Harriet Beamer Takes the Bus

by Joyce Magnin Narrated by Laural Merlington

Overview

Aging and recent widow Harriet Beamer insists she's getting along fine with her dog Humphrey in Philadelphia ... until she falls for the fourth time, injuring her ankle, and causing her son and daughter-in-law to cry foul. Insisting Harriet move in with them in California, they make a bet that her ankle is broken, and she foolishly promises to move if they're right. Four x-rays later, Harriet's ankle-and her heart-are broken. She packs up, ships her huge salt and pepper collection to California, and prepares to move away from the only life she knows. The only catch? She's doing it her way. Just wait till her daughter-in-law hears Harriet will travel cross country only by public transportation and alternate means. What follows is a hilarious, heartwarming journey by train, metro bus, ferry, and motorcycle. Along the way, Harriet discovers that although her family thinks it's time for her to be put out to pasture-God has a different plan.

Editorial Reviews

MAY 2012 - AudioFile

Because she lost a bet, Harriet Beamer is moving across the country to live with her son, but before she settles down, she decides to travel the country by bus. Laural Merlington portrays the plucky 72-year-old in a friendly, open voice as Harriet interacts with a wide variety of people, strangers who become her friends as she inspires them and is in turn inspired to “really live” as she takes the scenic route home. Merlington varies the accents and pacing of the people Harriet meets as she moves across the country and does an especially good Southern drawl. The only weakness is in the transitions between Harriet’s perspective and that of her son, as it takes the listener a moment to realize the scene has shifted since Merlington does not provide a sufficient pause in her narration. E.N. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

Magnin (Bright’s Pond series) continues her quirky ways with the titular character, a 72-year-old widow who takes the long way across the country when she reluctantly agrees to move in with her son and daughter-in-law in California. Her road trip is filled with bed-and-breakfasts, a GPS named Amelia, cancan dancers, petty criminals, dozens of salt-and-pepper shakers (she collects them), and—of course—increasing self-knowledge. Magnin breathes gentle life into the classic road trip structure. Harriet’s sheltered naïveté is occasionally beyond the bounds of belief, but Magnin has an energetic and confident sense of narrative rhythm and Harriet is funny and indelibly characterized. An extensive subplot involves Harriet’s writer son, Henry, and his lawyer wife Prudence, whose family plans are at a standstill after two miscarriages. Henry is more fully rendered than Prudence, who remains somewhat opaque. Not aimed at fans of dystopia and dysfunction, it’s a great read for fans of feisty-old-lady stories; spiritual elements are well blended in, like the right amount of seasoning from one of Harriet’s shakers. Agency: MacGregor Literary. (May)

MAY 2012 - AudioFile

Because she lost a bet, Harriet Beamer is moving across the country to live with her son, but before she settles down, she decides to travel the country by bus. Laural Merlington portrays the plucky 72-year-old in a friendly, open voice as Harriet interacts with a wide variety of people, strangers who become her friends as she inspires them and is in turn inspired to “really live” as she takes the scenic route home. Merlington varies the accents and pacing of the people Harriet meets as she moves across the country and does an especially good Southern drawl. The only weakness is in the transitions between Harriet’s perspective and that of her son, as it takes the listener a moment to realize the scene has shifted since Merlington does not provide a sufficient pause in her narration. E.N. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171570521
Publisher:	Zondervan
Publication date:	04/24/2012
Series:	Harriet Beamer
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos