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Back When We Were Grownups: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.00) - 8,876 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
"Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered that she had turned into the wrong person." So Anne Tyler opens this irresistible new novel. The woman is Rebecca Davitch, a fifty-three-year-old grandmother. Is she an impostor in her own life? she asks herself. Is it indeed her own life? Or is it someone else’s? On the surface, Beck, as she is known to the Davitch clan, is outgoing, joyous, a natural celebrator. Giving parties is, after all, her vocation—something she slipped into even before finishing college, when Joe Davitch spotted her at an engagement party in his family’s crumbling nineteenth-century Baltimore row house, where giving parties was the family business. What caught his fancy was that she seemed to be having such a wonderful time. Soon this large-spirited older man, a divorcé with three little girls, swept her into his orbit, and before she knew it she was embracing his extended family plus a child of their own, and hosting endless parties in the ornate, high-ceilinged rooms of The Open Arms. Now, some thirty years later, after presiding over a disastrous family picnic, Rebecca is caught un-awares by the question of who she really is. How she answers it—how she tries to recover her girlhood self, that dignified grownup she had once been—is the story told in this beguiling, funny, and deeply moving novel. As always with Anne Tyler’s novels, once we enter her world it is hard to leave. But in Back When We Were Grownups she so sharpens our perceptions and awakens so many untapped feelings that we come away not only refreshed and delighted, but also infinitely wiser.
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"Tyler's prose is lovely, and she has a rare insight that allows her to portray this large, quirky, borderline-dysfunctional family with warmth and humor despite the fact that the majority of the characters are not particularly likable. "
— Kayleigh (4 out of 5 stars)
Back When We Were Grownups Listener Reviews
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" It was much darker than I expected ans somewhat depressing "
— Brittany, 2/11/2014 -
" Whenever I read Anne Tyler, I know I'm not alone in the world. Her characters are people who could live next door to me or anyone - or could be me. Such wonderfully expressed emotions. The oxymoron that no one really knows who you are, except that maybe everyone really does know you. The elusive search for who you are and are you living the life you want. "
— Aimee, 2/8/2014 -
" Beautifully written book, but like most Anne Tlyer books, it is character-driven and not particularly action-packed. I wasn't thrilled with the ending, but I didn't hate it either. Worth reading. "
— Laurie, 1/29/2014 -
" Enjoyable, quirky characters. Not a lot of plot action, but then again this Anne Tyler. "
— bibliohead, 1/29/2014 -
" read it in a day. soo good. soo reflective of life. "
— Emily, 1/18/2014 -
" good read... a bit sad, women looks back on her life on the path not taken, only to find out that the path was exactly what she knew all along. "
— Katie, 11/18/2013 -
" I loved the book and I loved the movie with Blythe Danner, Peter Fonda and Jack Palance. Great and warm book. "
— Anna, 11/8/2013 -
" I love Anne Tyler's observations about ordinary people. It really had me wondering about the 'what ifs' in life. "
— Rachael, 10/28/2013 -
" This book was recommended to me and I'm still not sure if I really liked it. Makes you think about your life. "
— Alex, 10/15/2013 -
" This book is beautiful. What I think is the most interesting is the fact that we all look back on our lives and wonder if we had done this or that - would it have turned out better. This better contemplates this question. "
— Melaniedk, 9/23/2013 -
" I can see why so many read her. This story grabs you from the beginning if you have ever questioned how your life got where it is today and how it does or does not fit with who you thought you would be. "
— Donna, 9/5/2013 -
" What a great book. Funny, sad and much more and oddly similar to many families I have no doubt. "
— Ashlee, 9/5/2013 -
" A 52 year old widow is trying to figure out how she ended up in her position in life. She is dealing with her family business, her kids, grandkids & elderly uncle all on her own. A little too everyday nit natting for me. "
— Mary, 5/3/2013 -
" Typical Anne Tyler fare here...a woman who realizes that she has lost herself amongst the host of quirky characters who surround her everyday life. OK, I get it! However, this book just did not get "it" as it chugged along with NO surprises what-so-ever. Dare I say Anne is getting formulatic??? "
— Maria, 10/1/2012 -
" I really enjoyed this - left me smiling. "
— Nancylouu, 9/30/2012 -
" I've read 8 Anne Tyler's novels and she never lets me down. This one and The Accidental Tourist are my favorites. "
— Steve, 11/29/2011 -
" Not necessarily a page turner but a very interesting idea played out through likable characters and a very well written story. "
— Erin, 6/29/2011 -
" Read this while on vacation - a quick read and pretty enjoyable. "
— Jessica, 6/29/2011 -
" Good, quick, riding-in-the-car read. Nice little story with a l good leave. "
— Cally, 6/25/2011 -
" I don't know what it is about Anne Tyler, but I find her characters and the way she writes fascinating. "
— Jennifer, 6/11/2011 -
" Anne Tyler's characters are so different, but I remember them. "
— Susan, 5/26/2011 -
" Anne Tyler is a wonderfully descriptive writer, and her characters are so unforgettable... I just wish she hadn't left the reader wondering how Rebecca will answer the questions about her life. The ending was kind of abrupt and unsatisfying. "
— Kathleen, 5/25/2011 -
" things don't turn out how we planned but how they are supposed to "
— Julie, 5/4/2011 -
" A good "plane and vacation book". I enjoyed it. Family life isn't always how you think it should be. "
— Carol, 5/4/2011 -
" Kind of a second chance at life novel focusing on Rebecca Davitch who begins with feeling she has turned into "the wrong person." Peopled with the quirky Baltimore folks one expects from Tyler, the book is quite entertaining. "
— Barbara, 4/10/2011 -
" I felt that the characters were contrived and the plot was lacking. "
— Alicia, 4/7/2011
About Anne Tyler
Anne Tyler is an American novelist, short-story writer, and literary critic and considered a major figure in American literature. Her novels have earned a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, Amabassador Book Award, London Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence, among other awards, and several have been New York Times bestsellers. Her novel The Accidental Tourist was made into an Academy Award-winning motion picture in 1988. She was was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, and now lives in Baltimore, Maryland, where many of her books are set. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
About Blair Brown
Blair Brown is an award-winning narrator and a Tony Award–winning actor. Besides earning several AudioFile Earphones Award, she received the prestigious Audie Award for Best Fiction Narration in 2020. She has appeared on Broadway, in film, and on television in numerous miniseries and TV movies and received five Emmy Award nominations for her starring role in The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd.