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That Old Cape Magic: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.00) - 9,032 listener ratings
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Following Bridge of Sighs—a national best seller hailed by The Boston Globe as “an astounding achievement” and “a masterpiece”—Richard Russo gives us the story of a marriage, and of all the other ties that bind, from parents and in-laws to children and the promises of youth. Griffin has been tooling around for nearly a year with his father’s ashes in the trunk, but his mother is very much alive and not shy about calling on his cell phone. She does so as he drives down to Cape Cod, where he and his wife, Joy, will celebrate the marriage of their daughter Laura’s best friend. For Griffin this is akin to driving into the past, since he took his childhood summer vacations here, his parents’ respite from the hated Midwest. And the Cape is where he and Joy honeymooned, in the course of which they drafted the Great Truro Accord, a plan for their lives together that’s now thirty years old and has largely come true. He’d left screenwriting and Los Angeles behind for the sort of New England college his snobby academic parents had always aspired to in vain; they’d moved into an old house full of character; and they’d started a family. Check, check and check. But be careful what you pray for, especially if you manage to achieve it. By the end of this perfectly lovely weekend, the past has so thoroughly swamped the present that the future suddenly hangs in the balance. And when, a year later, a far more important wedding takes place, their beloved Laura’s, on the coast of Maine, Griffin’s chauffeuring two urns of ashes as he contends once more with Joy and her large, unruly family, and both he and she have brought dates along. How in the world could this have happened? That Old Cape Magic is a novel of deep introspection and every family feeling imaginable, with a middle-aged man confronting his parents and their failed marriage, his own troubled one, his daughter’s new life and, finally, what it was he thought he wanted and what in fact he has. The storytelling is flawless throughout, moments of great comedy and even hilarity alternating with others of rueful understanding and heart-stopping sadness, and its ending is at once surprising, uplifting and unlike anything this Pulitzer Prize winner has ever written.
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""That Old Cape Magic" by Richard Russo is the story of one late-middle-age man, Jack Griffin, and the crisis that unexpectedly hits his life when his elderly parents start to die. The book is a joy to read, but falls just a little shy of the author's usual greatness."
— Bev (4 out of 5 stars)
That Old Cape Magic Listener Reviews
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" Really enjoyed it! Some parts made me laugh out loud!! "
— Marcia, 2/19/2014 -
" Liked Bridge of Sighs and Empire Falls much better. "
— Mike, 2/10/2014 -
" This book was enjoyable, but felt like an easy assemblage of Russo tropes. "
— Stefanie, 2/8/2014 -
" I love how Russo writes, however I think this book was intended for an older person. Maybe I'll read it again when I'm 50-something. "
— Courtney, 2/5/2014 -
" Okay but not up to par with his previous books. "
— Jeanne, 2/3/2014 -
" Good book. I liked the character development. The setting added a whole other character to the book. Good ending as well. "
— Tamlyn, 2/1/2014 -
" Not as good as Russo's previous books.....reads more like an Anne Tyler novel. But funny, sympathetic characters as always. Definitely worth reading for Russo fans. "
— Barbara, 1/30/2014 -
" Excellent read. Poignant and hysterically funny in parts...just like real life. Would make a great movie. "
— Ruthanne, 1/29/2014 -
" This book was tough to get through. The plot was cheesy and the characters weren't likeable. "
— Jean, 1/22/2014 -
" Fun Book. Great Character development "
— Leigh, 1/11/2014 -
" All of Russo's protagonists are the same person with slightly (and I mean slightly) different demographics. Still, he manages to capture some slightly different bit of humanity in each of them and that makes them worth reading. This wasn't his best but it was like-able anyway. "
— Julia, 12/25/2013 -
" Not much of a plot. Enjoyable read, but not a very fast page turner. "
— Cynthia, 12/22/2013 -
