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    A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl
    A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl
    A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl
    Audiobook11 hours

    A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl

    Written by Jean Thompson

    Narrated by Cassandra Campbell

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    From National Book Award finalist and the New York Timesbestselling author of The Year We Left Home comes a “powerful, beautifully crafted” (People) family saga about three generations of women who struggle to find freedom and happiness in their small Midwestern college town.

    A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl is a poignant novel about three generations of the Wise family—Evelyn, Laura, and Grace—as they hunt for contentment amid chaos of their own making.

    We see these women and their trials, small and large: social slights and heartbreaks; marital disappointments and infidelities; familial dysfunction; mortality. Spanning from World War II to the present, Thompson reveals a matrilineal love story that is so perfectly grounded in our time—a story of three women regressing, stalling, and yes, evolving, over decades. One of the burning questions she asks is: by serving her family, is a woman destined to repeat the mistakes of previous generations, or can she transcend the expectations of a place, and a time? Can she truly be free?

    Evelyn, Laura, and Grace are the glue that binds their family together. Tethered to their small Midwestern town—by choice or chance—Jean Thompson seamlessly weaves together the stories of the Wise women with humanity and elegance, through their heartbreaks, setbacks, triumphs, and tragedies. “Thompson’s new novel draws the reader in with character and plot…but what ultimately holds the reader enthralled is…her ability to capture the nuance of individual moments, thoughts, and reactions. No one writing today is better at this…[an] extraordinary novel” (Washington Independent Review of Books).
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateOct 23, 2018
    ISBN9781508263043
    Author

    Jean Thompson

    Jean Thompson is a novelist and short story writer. Her works include the novels A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl, She Poured Out Her Heart, The Humanity Project, The Year We Left Home, City Boy, Wide Blue Yonder, The Woman Driver, and My Wisdom and the short story collections The Witch and Other Tales Re-Told, Do Not Deny Me, Throw Like a Girl, Who Do You Love (a National Book Award finalist), Little Face and Other Stories, and The Gasoline Wars. Thompson’s short fiction has been published in many magazines and journals, including the New Yorker, and anthologized in The Best American Short Stories and The Pushcart Prize. Thompson has been the recipient of Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, among other accolades, and has taught creative writing at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Reed College, Northwestern University, and other colleges and universities. She lives in Urbana, Illinois.

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    Reviews for A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl

    3.5/5

    29 ratings4 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I suppose anyone who is a daughter, or a mother, or has lost a mother, will be able to find something to relate to in this book. I know I did. It is true that women have always been the glue that holds a family together, sometimes joyfully, other times not so much. This is the story of 3 generations of unhappy, dissatisfied, women who did the best they could with the hand they were dealt, and lived as best they could with the choices they made. It was not exactly a tear jerker although it was depressing at times. I wanted to remind each of these women that life is what you make of it. I wish someone had done that for them.

      I received an advance copy for review.
    • 4/5
      Usually I'm not fond of contemporary stories featuring dysfunctional families; however, I did get pulled into this one. Focusing on three women -- the grandmother, Evelyn, who gave up hopes of becoming a professor; Laura, the daughter, whose marriage to a cold husband put her in the center of constant conflict; and Grace, the granddaughter, who is determined to be different than her mother and grandmother. The majority of the story is told by Laura and Grace. Laura is the enabler constantly smoothing problems between her husband and son, Michael, who is addicted to drugs and is a struggling musician. The family treat Laura horribly until she get cancer when all gather round and support her. Grace finds herself soon taking the place of her mother in between the arguments of father and son. Her affair with an older weird man didn't seem necessary to me; however, I hung in there.The ending of the book is sad, but very believable. None of the characters are especially likable, but the writing is good and the entire plot is
    • 3/5
      2.5 I had a very negative reaction to this story. Don't get me wrong, the writing is extremely well done, but the book was just so, well for me, a Debbie downer. Three generations of women, unhappy families to the extreme. Nary a glimpse of joy. Never connected with the chsrscters, so I didn't feel sorry for the as did my wonderful reading partners, Esil and Angela. To me, they were like cardboard characters, so obvious and stereotypical. Unhappy, martyr like women, drugs alcohol, infidelity, surprise pregancies and illness. What more could be thrown in? There were a few surprises near the end, and even a glimpse of hope that this cycle could be broken. I just had a hard time absorbing this much unhappiness. I loved her previous book, and will read her next because she is a fine writer. Plus, not everyone reacts the same way to a story, and you may be in s completely different reading mood. Best that in mind.ARC from Netgalley.
    • 4/5
      Women hold a family together. They plan the social activities and family gatherings, act as a buffer between butting heads, ease the high emotions of family conflict, and provide the meals for the family table that brings generations together.It is not an easy job, or an easy life. Especially in families afflicted with personality disorders, addictions, mental illness, anger issues, conflict--or even with the usual garden variety issues common to all families.A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl by Jean Thompson is about three generations of women who have struggled with holding the family together even when their personal dreams are sacrificed for their family. The characters, Evelyn, Laura, and Grace, are vital and distinct while recalling to mind our own mothers and daughters. It is a heartbreaking story that spans from WWII to the present, each generation of women hoping to find self-fulfillment and true love yet putting the interests of others first. Each woman who reads this novel must ask herself in what way has she repeated her mother's life, in what ways has she sacrificed her dreams, and if it was worth it in the end. And do we make these choices out of societal or familial expectation or out of the love we have for our children? I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.