In this affecting road novel, an elderly married couple leave their Detroit home and take off in their camper for one last adventure together. Ella Robina has "more health problems than a third world country," and her husband, John, is suffering from progressive dementia. Despite protests from their adult children and doctors, Ella and John hit the road and head west to Disneyland. By day, they stop off at cheese-ball tourist attractions, and at night they relive old memories by watching slide shows of their previous family vacations. Along the way, they receive unexpected aid from a rueful goth teenager, outmaneuver some roadside predators, get stopped by the police and consider running for it, and have sex. The ultimate decision Ella makes might seem life affirming to some and a callous betrayal to others, but it's impossible to deny that Ella's wise, feisty voice turns what could be a sappy melodrama into an authentic and funny love story. (Feb.)
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The Leisure Seeker: A Novel
Narrated by Judith West
Michael ZadoorianUnabridged — 8 hours, 37 minutes
The Leisure Seeker: A Novel
Narrated by Judith West
Michael ZadoorianUnabridged — 8 hours, 37 minutes
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Overview
“The Leisure Seeker is a sweet natured travelogue that's about the end of the road in more ways than one....The Dangerous Book for Seniors!”
-Bob Morris, author of Assisted Loving
A sort of Easy Rider meets The Notebook, Michael Zadoorian's poignant, funny, vibrant, and unforgettable novel, The Leisure Seeker, is a story of two seniors who escape from their retirement home and embark upon a hilarious and touching end-of-life road trip. Here is a story that will appeal to a wide range of readers: from retiring Baby Boomers to fans of Mitch Albom, Tom Perotta, David Sedaris, Nick Hornby, and Nicholas Sparks. In fact, the Detroit Free Press says, “I would recommend Michael Zadoorian's The Leisure Seeker to almost anyone.”
The Leisure Seeker is a heartwarming and humorous novel about an elderly married couple's last adventure, making it a perfect gift for retirees or anyone who loves realistic fiction books about aging and relationships.
HarperCollins 2024
Editorial Reviews
An elderly couple face down death by taking one last, thoroughly unauthorized vacation. The future holds nothing but shorter, bleaker days for both Ella and John Robina. Ella has refused chemotherapy and radiation treatment for her cancer. John suffers from Alzheimer's. So, after a lifetime spent worrying about how to keep body and soul and their family together, they sneak out of the Detroit suburb of Madison Heights, bound via Route 66 for Disneyland. Along the way they encounter smiling waitresses, variously helpful gas jockeys, road thieves and a particularly nice man with some obscene tattoos. Ella tosses her wig out the window, lets John order as many roadside hamburgers as he wants, treasures the odd morning moments when he's lucid, fondly shares memories of their life together with the help of evening slide shows, doses herself with painkillers and dispenses nuggets of dry-eyed wisdom. They proceed in good order through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, phoning their daughter Cindy and their son Kevin from time to time but ignoring the pleas and threats intended to bring them home. John is content to drive for hours without saying anything or knowing where he is, but Ella is clearly a woman on a mission, and long before their Leisure Seeker reaches Anaheim, you'll know what that mission is. Zadoorian (Second Hand, 2000) asks readers to accept the ending on very much the same terms that Ella accepts her life. A bittersweet fable of the golden years likely to offer consolation to readers who've ever known anyone old, or have plans to get old themselves. Agent: Sally van Haitsma/The Castiglia Agency
This is a sad, sweet love letter to a fading America, elevated beyond its simple premise by its sharp humour about aging and a quietly shocking ending…it’s hard to think of a more purely likeable novel in recent times.
A highly unusual, quirky treat…it would make a dandy movie for those who enjoyed The Notebook. Sad and funny, heart-warming and heart-breaking, Zadoorian’s mesmerizing tale is definitely one to savor, deftly told by a clever, witty master craftsman.
A funny, bittersweet and courageous story as they cross the country, stopping at forgotten roadside attractions, watching old slides and remembering their life and love. In a word: touching.
Road trip novels are as common as snow in Siberia…but Zadoorian adds some refreshing detours to the genre in his second novel…told from Ella’s mordantly funny point-of-view…the gripping conclusion deserves to be read, not told.
Pick of the Week: This book evokes with great insight, tenderness and humour the absurdities and indignities of old age but also its freedoms and consolations.
An evocative tale….Zadoorian mixes some dark humor with issues that touch nearly everybody. This reviewer, usually hooked on crime novels and sports, found The Leisure Seeker hard to put down.
Faces head-on what the parents (John and Ella) have to deal with when faced with painful death…Zadoorian is true to these geezers. He draws them in their most honest light…I hoped for a book that would make me laugh during these tight times, and I was rewarded.
The humor is dark, the story poignant (for instance, Ella describes their RV as a “recreational sarcophagus”) and the journey so descriptive that it makes you want to take the trip yourself.
An unforgettable book…a poignant, touching and funny adventure of two people setting off in their 1978 Leisure Seeker that takes them off to relive some cherished memories and allows them to take their lives in their own hands for the final years of life ‘s journey. I loved this book.
This is no golden-age “Thelma and Louise” story. Zadoorian, like his protagonists, sticks to the slow lane, and the pace and sense of inevitability surrounding the Robinas’ journey is almost reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road.” But there’s wry humor…along with a host of tender moments.
Zadoorian’s offbeat humor and obvious sympathy for his characters takes a story that could have been grim in the wrong hands and turns it into one of the most delightful books I’ve read in years.
A couple of terminal senior citizens skip the end stage of hospitals and anxious children, step on the gas and stoically hightail it out of town…Death foretold, absolutely, but also the delight and adventure that comes late in life. The Dangerous Book for Seniors!
Zadoorian has done no less than re-invent the American road story. These Easy Riders—drugged-up on meds, desperately in need of their naps, and determined to enjoy every last moment—are some of the most memorable characters I’ve ever met on the page.
Second Hand is a wonderful book about life at yard sales, garage sales, and the like, where many antiques begin their journey ‘up the ladder’ into the upper retail realms.
Both achingly sad and intensely romantic, this unforgettable story of a last honeymoon hooked me from the first page. The Leisure Seeker depicts the heartrending choices of a loving couple, illuminated by events both past and present. I couldn’t put it down.
Michael Zadoorian serves up an affectionate, clear-eyed peek at a pair of self styled “down–on–their–luck geezers” who just aren’t ready to go gentle into that good night…Here’s to hoping that we all handle our last days so well.
A wonderful novel, poignant and salty and full of those small, clear truths that become important when one draws close to the end of the road…Author Michael Zadoorian has captured an American icon in the forthright and feisty Ella…Read it before it becomes the next big thing.
Michael Zadoorian’s bittersweet story about two runaways who are in their 80s and in failing health could be a lovely film… I could see Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine in the lead roles…Call it Kerouac-lite. It’s On the Road with shorter sentences and less drugs and sex.
A beautifully simple story…readable, frequently funny, sometimes all too realistically poignant…This is Detroit-area writer Zadoorian’s second book; watch him; he’s going places.
Zadoorian’s pace is deceptive, it’s restful. But unexpected scenes jump out at you. Come to the end and you’ll say ‘Oh my God.’
Ella is a remarkable creation...Her middle-aged children’s panicked demands that the couple return home will resonate with any adult who has feared for a parent’s well-being. he Leisure Seeker is pretty much like life itself: joyous, painful, moving, tragic, mysterious, and not to be missed.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940169979558 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 01/23/2012 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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