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Reservation Road Audiobook
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(3.01) - 1,367 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
“Haunting. . . . A powerful and affecting novel.”–The New York Times A tragic accident sets in motion a cycle of violence and retribution in John Burnham Schwartz’s riveting novel RESERVATION ROAD. Two haunted men and their families are engulfed by the emotions surrounding an unexpected and horrendous death. Ethan, a respected professor of literature at a small New England college, is wracked by an obsession with revenge that threatens to tear his family apart. Dwight, a man at once fleeing his crime and hoping to get caught, wrestles with overwhelming guilt and his sense of obligation to his son. As these two men’s lives unravel, RESERVATION ROAD moves to its startling conclusion. This is an astonishing tale of love and loss, rage and redemption, that is as suspenseful as it is emotionally compelling.
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"Very good book. The story of a child and a hit-and-run accident from the perspectives of the child's father, his mother, and the hit-and-run driver. I might have changed up the ending a bit, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment."
— Sherry (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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This is a shattering book, imagined with startling emotional precision and generosity. And though it begins in catastrophe, Reservation Road turns out to be a kind of map of connectedness: Touch a child here and the whole world trembles out of orbit; everyone bleeds; finally, perhaps, after great pain, everyone heals. John Burnham Schwartz is awfully young to own this much wisdom, but there it is, on every page.
— Rosellen Brown -
A powerful and affecting novel...haunting...highly suspenseful...compelling to read.
— Michiko Kakutani, New York Times -
Spellbinding...a haunting tale
— Booklist -
A poignant thriller...quietly breathtaking...a suspenseful literary novel
— Betsey Osborne, Vanity Fair -
A pleasure to read. Suspense is redefined here...
— Sandra Scofield, Newsday -
A lovely book, full of life and feeling
— Peter Matthiessen -
One of those rare--very rare--novels that you don't so much read as inhabit...But it's the novel's conclusion, as perfect as it is sudden, shocking and completely unexpected, that will stick in your memory.
— Tom Dehaven, Entertainment Weekly -
A beautiful novel. An important novel
— David Bowman, New York Observer -
Both a beautiful, wrenching story of redemption, and a novel of exquisite suspense
— Anne Lamott -
A first-rate work of fiction disguised as a page-turning thriller
— David Halberstam -
An unexpected pleasure...It will leave the reader entranced as well as moved.
— Erica Noonan, Boston Herald -
A non-stop read...a wonderful writer
— Ward Just -
A triumph of form, pacing and power...character-driven as it is, it reads like a thrille, swift and complete.
— Kit Reed, New York Times Book Review -
It possesses a conclusion of such power that it would be a literary crime to reveal it.
— Deirdre Donahue, USA Today
Awards
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A 1998 New York Times Notable Book for Fiction
Reservation Road Listener Reviews
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" A simple accident and a boy is dead. It is the consequences this book explores. It is heartbreaking and sad. "
— Dave, 2/9/2014 -
" A realistic character study of how people deal with loss and tragedy. Hearbreaking and touching, this is one of my favorite books! "
— Chien-ying, 2/7/2014 -
" I enjoyed this book while at the same time finding it completely depressing. "
— Michele, 2/4/2014 -
" This was a taut thriller involving family dynamics. It was one of those "life as we know it can change in the blink of an eye" novels which I just love. "
— Margarita, 1/29/2014 -
" What kind of an ending was that?! "
— Amber, 1/23/2014 -
" This is a haunting and beautiful story; it keeps seeping into my mind days after putting it down. The characters don't want o stay on the page, they keep appearing here and there throughout the day. "
— Kathi, 12/29/2013 -
" What a tender, beautiful, and sad story. "
— Jen, 12/27/2013 -
" It felt like something written by a good creative writing student -- interesting, but a bit amateur. I bet this will be one of the rare times when the movie is better than the book. "
— Dennis, 12/27/2013 -
" Someone below noted that this book was neither horrible nor fantastic, that it "just was." Seems a fairly spot-on review. There was nothing particularly wrong with the book, but nothing that quickens the pulse in remembering it. "
— Michael, 12/9/2013 -
" I enjoyed this book, though I found the mother's character to be underdeveloped and some of the father's behavior to be a little difficult to believe. "
— Edijkelly, 11/30/2013 -
" I've Learned that a human being is a mass of emotions, contrasting, yet combined and related. "
— Salma, 11/17/2013 -
" I found this book very depressing but maybe I just read it at the wrong time in my life. Well-written. "
— Sandy, 10/6/2013 -
" Well written book exploring the aftermath of a hit and run. Characters are true and the author communicates their feelings, anger and heartbreak realistically. I will definately see the movies when it comes out. "
— Martha, 9/4/2013 -
" This was pretty upsetting subject matter but well written. "
— Kelly, 8/19/2013 -
" Great book, especially liked that the author shed light on Dwight's condition, the hit and run driver, kind of contradicting the popular emotionally driven view that these people are heartless monsters. "
— Milad, 3/30/2013 -
" This is not a new book. The sequel, "Northwest Corner", just came out so I had to read "Reservation Road" first. I have a one word review... Stunning. "
— Elizabeth, 2/18/2012 -
" This is an ok read. The book was far better than the movie! "
— Sarah, 1/1/2012 -
" Possibly the most moving novel I've ever read. A journey into the lives of parents after tragedy strikes. A stunning achievement, with lyrical prose but also some elements of a cutting thriller. "
— Karl, 12/19/2011 -
" The first book of two. Harrowing. "
— Sue, 7/10/2011 -
" 3.5 stars...good, depressing book about grief following a tragic loss. Told through three characters voices, the author does a good job of putting you in each of their minds. Read it in one day.... "
— Adria, 4/27/2011 -
" Sad,depressing and didn't like the ending. "
— Carrie, 12/21/2010 -
" 5 out of 5...This book made me cry so much... "
— Jessica, 9/23/2010 -
" I listened to this book on tape a long time ago and was reminded of it while reading another Burnham Schwartz novel. I remember it as a haunting story. "
— Carla, 7/18/2010 -
" This was an excellent book but it really made me feel for the family's loss, so strongly that I kind of wished that I wasn't reading it as I kept on turning the pages. Very powerful emotionally. "
— Derek, 2/9/2010 -
" grief & guilt of shakespearean proportions!! A riveting dark tale, wonderfully told. I appreciated having 3 separate voices on this CD book. "
— Sarah, 2/4/2010
About John Burnham Schwartz
John Burnham Schwartz is the author of several novels, including Claire Marvel, Bicycle Days, and Reservation Road. His books have been translated into more than fifteen languages, and his writing has appeared in many publications, including the New York Times and New Yorker. He lives with his wife and their son in Brooklyn.
About the Narrators
Erin Bennett is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and a stage actress who played Carlie Roberts in the BBC radio drama Torchwood: Submission. She can be heard on several video games. Regional theater appearances include the Intiman, Pasadena Playhouse, Arizona Theatre Company, A Noise Within, Laguna Playhouse, and the Getty Villa. She trained at Boston University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Tavia Gilbert is an acclaimed narrator of more than four hundred full-cast and multivoice audiobooks for virtually every publisher in the industry. Named the 2018 Voice of Choice by Booklist magazine, she is also winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She has earned numerous Earphones Awards, a Voice Arts Award, and a Listen-Up Award. Audible.com has named her a Genre-Defining Narrator: Master of Memoir. In addition to voice acting, she is an accomplished producer, singer, and theater actor. She is also a producer, singer, photographer, and a writer, as well as the cofounder of a feminist publishing company, Animal Mineral.