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  • Something That Cannot Die

  • By: Paula McLain
  • Narrated by: Cynthia Nixon
  • Length: 1 hr and 22 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (14 ratings)

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Something That Cannot Die cover art

Something That Cannot Die

By: Paula McLain
Narrated by: Cynthia Nixon
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Publisher's Summary

A powerful and revealing story about Georgia O’Keeffe, torn between the city that made her and the desert that promises to set her free, written by Paula McLain, the New York Times best-selling author of The Paris Wife and the forthcoming When the Stars Go Dark, and performed by Emmy Award-winning actress Cynthia Nixon.

It’s 1929 in New York City. In an apartment high above Lexington Avenue, the painter Georgia O’Keeffe feels stuck. At 42, she should be at the apex of her powers as an artist, and yet something is missing. Her husband - the gallerist Alfred Stieglitz, who helped build her reputation in the art world - has grown needy and insecure, not to mention unfaithful. More than this, her work has lost its fire, and she knows it. The calla lilies and poppies for which she is revered now seem careful, predictable. Feeling desperate and conflicted, Georgia flees to New Mexico in search of something that will ignite her once again. There, she meets an adventurous young woman whose energy and optimism take hold of Georgia and show her a glimpse of what another kind of life - one of her own making - might look like.

Set against the transcendent desert landscapes of New Mexico, and brought to life by a beloved voice and contemporary master of historical fiction, Something That Cannot Die is an intimate portrait of a great artist and the adventures - both physical and spiritual - that moved and changed her.

©2020 Paula McLain (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.

What listeners say about Something That Cannot Die

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Brief insight into Georgia O’Keefe was great!

Artist Georgia O’Keefe is frustrated by her latest lacklustre exhibition, the claustrophobia of New York City, and her ailing, cheating husband. In 1929, despite his protestations, she leaves him and New York for the wild, vivid deserts of New Mexico where she finds the freedom and inspiration for the stark works that cemented her place as the Mother of American Modernism. This short fictionalised account of O’Keefe’s joyful experiences in New Mexico was good for the soul, providing insights into O’Keefe’s mindset and tackling feminist themes. I’ve always admired Cynthia Nixon so I knew I’d enjoy her audio narration - I loved it and I smiled the whole time.

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Well done

This was a short story I felt could’ve gone longer I felt like I was left hanging for the next piece. But I wasn’t intrigued, the writing was brilliant and the narration was awesome.

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