All Together Now: A Novel

by Gill Hornby Narrated by Lucy Price-Lewis

Overview

The small town of Bridgeford is in crisis. Downtown is deserted, businesses are closing, and the idea of civic pride seems old-fashioned to residents rushing through the streets to get somewhere else. Bridgeford seems to have lost its heart.

But there is one thing that just might unite the community -- music. The local choir, a group generally either ignored or mocked by most of Bridgeford's inhabitants, is preparing for an important contest, and to win it they need new members, and a whole new sound. Enlisting (some may say drafting) singers, who include a mother suffering from empty-nest syndrome, a middle-aged man who has just lost his job and his family, and a nineteen-year-old waitress who dreams of reality-TV stardom, the choir regulars must find -- and make -- harmony with neighbors they've been happy not to know for years. Can they all learn to work together, save the choir, and maybe even save their town in the process?

All Together Now is a poignant and charming novel about community, family, falling in love -- and the big rewards of making a small change.

Editorial Reviews

OCTOBER 2015 - AudioFile

Listeners may find themselves smiling when they hear about a commuter who regards traffic updates as a "gateway drug" for annoying songs on the radio. Lucy Price Lewis's voice delights in the comic turns of phrase that lace the thoughts of Hornby's characters, who are the members of a community choir in a British commuter town. Both Lewis and Hornby excel at jumping from character to character—all of whom are distinct even they they have music on their minds a lot. Strong characterizations let serious moments effectively pop through the amusement. One such scene is when the choir members perform for a hospitalized comrade who is unable to respond. While the plot seems too pat at times, the strong writing and narration keep it entertaining. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

05/18/2015
Hornby's (The Hive) newest is an uneven, familiar tale set in smalltown England. The Bridgeford Community Choir saw its glory days a decade ago, but still holds on in the present. When their singing coach gets into an accident right before a regional competition, they realize how desperate their current state is. They start roping in new members from across the village, whose lives become interconnected. Bennett, separated from his wife and laid off from his job, starts a whole new life in middle age. Tracy is a single mother with a secret who is struggling with her son leaving for Africa to find himself. Jazzy is a young woman who yearns for national stardom and feels confined by her small town. Annie has always put everyone ahead of herself and wants to rekindle her marriage. They band together with the rest of the choir to try to win the competition and bring the spark back to their lives and to Bridgeford. Readers familiar with smalltown ensemble-cast stories will find no real surprises here. The characters are broadly drawn and well-intentioned, their goals are modest, and sweetness suffuses the story. Hornby draws the central romance between Tracy and Bennett together well, but readers may come away feeling that they've read this story before. (July)

From the Publisher

PRAISE FOR THE HIVE:

"The Hive is Mean Girls for moms. It begins as a tart vivisection of mother culture: the invidious comparisons, the one-upping, the compliments that insult. Yet in the tradition of the best satire, which engenders a fondness for its target even as it skewers, The Hive made me fall in love with these women, each flawed and interesting, trying in her own way to be herself. You won't be able to resist picking a favorite, or casting the book from your own circle of friends (or even your book club). Escape to someone else's social snarls for a few hours, and enjoy this brilliantly witty, wonderfully warm serving of mama drama."—Lydia Netzer, author of New York Times Notable Book of the Year Shine Shine Shine

"With a wicked eye and a giant heart, Gill Hornby weaves a lively and hilarious tale that's pure fun. If you loved Bridget Jones's Diary and you have a child in school, The Hive is the book for you."—Maria Semple, author of Where'd You Go, Bernadette

"The familiar notion that a group of women behaves like a hive is developed here into an enjoyable acerbic social commentary on mean girls of all ages, lightened by touches of hen lit."—Library Journal (starred review)

"Gill Hornby's mom-edy, The Hive, is a stinger."—Vanity Fair

"The Hive maintains a healthy dose of humor within the mothers' characters. The novelist's British impersonations of the characters are hilarious ...The Hive is a refreshing read because the Brits have perfectly constructed sentences, so enviably precise...The Hive is a fun and witty read, one that everyone can relate to. As life evolves, we naturally evaluate our relationships and our contributions to them. Hornby gives us yet another fictional experience of how our relationships affect us, and how we can survive them."—Aspen Times

