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The Most Fun We Ever Had

Now a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

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The Most Fun We Ever Had

By: Claire Lombardo
Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow
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Summary
 REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'A literary love child of Jonathan Franzen and Anne Tyler . . . outstanding and highly enjoyable' Observer
'The Most Fun We Ever Had is as good as books come' Telegraph
'A gripping and poignant ode to a messy, loving family in all its glory' Madeline Miller
'A moving, immersive, often very funny study of family and sisterhood' Sunday Times

MEET THE SORENSON FAMILY:

MARILYN has somehow fallen into motherhood and spent four decades married to
DAVID, who's pretty certain he loves her more than anyone has ever loved another person.
WENDY, their eldest, a cause for concern, soothes herself with drink after being widowed young,
while VIOLET, lawyer-turned-stay-at-home-mother, is disturbed by the reappearance of a son placed for adoption fifteen years earlier.
LIZA, a professor, is pregnant with a baby she's not sure she wants by a man she's not sure she loves
and GRACE, their dawdling youngest daughter, lives a lie that no one in her family suspects.

'I loved this book' Bryony Gordon

'The perfect, engrossing holiday read' RED

'Like Meg Wolitzer. A forensic dissection of family past and present, I loved it. If you like reading about relationships, this one is for you.' Pandora Sykes

'An exploration of the complex tapestry that is family life, full of delights and difficulties' Cosmopolitan

Readers are loving this:
'I adored this book. So wonderfully written I really did connect with every single character. I laughed and cried, so rare for me, but I feel a part of the Sorenson family now' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'It is so rich and deftly written ... A real delight!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'I couldn't put this book down' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'This story was fabulous to read, sometimes I had to deliberately slow down so that it lasted just a little bit longer' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fiction Genre Fiction Parenting & Families Sexual & Reproductive Health
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Critic Reviews

Lombardo's impressive debut is a gripping and poignant ode to a messy, loving family in all its glory. She juggles a huge cast of characters with seeming effortlessness, bringing each to life with humour, vividness and acute psychological insight. (Madeline Miller, author of CIRCE)
If ever there were to be a literary love child of Jonathan Franzen and Anne Tyler, then Claire Lombardo's outstanding debut, which ranges from ebullience to despair by way of caustic but intense familial bonds, would be a worthy offspring...This is a novel epic in scope-emotionally, psychologically and narratively. Combining a broad thematic canvas with impressive emotional nuance, it's an assured and highly enjoyable debut. (Hannah Beckerman)
I cancelled appointments to keep reading this totally gripping portrait of a marriage and the four daughters that it has produced. It is excellent on sisterhood, motherhood, marriage - in fact on all human relationships. Highly, highly recommended.
Beware this book, that will enmesh you in the psychic DNA of this utterly convincingly imagined family. You will encounter characters whose stories you're compelled to follow, you will recognise the bitterest and sweetest tastes of life, you will laugh, and you will want to discuss it with other people. (Possibly not your own family). John Irving has a literary daughter, and her name is Claire Lombardo.
I adored The Most Fun We Ever Had. It is such a shockingly tender and uncannily knowing novel about the reality of long term love and affection, and the sweetness and claustrophobia of relationships between sisters. Lombardo's writing is so elegant - she makes our most complex and fragmented feelings tangible, which is a very rare skill. This book will stay with me forever.
Remarkably alive and wise, Claire Lombardo's story of the Sorensons is a stunning vision - not just of family or love, but the funny, tender mystery of human connection itself, with all its intensity, charm, and wonder.
Claire Lombardo has created a wonderful, subtle and sophisticated portrait of a family. The nuances, the secrets, the triumphs and tragedies light up this narrative with the many ways we love and the unremitting clarity with which we are known by our siblings. Epic and intimate, funny and delicate, this is a best friend of a book: curl up with it and lose yourself in the easy intimacy of the magnetic, loveable and flawed family of Sorensons.
In The Most Fun We Ever Had Claire Lombardo has given us a truly unforgettable American family. The book bristles on every page with intelligence and fierce wit. What a debut! (Richard Russo, Author of EVERYBODY'S FOOL)
All stars
Most relevant
This is a beautifully written piece of work that reads so well and captured my interest from the start. A tale of 2 people who fall in love, start a family and raise 4 children. This might sound boring but read a bit more and each character is unveiled and soon you discover there’s nothing boring about this family at all. I enjoyed this book immensely.

A beautiful tale that encapsulates the intricacies of family life

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To be fair I don’t normally read these types of books. I normally go for murder mystery types. Perhaps that’s why it seemed to go on forever. Nice enough story probably not enough action for what I prefer .

Seemed to drag on but I like suspense

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Enjoyed the story and narration however listened to it on 1.7 speed as it was very slow reading.

Fabulous story of family and life.

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I have enjoyed listening to this book about the intricate relationships within a family & oneself, & the correlation of both. Containing the full rainbow of human emotion. A worthy read.
The reader was easy to listen to & concveyed the story beautifully.

Enjoyable audiobook

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epic story like Pachinko or The Bee Sting. gave the whole family story, revealed bit by bit. great pacing, read so well, it will be hard to move on from this one.

fabulous epic

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