to focus on himself and his dream of building his own tiny house. That is, until his niece Cecily, the love of his life, according to his ex-boyfriend, calls needing his help. Cecily finds herself at the center of a Title IX investigation that threatens her career and her relationship. To top it all off, Tom's sister Dorothy has just decided to reveal the identity of Cecily's father. Once again, Tom puts his dreams on the back burner, answers the call, and helps his family, uncovering the beauty and dysfunction that unite them. McCauley's (My Ex-Life) new family drama is one steeped in love, dysfunction, and forgiveness. Andr� Santana narrates Tom, Cecily, and Dorothy with care, bringing out the humor and heart of the novel's occasionally blundering but appealing characters. His narration highlights the tenderness and frustration of being the reliable family member who always helps pick up the pieces, even as one's own world is falling apart. VERDICT A delightfully messy family drama for fans of Steven Rowley's The Celebrants or Charlotte Mendelson's The Exhibitionist.--Elyssa Everling

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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