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Based Upon Availability (Abridged): A Novel Audiobook
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(2.05) - 166 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
“Like a beautifully-wrapped gift box, full of unexpected pleasures. Alix Strauss proves herself to be an astute and deeply feeling observer of human nature.”
—Dani Shapiro, author of Black & White
A stunning, wise, and witty second novel from renowned trend journalist Alix Strauss, Based Upon Availability chisels away at the exteriors of eight smart and intriguing women while delving deep inside to see what they’re truly made of. Following her Ingram Award-winning The Joy of Funerals—named Best Debut Novel by The New York Resident—Based Upon Availability is women’s literary fiction at its finest.
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"I'm normally not a huge fan of books with more than one main character from whom the perspective rotates, especially one with 4-5 characters... but these characters were all so intertwined, and the closeness of which they were tied together was revealed the more you read. It was hard to put down! I loved it."
— Emily (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Strauss is a sharp-eyed accountant of the fleeting moments that wound us.”
— Elle -
“A sort of literary Six Feet Under, this collection of dark and sometimes surprisingly buoyant stories examines the fascination some people have with death as a way to find love and connection.”
— Glamour -
“Strauss has a knack for inserting the kinds of surprises that shock but also strengthen the impact of the novel.”
— Baltimore Morning Sun -
“Thérèse Plummer’s performance is deft…Engrossing.”
— AudioFile -
“Strauss’ stellar first novel chronicles the loneliness of New Yorkers loosely connected by the swanky Four Seasons hotel…Quite sublime.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Mesmerizing…Lonely and longing to be otherwise, the characters in this moving novel are achingly sympathetic, their plights eminently relatable.”
— Booklist (starred review) -
“There’s a story behind every room at Manhattan’s famed Four Seasons hotel, and Alix Strauss weaves them together in a dark and complicated tapestry. Every character has a secret and nothing is what it seems.”
— Shari Goldhagen, author of Family and Other Accidents
Based Upon Availability Listener Reviews
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" More a book of short stories than a novel, this one never comes together. Disjointed. "
— Judith, 2/13/2014 -
" I liked the way the individual stories intertwined in this book but found some of the stories quite disturbing which is probably typical of mental illness but not something I typically read and did not expect in a book about the Four Seasons! It was sad and humbling to watch these women painfully live their lives. It was almost painful to read about how broken these people were, to see them caught in lives that had no meaning. "
— Allyson, 1/23/2014 -
" This was a pretty good book. It was the debut novel for the author, and she has a really interesting, easy voice. I'd look for her next one. As a note, apparently she also wrote a nonfiction book on celebrity suicides...that should be interesting! "
— Christa, 1/12/2014 -
" Started off good but didn't keep up with itself. Cool concept but didn't quite pull it off. "
— Angie, 12/24/2013 -
" The premise of this book is promising but somehow it just comes off as jarring, disjointed & disturbing. The characters were all draining. Could have been so much better. Oddly, the copy I read had numberous grammatical & spelling errors. "
— Nancy, 11/14/2013 -
" The writing in this was lovely and the concept was pretty cool. I gave it 4 stars more for style than for substance; some of the sibling stuff, in particular, was heavy-handed. The front end was better than the back end. Still, totally not a waste of time and I may look for Strauss's non-fiction. "
— Jenn, 10/11/2012 -
" This book was strange and sad but a fairly interesting read. "
— Sheelagh, 10/6/2012 -
" Good book but the characters were a tad depressing. "
— Michelle, 10/11/2011 -
" While this book was overall interesting, I did not like how the stories did not have any closure. It made me wishing there was more, but was disappointed when I found there was none "
— Karyn, 3/18/2011 -
" a waste of a beach day! the characters were all WAY too out there to be relatable...found myself skimming often. "
— Jenny, 7/15/2010 -
" The characters in this book were some of the most unlikable that I have come across in a while. The weaving together of storylines was interesting, but I just couldn't get to the point where I really cared. "
— Stephanie, 6/25/2010
About Alix Strauss
A media savvy social satirist, Alix Strauss has been a featured lifestyle and trend writer on national morning and talk shows including ABC, CBS, CNN, and the Today show. Her articles, which have appeared in the New York Times, New York Post, Time Magazine, Marie Claire, Entertainment Weekly and Self, among others, cover a range of topics from trends in beauty, travel, and food to celebrity interviews. She is the author of the award winning short story collection The Joy of Funerals, Death Becomes Them: Unearthing the Suicides of the Brilliant, the Famous, and the Notorious, and the soon-to-be-released Based Upon Availability. She is also the editor of Have I Got a Guy for You, an anthology of mother coordinated dating horror stories.
About Thérèse Plummer
Thérèse Plummer is an actor, award-winning voice-over artist, and counselor. She has won eighteen AudioFile Earphones Awards and has been a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She has appeared in a variety of television and film roles. As a counselor for adolescents, she spent five years using drama therapy techniques in individual and group settings.