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Bonita Avenue: A Novel Audiobook
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Publisher Description
Siem Sigerius is a beloved, brilliant professor of mathematics with a promising future in politics. His family—including a loving wife, two gorgeous, intelligent stepdaughters, and a successful future son-in-law—and carefully appointed home in the bucolic countryside complete the portrait of a comfortable, morally upright household. But there are elements of Siem's past that threaten to upend the peace and stability that he has achieved, and when he stumbles upon a deception that's painfully close to home, things begin to fall apart. A cataclysmic explosion in a fireworks factory, the advent of Internet pornography, and the reappearance of a discarded, dangerous son all play a terrible role in the spectacular fragmentation of the Sigerius clan.
A riveting portrait of a family in crisis and the ways that even the smallest twists of fate can forever change our lives, Bonita Avenue is an incendiary, unpredictable debut of relationships torn asunder by lies and minds destroyed by madness.
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“A robust dark farce in the manner of Iris Murdoch at her most manic. Other reviewers have compared Buwalda to Jonathan Franzen. Whatever literary benchmark you use, the book’s hyperbolic excess and willingness to plunge recklessly to the depths are what make it work…the plot orchestration and lively character renderings of Bonita Avenue are dazzling…the brash destructive energy of Buwalda’s convoluted tale comes through loud and clear.”
— New York Times Book Review
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“No way that this is a debut novel, is your first impression when you start reading Bonita Avenue––but it is! An instant literary classic, loaded with suspense, by a brilliant and truly original writer.”
— Herman Koch, New York Times bestselling author of The Dinner -
“Fluent and complex, uncompromising and shocking.”
— Daily Mail (London) -
“One wild ride: a swirling helix of a family saga that swerves from gross-out sex comedy to pitch-black revenge tragedy as twist after twist reframes what we know about its dysfunctional cast…manic…as toe-curling as early Roth, as roomy as Franzen, and as caustic as Houellebecq.”
— Sunday Telegraph (London) -
“Dazzling…Critics hailed Buwalda as ‘the Dutch answer to Jonathan Franzen,’ but his brilliance is entirely unique.”
— Times (London) -
“A literary sensation…[A] crazy-paving, jigsaw puzzle…Addictive…A considerable achievement…Bonita Avenue is an entertaining end in itself and evidence that Buwalda is just getting started.”
— Independent (London) -
“Magnificent…Three uniquely unreliable voices narrate this darkly humorous familial drama…Their interweaving narratives, which hop between the Netherlands, Shanghai, Belgium, and California, chart the years between the rise and fall of their outwardly successful but privately dysfunctional family.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“This award-winning debut novel is flat-out extraordinary. The rich layer of detail would be impressive if applied to one topic, but Buwalda creates multiple complex worlds around vastly different subjects…An outstanding literary suspense story that will appeal to a wide range of readers.”
— Library Journal (starred review) -
“This tumultuous saga of a family breaking down…is an international bestseller and award winner. A significant literary achievement.”
— Booklist (starred review)
Awards
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A Publishers Weekly Pick of the Week, January 2015
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About Peter Buwalda
Peter Buwalda worked as a journalist and editor before founding a music magazine and writing a weekly column for a major Dutch newspaper. He lives in the Netherlands with his family.
About the Narrators
Gabrielle de Cuir, award-winning narrator, has narrated over three hundred titles and specializes in fantasy, humor, and titles requiring extensive foreign language and accent skills. She was a cowinner of the Audie Award for best narration in 2011 and a three-time finalist for the Audie and has garnered six AudioFile Earphones Awards. Her “velvet touch” as an actor’s director has earned her a special place in the audiobook world as the foremost producer for bestselling authors and celebrities.
Jim Meskimen is a stage, film, and television actor who has appeared in many well-known movies and television shows. He acted in Apollo 13 and Frost/Nixon for director Ron Howard, both of which were nominated for Best Picture Oscars. His television appearances include The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Friends, Lie to Me, Criminal Minds, and Parks and Recreation. He is also a painter, award-winning audiobook narrator, and audiobook director for Galaxy Audio.
Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than five thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than nine hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices in 2012.