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If We're Being Honest

A Novel

Audiobook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks

"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.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from February 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.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      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

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