Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    The Whole World Over
    Unavailable
    The Whole World Over
    Unavailable
    The Whole World Over
    Audiobook (abridged)8 hours

    The Whole World Over

    Written by Julia Glass

    Narrated by Denis O' Hare

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    From the author of the beloved novel Three Junes comes a rich and commanding story about the accidents, both grand and small, that determine our choices in love and marriage. Greenie Duquette, openhearted yet stubborn, devotes most of her passionate attention to her Greenwich Village bakery and her four-year-old son, George. Her husband, Alan, seems to have fallen into a midlife depression, while Walter, a traditional gay man who has become her closest professional ally, is nursing a broken heart.

    It is at Walter's restaurant that the visiting governor of New Mexico tastes Greenie's coconut cake and decides to woo her away from the city to be his chef. For reasons both ambitious and desperate, she accepts-and finds herself heading west without her husband. This impulsive decision will change the course of several lives within and beyond Greenie's orbit. Alan, alone in New York, must face down his demons; Walter, eager for platonic distraction, takes in his teenage nephew. Yet Walter cannot steer clear of love trouble, and despite his enforced solitude, Alan is still surrounded by women: his powerful sister, an old flame, and an animal lover named Saga, who grapples with demons all her own. As for Greenie, living in the shadow of a charismatic politician leads to a series of unforeseen consequences that separate her from her only child. We watch as folly, chance, and determination pull all these lives together and apart over a year that culminates in the fall of the twin towers at the World Trade Center, an event that will affirm or confound the choices each character has made-or has refused to face.

    Julia Glass is at her best here, weaving a glorious tapestry of lives and lifetimes, of places and people, revealing the subtle mechanisms behind our most important, and often most fragile, connections to others. In The Whole World Over she has given us another tale that pays tribute to the extraordinary complexities of love.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMay 23, 2006
    ISBN9780739332993
    Unavailable
    The Whole World Over

    Related to The Whole World Over

    Related audiobooks

    Literary Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Top 10 Books About Chosen Families

      Aug 2, 2023

      Fairytales from Cinderella to Snow White, rituals such as “white weddings”, the valorisation of biological parenthood in mainstream culture, all reinforce a narrow idea of family as heteronormative and reproductive. But our closest and most meaningfu

      4 min read

    • Article

      SUMMER Reading

      Jun 27, 2019

      SUMMER Reading
      4 min read

    • Article

      Cutting To The Pip

      Feb 2, 2020

      Cutting To The Pip
      2 min read

    • Article

      Aotearoa Upended

      Oct 10, 2021

      Aotearoa Upended
      2 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Sep 28, 2022

      by Elly Griffiths (£22, HB, Quercus) Putting the past behind you isn’t always possible, and though DS Cassie Fitzgerald has dedicated her life to fighting crime, the one she committed as a teenager will forever haunt her. After a reunion sparks old

      2 min read

    • Article

      Aging with Olive

      Oct 4, 2019

      Aging with Olive
      1 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Oct 3, 2023

      by Lynne Segal (Verso, ISBN: 9781804292945) versobooks.com On a recent visit to a 96-year-old relative who still lived alone, it became clear that he had heard the phrase ‘living independently’ one too many times. ‘I don’t live independently – none o

      4 min read

    • Article

      Weathering The Storms

      Oct 9, 2023

      by Fernanda Trías, translated by Heather Cleary (Scribe, $35) by Tim Jones (The Cuba Press, $38) ‘If each generation grapples with its own apocalypse, mine is facing the terror of climate change,” says Fernanda Trías, in an author’s note for the Urug

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Path Of Thorns

      Jun 15, 2022

      The Path Of Thorns
      1 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Feb 26, 2024

      Its title may be Mrs Gulliver but – set on tropical ‘Verona Island’ and with epigraphs from Romeo and Juliet – Valerie Martin’s new book owes more to Shakespeare than Swift. In this hymn to carnality, the not-so-star-crossed lovers are Carità, a blin

      3 min read

    • Article

      Great Reads

      Apr 14, 2020

      Simultaneous murders hit LA, Chicago and San Francisco. SFPD Sergeant Lindsay Boxer is tasked with uncovering what links these precise and calculated killings. Lindsay discovers that the victims all excel in lucrative, criminal activity. As the casua

      2 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Jun 2, 2021

      This evocative story captures the highs of love and the lows of betrayal, woven around paintings of the Annunciation. Lottie Archer is an archivist for expatriates in Rome and is fascinated by diary entries of the late Nina Lawrence, a restorer of ga

      1 min read

    • Article

      Book Your Spot

      Dec 25, 2022

      LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus (Penguin Random House, $37) Hands down my most-loved book of 2022, this funny and feminist sweet-revenge story is about a scientist who accidentally becomes a TV star. It’s set in the 1960s, a time when if you w

      3 min read

    • Article

      Your Telly Pick Of The Week

      Aug 31, 2023

      Your Telly Pick Of The Week
      1 min read

    • Article

      October’s BOOK CLUB

      Aug 27, 2020

      It’s 1459, and the English nobility are bitterly divided over whether to remain loyal to their weak-minded King Henry VI and his haughty French wife Marguerite of Anjou. And when powerful Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, is imprisoned, she does every

      2 min read

    • Article

      Great Reads

      Jul 5, 2023

      by Colin Walsh (£16.99, HB, Atlantic) A group of friends reunite in their home town on the west coast of Ireland after avoiding each other for years and are forced to grapple with a dark past. Something terrible happened when they were 15 and now the

      2 min read

    • Article

      Off The Shelf

      Mar 21, 2024

      Veteran broadcaster, journalist and author Richard Glover has assembled a wish list for making the world a better, less annoying place. As with his columns in newspapers The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Washington Post, he writes about mund

      3 min read

    • Article

      2019’s BEST BOOKS

      Dec 5, 2019

      Dark, with a focus on psychopathy and the way some of the most twisted individuals can blend seamlessly into society, this is undoubtedly our favourite thriller of 2019. Shiver as Dr Augusta Bloom is drawn into a chilling game with very high stakes.

