Family Happiness

By: Laurie Colwin

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

From the acclaimed author of Home Cooking comes a heartfelt novel about a midlife crisis and a woman tired of being taken for granted—and a reminder that family, like happiness, can take many forms.

"Sheer perfection." —Elin Hilderbrand

To the rest of the world, Polly Solo-Miller Demarest lives acharmed life. She has a beautiful home, a dashing lawyer husband, and two delightful children. But beneath this idyllic surface, the pressure of being the “perfect flower”of an illustrious family—and a stable, always-available wife, mother, and daughter—are getting to her. The spark has gone out of her marriage, and to her own surprise, she’s having an affair. What follows is at once cathartic and provoking, and both may be necessary states in order for Polly to become the kind of person she wants to be.

uncanny insight into characters

The humor, the warmth, the clarity of storytelling is remarkable. It rings true on so many levels.

very wonderful writing

great performance of a beautifully written book that has stayed relevant 50 years later. I truly enjoyed listening to this audio book.

A beautiful novel

This is one of my favorite novels. It’s incredibly well written and is an always absorbing exploration of a woman’s deep and thoughtful inner life. Lori Colwin is one of the best novelists of the 20th Century.

LOVE LAURIE COLWIN - still not inspired narration

This COULD have been a five star listen but I several times almost stopped listening due to the AWFUL children's voices - in particular Didi and Martha (who is not a child but simply narrated like one). This narrator mixes what is clearly a gift in terms of understanding Laurie Colwin's prose and understanding some of the characters - in particular that of Wendy, Polly's mother - with an atrocious ear for appropriate children's voices that simply ruined the narration when I had to hear them. Luckily for the listener there are very few chapters with much children's dialogue and the character of Martha doesn't appear often either. Unfortunately Campbell still sometimes fell into a baby voice for Polly - the main character - that was also beyond annoying. Sorry to look a gift horse in the mouth - have been waiting years for Laurie Colwin's books to be on audio and was very very grateful to find them, but potential readers should be aware that MOST of this narration is excellent if you can just have the patience to get through what are thankfully minimal awful grincing moments of baby talk.

urban novel of new york manners

Laurie Colwin is an original. Funny, stylish, intelligent. She's my comfort reading, I've loved her for decades.