NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR “Taut, elegant . . . Black is a writer of great wisdom.”—Claire Messud, The Guardian (UK) Augusta Edelman—Gus to her friends—is a painter, a wife, and not always the best judge of her own choices—one of them bad enough that she and her husband, Owen, have fled their longtime city home and its reminders of troubling events. Now, three years into their secluded country life, Gus works daily on the marriage she nearly lost, discovers new inspiration for her art, and contemplates the mysteries of a childhood tragedy. But this quiet, healing rhythm is forever shattered one hot July day when a stranger moves into the abandoned house next door and crosses more boundaries than just those between their lands. A fierce, honest, and moving portrait of a woman grappling with her fate, Life Drawing is a debut novel as beautiful and unsparing as the human heart. Praise for Life Drawing “The page-turning suspense of Robin Black’s novel comes from her beautiful, honest portrait of a marriage, of a life. . . . A novel of consequence, and a stunning one.”—San Francisco Chronicle “Gripping . . . the power of this story is how it illuminates, in utterly compelling detail, the complex give-and-take of a couple trying to save their marriage.”—O: The Oprah Magazine “Truly brilliant . . . [Black] is that rare writer whose gift for prose is matched by her mastery of the other elements that make a great novel. . . . [Her] psychological prowess and incisive observations lend an edge even to seemingly straightforward scenes.”—Chicago Tribune “Races to its resolution . . . Black’s writing is clear and direct [with] observations about the way people relate that resonate well after the book is closed.”—The New York Times Book Review
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“Narrator Cassandra Campbell’s silky voice wraps smoothlyaround the story [as] feelings of pain, regret, love, and loss prevail…Campbell’s understated characterizations and consistent accents keepthe conversations clear, and her pacing builds the emotional tension. Herexpressive reading of the complexities of a modern marriage is outstanding. Winnerof AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
“A beautifully written meditation on the delicate balance of intimacy and isolation within a long marriage.”
— Alice Sebold, New York Times bestselling author of The Lovely Bones“Gripping…The power of this story is how it illuminates, in utterly compelling detail, the complex give-and-take of a couple trying to save their marriage once betrayal has entered the picture.”
— O, The Oprah Magazine“Tense, tightly wound…Provocative, filled with glimpses of the nastiness that makes us human and the power of losing someone with whom it seems the conversation, however difficult, however punishing, should never end.”
— New York Times Book ReviewBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Robin Black’s stories and essays have appeared in numerous publications, including One Story, Colorado Review, Georgia Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, Bellevue Literary Review, Southern Review, and the anthology The Best Creative Nonfiction. The winner of many awards and a recipient of fellowships from the Leeway Foundation and the MacDowell Colony, Black is a graduate of the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers. She lives with her family in Philadelphia.
Cassandra Campbell has won multiple Audie Awards, Earphones Awards, and the prestigious Odyssey Award for narration. She was been named a “Best Voice” by AudioFile magazine and in 2018 was inducted in Audible’s inaugural Narrator Hall of Fame.