Proponents of career-centered feminism, such as Leslie Bennetts, often stress the financial and other dangers of leaving the workplace. What happens to your negotiating abilities? Do political antennae grow dull? For that answer, look no further than Gill Hornby (who, for the record, has "absolutely no view" on how other women should live) and yet who has, after "a good 16, 17 years of not going out there," produced a sophisticated commercial novel about what she knows that is deeply plugged in to our zeitgeist.—The Daily Beast

"Hornby's debut novel, it says on the cover, is already a sensation, the book every publisher wanted. It deserves all of it really, for the richness of the concept."—The Guardian

"Hornby's combining of 'the sticky stuff' and the daily ups and downs is marvelously conveyed - altogether delish."—The Spectator

"Clever and witty...Anyone who has ever found themselves picked last for games or not invited for lunch will shudder with recognition."—Sunday Times (London)

Library Journal

★ 07/01/2015
Warmth and a biting wit harmonize perfectly in this second novel (after The Hive) about the rebirth of an almost moribund community choir in the suburban village of Bridgeford, England, which is on the verge of losing whatever small-town charm it has left to superstores and outside developers. In this delightfully clever and emotionally satisfying story with an ensemble cast, Hornby (wife of novelist Robert Harris and sister of novelist Nick Hornby) zooms in on the personalities and drama within the microcosm of a local choir. St. Ambrose School and a couple of characters from Hornby's first book enter briefly, but while those who read The Hive will feel they're catching an inside reference, others will not be missing any necessary background. VERDICT This snappy comedy of suburban manners among the middle-aged is as heartwarming as a catchy pop song and as carefully arranged as classical choral music. Readers of Anne Tyler, Ann Leary, and other wry observers of human nature will enjoy visiting Bridgeford.—Laurie Cavanaugh, Holmes P.L., Halifax, MA

OCTOBER 2015 - AudioFile

Listeners may find themselves smiling when they hear about a commuter who regards traffic updates as a "gateway drug" for annoying songs on the radio. Lucy Price Lewis's voice delights in the comic turns of phrase that lace the thoughts of Hornby's characters, who are the members of a community choir in a British commuter town. Both Lewis and Hornby excel at jumping from character to character—all of whom are distinct even they they have music on their minds a lot. Strong characterizations let serious moments effectively pop through the amusement. One such scene is when the choir members perform for a hospitalized comrade who is unable to respond. While the plot seems too pat at times, the strong writing and narration keep it entertaining. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2015-04-22
A small English town suffering from everyday problems and decay rediscovers itself through the reinvigoration of its community choir. Bridgeford, "a tiny, inconsequential dot on the landscape of Britain," is both the setting for and subject of Hornby's follow-up to her popular debut (The Hive, 2013), and once again the author's focus is on relationships within a small community. The perils facing this un-special U.K. town are low-key yet significant: plans for a new superstore are threatening the independent shops on the main street; the local choir, already dwindling, has just lost its leader, injured in a car crash; and the general sense of shared involvement in public spaces and projects is ebbing away. The remedy lies in the townspeople themselves, but they don't know it yet. It will take the forward momentum of three figures in particular to bring about change for the many. Mysterious single mother Tracey will need to emerge from secrecy and share her talents; divorcing, jobless Bennett will have to cast aside his anonymity; and stalwart Annie must focus on her own needs instead of everyone else's. Lightly comic and as mundane as sliced bread, Hornby's storytelling conjures up a rose-tinted picture of a community in which problems are simply solved, bad characters easily vanquished, and new relationships fall neatly into place. Reminiscent of British films like Made in Dagenham, the novel offers a heartwarming fantasy of social cohesion and improved future prospects for almost all, as the generations come together for a wide-screen sing-a-long version of the Carpenters' "Sing a Song" and a last, irresistible dollop of feel-good factor. A pleasant if long-winded fable, as simple, all-embracing, and insistently cheerful as Pharrell Williams' "Happy," which is also part of the Bridgeford Community Choir's repertoire.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170149261
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	07/21/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged

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