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Frances and Bernard Audiobook
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(3.03) - 349 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Bernard Elliot, a poet, and Frances Reardon, a fiction writer, meet at a writers' colony during the summer of 1957 and begin a friendship and correspondence. Bernard, well-born and Harvard-educated, is gregarious, reckless, and passionate; Frances, the precocious daughter of a middle-class Irish family, is circumspect, wry, and more than a little judgmental. What starts as an exploration of faith eventually becomes a romance, a development complicated by Bernard's fall into manic depression and Frances' struggle to decide whether she is strong enough to weather the illness with him for the long term.
The novel is anchored by two deeply imagined, fully inhabited characters who give voice to a love story that is as emotionally powerful as it is intellectually spirited.
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"I loved this book. Other reviewers found the banter between the main characters and the focus on religion off putting. I felt it caught a time and the character of this time beautifully. The story is told in letters, between Frances and Bernard, and between these two characters and several of their close friends. Reading this right before Beverly Donofrio's book Astonished, was interesting because both books highlight the place of Christian belief in the lives of modern people. Frances and Bernard was so beautifully, heartbreakingly crafted that it was far more compelling for me. Now I want to find out more about Robert Lowell and Flannery O'Connor on whom the novel is loosely based."
— Jane (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“In Frances and Bernard Ms. Bauer attempts to walk a tricky line, giving her characters enough life of their own to seem more than historical glosses, while borrowing from Lowell and O’Connor’s stature so that Bernard and Frances become sufficiently formidable literary figures to carry the show.”
— New York Times -
“Bauer…writes with authority and gusto about issues of faith. The prose here is exquisite, winding between narrative momentum and lofty introspection. And she employs the epistolary form nimbly, providing an intimate, uncluttered space for her characters to develop. The most unexpected pleasure of this period love story is spending time in the company of people who are engaged in the edifying pursuit of living as Christians—a good reminder that, regardless of the current upheaval in the church, the big questions are still worth asking.”
— Washington Post -
“Graceful and gem-like…Through Bauer’s sharp, witty, and elegant prose, [Frances and Bernard] become vibrant and original characters…These are not your typical lovebirds, but writers with fierce and fine intellects…We are reminded of the power of correspondence—the flirtation of it, the nervousness, the delicious uncertainty of writing bold things and then waiting days, weeks, or even months for a reply. After finishing this sweet and somber novel, we might sigh and think, ‘It’s a shame we don’t write love letters anymore’—before stopping for a moment to marvel at the subtlety of what Bauer has wrought out of history and a generous imagination, and being thankful that someone still is.”
— Boston Globe -
“Short but satisfying…Well written, engrossing, and succeeds in making Frances and Bernard’s shared interest in religion believable and their relationship funny, sweet, and sad. A lovely surprise.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“Bauer’s account of the ups and downs of Frances and Bernard’s relationship is by turns beautiful and heartbreaking. Her story is enhanced by the superb narration of Angela Brazil and Stephen Thorne…Both narrators excel at bringing forth the joy and pain in the letters…[their] delivery is natural and expressive, taking Bauer’s lovely work and making it a memorable listening experience.”AudioFile
— AudioFile -
“Gracefully written, Bauer’s fluid prose is at once solemn, tender, and witty as she ponders the cost and duty of art and love.”
— Library Journal -
“A debut novel of stunning subtlety, grace, and depth…Bauer’s piercing novel is dynamic in structure, dramatic in emotion and event, and fierce in its inquiry into religion, love, and art.”
— Booklist
Awards
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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Selected for the March 2013 Indie Next List
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A BuzzFeed Books Pick of 49 Books You Really Need to Read
Frances and Bernard Listener Reviews
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" Novels constructed of letters are a sweet device, but this one didn't come close to working for me. Well-written, yes; as you would expect given that the letter-writers were writers. And I'm always up for a bit of mental illness. But I couldn't get past the christianity and god-stuff. I don't know enough about Flannery O'Conner and Robert Lowell to get the inspiration. So I just slogged on through. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if I went back and looked through for insightful comments about relationships. "
— Wendy, 2/20/2014 -
" Dry and uninteresting to me. The debates on religion held no interest to me, and actually were off putting. I see that this book is considered quite literary so don't allow my negative comments to influence you. Simply not for me. "
— Elisabeth, 2/7/2014 -
" One of those perfect little gems that makes you read all of the other books in the hopes this will be one of them... Perfectly written, and utterly real, this book-told-in-letters charts the course of a relationship. But the book is more than just that, or perhaps ... it is exactly that, but so exquisite in its telling to actually be accurate. "
— Bethany, 1/18/2014 -
" As the kids say, All The Feels. I feel hollowed out right now. Yesterday I needed to call in "have to read," and today I need to call in "devastated." Read this, read this, read this. "
— Laura, 12/23/2013 -
" What lush prose! What Bauer does with a sentence inspires admiration and envy. Through their letters Frances and Bernard come alive. I loved the time I spent in this world and was sorry when the book ended. "
— Alysia, 12/22/2013 -
" 3 1/2 A fictionalized account of the friendship of Robert Lowell and Flannery O'Connor. Well written, a little slow, and I decided it was best to just actually read about Lowell and O'Connor in non-fiction format. "
— Julie, 12/20/2013 -
" I love how they discuss theology and literature. And the whole book being narrations of incidents through letters gives a different perception altogether. "
— Arpitha, 12/17/2013 -
" Moving, original, complex, compelling. Despite the abrupt ending, it was an interesting story that I enjoyed. "
— Alisa, 12/14/2013 -
" I liked that the story was told entirely through letters written between characters, but I found the storyline and characters to be dull. "
— Jenny, 12/6/2013 -
" I ordered this book in my kindle after reading a review from ELLE magazine. Absolutely breathtaking and heartbreaking. "
— Nicole, 10/30/2013 -
" I thought about putting this book away many times while I was reading, but as always I was hopeful that the story would get better, especially I had read a good review about it. For me it was too philosophical about faith and religion, and their letters too long. "
— Irene, 8/27/2013 -
" What a beautiful book. The writing is exquisite and the story even more so. "
— Pearl, 8/18/2013 -
" The epistolary focus of this novel worked wonderfully well for me. I was engaged by these two characters and their relationship through, oh my gosh, real letters! "
— Jill, 8/10/2013 -
" Slow to start but truly loved the end. The format of back and forth letters was a nice change in style from the standard novels I've been reading - great! "
— Erin, 6/2/2013 -
" It took me a while to warm up to this book. The story through letters gimmick never works well for me. However, the book won me over with the heartbreaking and unexpected progress of the relationship between our two writers, Frances and Bernard. Really, really beautiful story. "
— Carrie, 5/6/2013 -
" Incredible writing. "
— Dawn, 3/2/2013
About Carlene Bauer
Carlene Bauer is the author of the memoir Not That Kind of Girl, described as “soulful” by Walter Kirn in Elle and “approaching the greatness of Cantwell” in the New York Post. She has written for the likes of n +1, Slate, Salon, and the New York Times.
About the Narrators
Angela Brazil is an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator and a professional actor who is proud to be a long-standing member of the Resident Acting Company at Trinity Repertory Company. She also teaches at the Brown/Trinity Conservatory.
Stephen R. Thorne, winner of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards for narration, is a professional actor and member of the resident acting company at Providence’s esteemed Trinity Repertory Company, where he has played Hamlet, Henry V, and Tom Joad.