" Funny, insightful, acerbic...Russo gets a great read on how humans think and what drives their behavior. Bonus point of you spend time in Cape Cod. "
— Michael, 12/3/2013 -
" Not my favorite Russo, but I always think he's a pretty good read. "
— Aly, 11/29/2013 -
" Middle aged man coming to terms with his parents. Well written, some language, vivid characters. "
— Petrea, 10/22/2012 -
" Good novel of the foibles of these families. Always enjoy Russo's writing as he is so real in descriptions and happenings in lives of his characters. "
— Agnes, 8/14/2012 -
" I liked it ... probably as much due to the setting (Cape Cod) as the story ... "
— Wendy, 6/26/2012 -
" My first read by Ricahrd Russo, he is a fantastic storyteller. It is amazing, just like in real life, his characters remembered and disremembered their lives so differently. Sometimes we think we want something only to realize what we want is what we already have. "
— Rosanne, 5/23/2012 -
" I love Richard Russo. This is a sobering, yet hopeful look at marriage. I love the humanity in his books. "
— Meghan, 4/22/2012 -
" Did not think this was one of his stronger books. There were some funny parts, but none of the characters were very likable. "
— Jennifer, 1/11/2012 -
" Wow, a shocking not very good Russo book. I didn't know he could write a poor novel. "
— Paige, 7/23/2011 -
" A light, fun, work from Russo that has some moments of family hysteria. "
— Andy, 7/10/2011 -
" Sometimes dysfunction adds depth to a story--but this one was just dysfunctional. Maybe it was me, but this book was just a bit sad--to no end. "
— Sandra, 5/17/2011 -
" Not finished yet, intriguing, strong characterisation as always with Mr Russo. <br/> "
— Mark, 5/15/2011 -
" Passively written. I hate to say it because I enjoyed Mr. Russo's previous books, but this one put me to sleep. "
— Anne, 5/12/2011 -
" I was pleasantly delighted with this nuanced story of the mysteries of the human heart. Russo writes with a richness and understanding of his flawed characters that allows the reader to simultaneously sympathize and cringe. <br/>Best wedding scene ever. "
— Robin, 5/10/2011 -
" I loved all his very human characters and was sometimes laughing out loud. Near the end, there's a wedding rehearsal dinner scene that would trump all the movie wedding mishaps I've seen. "
— Donna, 4/25/2011 -
" Story of a midlife crisis. Poignant, beautiful, and ultimately sad. "
— Jana, 4/24/2011 -
" Not my favorite Russo book, but interesting none the less.<br/><br/>Story of a 50s-something professor, who tries to sort out the impact his parents had on his life and his marriage. <br/><br/>ps A few too many f's for me. "
— Katie, 4/18/2011 -
" Richard Russo is always good company whether you are reading his novels or listening to them while driving, which was the case for me. "
— Chris, 4/14/2011 -
" Warm-hearted and funny, with serious undertones, like so much of Russo's work. A wonderful portrait of the bittersweet realities of marriage and parenthood. "
— Kate, 4/13/2011 -
" a good look at mid life "
— Cydney, 4/12/2011 -
" A great read for those of us that have parents that are reaching the age that they our help. "
— Lois, 4/6/2011 -
" An occasionally hilarious and ultimately loving tale of dysfunctional family. So he carried his dead parent's ashes around in the trunk of his car for over a year.... Nothing weird about that! "
— Marge, 4/6/2011
About Richard Russo
Richard Russo is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, two collections of stories, and the memoir Elsewhere. In 2002 he received the Pulitzer Prize for Empire Falls, which, like Nobody’s Fool, won multiple awards for its screen adaptation, and in 2023 his novel Straight Man was adapted into the television series Lucky Hank. In 2017, he received France’s Grand Prix de Littérature Américaine.
About Arthur Morey
Arthur Morey has won three AudioFile Magazine “Best Of” Awards, and his work has garnered numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and placed him as a finalist for two Audie Awards. He has acted in a number of productions, both off Broadway in New York and off Loop in Chicago. He graduated from Harvard and did graduate work at the University of Chicago. He has won awards for his fiction and drama, worked as an editor with several book publishers, and taught literature and writing at Northwestern University. His plays and songs have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Milan, where he has also performed.