Narrator Kathleen McInerney's range is perfect in this touching comedic drama. When a beloved patriarch dies suddenly, his wife, three children, and four grandchildren unite for his funeral in a small Georgia town. During the eulogy, Gerry's best friend shares a secret, which sets the town abuzz with gossip. Over the course of a week, each family member faces their own struggle, mortality, and dreams for the future. Segues between familial perspectives can be confusing, but each character's journey is engaging. McInerney uses a Southern accent thickened by alcohol for a confession and a gravelly voice for the family matriarch. A phrase repeated softly with incredulity is juxtaposed with the exaggeratedly calm tone of a meditation app that is being drowned out by an argument. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
If We're Being Honest: A Novel
Narrated by Kathleen McInerney
Cat ShookUnabridged — 11 hours, 8 minutes
If We're Being Honest: A Novel
Narrated by Kathleen McInerney
Cat ShookUnabridged — 11 hours, 8 minutes
Overview
"Narrator Kathleen McInerney's range is perfect in this touching comedic drama."- AudioFile
For fans of We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange and All Adults Here by Emma Straub, Cat Shook's debut novel If We're Being Honest is the snappy, smart, heartwarming story of the Williams family, and the sweltering summer that rewrote their history.
When Gerry, the beloved Williams patriarch, dies suddenly, his grandchildren flock from across the country to the family home in Eulalia, Georgia. But when Gerry's best friend steps up to the microphone to deliver his eulogy, the funeral turns out unlike anyone expected. The cousins, left reeling and confused, cope with their fresh grief and various private dramas. Delia, recently heartbroken, refuses to shut up about her ex. Her sister Alice, usually confident, flusters when she spots her high school sweetheart, hiding a secret that will change both of their lives. Outspoken, affable Grant is preening in the afterglow of his recent appearance on The Bachelorette and looking to reignite an old flame with the least available person in town. Meanwhile, his younger brother Red, unsure of himself and easily embarrassed, desperately searches for a place in the boisterous family.
The cousins' eccentric parents are in tow, too, and equally lost-in love and in life. Watching over them all is Ellen, Gerry's sweet and proper widow, who does her best to keep her composure in front of the leering small town.
Clever and completely original, If We're Being Honest reminds you that while no one can break your heart like your family can, there's really no one better to put you back together.
A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.
Editorial Reviews
★ 02/20/2023
Shook’s delightful and perceptive debut follows a family through an eventful week that begins with a funeral and ends with a wedding. One sweltering Georgia summer, the Williams clan has gathered to mourn the death of patriarch Gerry, but they’re thrown for a loop when Gerry’s best friend announces during the eulogy that he and Gerry had been lovers for decades. While Gerry’s widow, Ellen, wants nothing more than to deal with this revelation and her loss in peace, her three children and four 20-something grandchildren make that impossible. They’re all dealing with their own crises: sensible granddaughter Alice is pregnant and not sure whether to tell the father; high-strung daughter-in-law Jennifer is wondering whether her husband is having an affair; and grandson Red, a youth pastor, is trying to come to terms with his sexuality. Like a stone skipped across water, Shook flits seamlessly from one character to the next, and remarkably, all emerge as three-dimensional characters. Even with its many strands of plot, the novel never feels rushed, and Shook sprinkles some wild surprises into the goings-on. Readers will find plenty to savor. Agent: Andrianna Yeatts, ICM Partners. (Apr.)
"I couldn't stop reading. It is phenomenal."
—Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author
“A deeply felt and thoughtful debut about a family thrown into chaos during a week that will change them all forever.”
—Jennifer E. Smith, bestselling author of The Unsinkable Greta James
"If We're Being Honest delivers my favorite kind of family story: varying levels of hilarious dysfunction, all wrapped around a core of love. I would have gladly kept turning a hundred more pages to follow these cousins."
—Mary Laura Philpott, author of Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives
"Shook’s delightful and perceptive debut follows a family through an eventful week that begins with a funeral and ends with a wedding... Like a stone skipped across water, Shook flits seamlessly from one character to the next, and remarkably, all emerge as three-dimensional characters. Even with its many strands of plot, the novel never feels rushed, and Shook sprinkles some wild surprises into the goings-on. Readers will find plenty to savor."
—Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review
"In a deep-south small town in Georgia, the Williams patriarch, 82-year-old Gerry, has suddenly passed away from a heart attack. The revelations at his funeral are about to make his clan question everything they thought they knew, especially his four grandchildren, Alice, Delia, Grant, and Red. Their dynamics take center stage in this witty family drama. "
—Booklist
"An appealing, astutely observed debut about familial love and the secrets we keep."
—Kirkus
"Cat Shook's debut novel is a poignant and funny look at one family's dynamics."
—Country Living
"When Gerry dies suddenly, his far-flung family returns to Georgia to mourn their patriarch. But when his best friend reveals a shocking secret during his eulogy, it throws the clan into turmoil. Suddenly, the Williams cousins are forced to confront their own secrets while grappling with a new perspective on the man they thought they knew in this heartwarming family saga."
—Good Housekeeping
"For fans of Tracey Lange’s We Are the Brennan’s, Emma Straub’s All Adults Here and Jonathan Tropper’s This Is Where I Leave You, If We’re Being Honest is about the secrets and lies we tell ourselves and others, and the power of family to get us through the very best and very worst parts of life. Pack this one in your beach bag—it’s a delight."
—PureWow
"Sometimes you read a book that is so relatable you start to worry that someone has been secretly filming your family reunions. If We’re Being Honest by debut author Cat Shook is that book."
—Deep South Magazine
2023-02-08
Gathered for a funeral in small-town Georgia, a close-knit family gets the surprise of their lives.
When Ellen Williams asks Fred Clark to give the eulogy at her husband Gerry's funeral, she has no doubt he's the man for the job: Fred was Gerry's best friend, a second father to the three now-middle-aged Williams children, and beloved by Ellen as well. Oops, bad call. After weaving his way to the pulpit, “white hair sticking up in odd places like a toddler just waking from a nap,” Fred delivers a drunken tribute that ends with a stunning assertion about who Gerry really was—and leaves the Williams family reeling. If the patriarch they adored was living a lie, what does that say about his marriage, his love for his family, and whether anyone is who they seem? Debut novelist Shook is juggling a lot of balls here, and in a tight space. The action takes place over one week in Eulalia, Georgia, between Gerry's funeral and a wedding the four grown grandkids are sticking around for, and in that time nine Williamses grapple with their shock while probing their own emotional lives. Will Delia get back with her ex? Will Alice, who has her own secret, follow her heart? Can Red reveal his true identity; will his parents mend their marriage; can Ellen ever forgive? It's hard to keep the characters straight at first, but by the time they've finished the neighbor-donated casseroles and talked it all out, you're engaged and rooting for them. Also occasionally irritated, but that's what relatives are for. "Families are crazy—I mean, look at mine," granddaughter Alice finally tells the man she loves. "But it's what I want."
An appealing, astutely observed debut about familial love and the secrets we keep.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940175462495 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Macmillan Audio |
| Publication date: | 04/18/2023 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
Videos