      2 min read

    • Article

      Book CLUB

      Jun 21, 2022

      Book CLUB
      1 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      May 15, 2019

      Book Club
      5 min read

    • Article

      May’s BOOK CLUB

      Apr 7, 2022

      Saint excels with this tale of three women whose fates are intertwined: Agamemnon’s wife Clytemnestra, their daughter Elektra, and Cassandra, princess of Troy. The story opens with Clytemnestra’s sister Helen being taken to Troy. Her husband Menelaus

      2 min read

    • Article

      Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Offill, Stuart, Sharlet, Sparks, Lavery, and More

      Feb 11, 2020

      Our own Thomas Beckwith takes a look at some notable books—titles from the likes of Jenny Offill, Douglas Stuart, Jeff Sharlet, Amber Sparks, and Daniel M. Lavery—that are publishing this week. The post Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Offill, Stuar

      5 min read

    • Article

      A Touch Of Magic

      Feb 19, 2024

      THE GRIMMELINGS by Rachael King (Allen & Unwin, $24.99) A lonely teenager. Parents missing in action. A boy who appears from nowhere. An enormous black stallion. So far, so classic. Yet nothing is what it seems in this first children’s book in more

      2 min read

    • Article

      Book CLUB

      May 25, 2021

      Book CLUB
      1 min read

    Reviews for The Whole World Over

    3.5/5

    305 ratings26 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 1/5
      didn't like
    • 4/5
      great audiobook.
    • 3/5
      Good story but with so many characters it seemed like a collection of stories about people living in NYC. I could never figure out exactly who the main character was as each chapter was in a different voice. Writing good but unfocused.
    • 4/5
      Greenie Duquette is a New Yorker through and through. She loves her dessert company, and her husband and son. As her career takes off, her psychiatrist husband's starts to disintegrate. When the loud self-confident governor New Mexico offers her the job of the governor's mansion executive chef, she and her young son head to Santa Fe. As in the THREE JUNES, this is a story about middle aged anxieties and problems and as she works to resolve the problems in her personal life, including a old boyfriend who comes back in her life, her story meshes and mixes with other back in New York. Although I didn't find it as gripping as The THREE JUNES, it is on my list of enjoyable books.
    • 4/5
      I actually enjoyed this more than THREE JUNES. Glass uses a few of the same characters so I would suggest reading these two novels back to back. The author again exhibits a strong talent for character development and analyzing complex social issues. There are always numerous plots unfolding throughout her novels, yet they do not become muddled or confusing.
    • 3/5
      The Whole World Over by Julia Glass was a book that was given to me while I was in bed. The book is well written, and Glass is an astute observer of the intricacies and inconsistencies of relationships. The book was tender and thought provoking, but I found the characters difficult and unappealing and I couldn't really understand the decisions they made. I suppose it was just not my cup of tea.
    • 2/5
      Sure the stories tie together, but so loosely it was hard to remember why we cared as we changed stories. And George, the precocious little son? Annoyed the crap out of me. To the point where it really impacted my impression of the book.
    • 4/5
      This is dense and delicious book, like a one of those chocolate cakes, "Death by Chocolate" or "Torta di Cioccolato", or something French with raspberries around the edges. Definitely layered, and definitely scrumptious.I hadn't fully realized the time period in which it was set, but a reference to Windows on the World suddenly had me shifting my dread (for I anticipated something big happening) from a looming heart attack of a character to something much bigger and darker.Glass handled all the characters in this book, and their worlds, beautifully.
    • 4/5
      Well written character studies, and well crafted story line.
    • 4/5
      This is the 9/11 one. NYC chef moves to Arizona to cook for conservative governor; husband and child stay is NYC. Well drawn characters deal with distance and loss, with 9/11 as a plot catalyst.
    • 4/5
      The only reason this doesn't get a full five stars from me is the ending. I loved most of the book, and give her writing a lot of credit for keeping me engaged in the lives of characters I didn't actually care much for as people. However, I thought the end was too deux ex machina to get everyone where they were supposed to end up. It felt as though she ran out of time and had to wrap everything up in a less than natural way. Despite that one flaw, I would still recommend it to others, because it really is a great read.
    • 5/5
      Julia Glass is a talented writer who crafted a cohesive story by creating a large group of complex, flawed and loveable characters who travel in the same circles but don't necesarily know each other. The first Chapter or so took me a long time to read, its the type of book where you read slowly and pay attention to details. Once I got to know the main characters I fell in love with the story and thourghly enjoyed myself. I was impressed by her depth of imagination...I felt like all her main and axillary characters were complete and unique. I could understand them, especially in their relationships where they often felt one way but reacted in another towards their mates. I found the contrast between characters interesting, For the Govenour hand picked each of his staff and entices them each into coming into his employ and life...While Fenno lets his employees choose him and gently drew them into friendship. I also enjoyed the way Allan recacts to Greenie's Mother, while Greenie loves her whole heartedly and misses her thourghly, Allan say the undermining characteristicis in the Mom's personality. This became more meaningful about Allan and his dedication to his wife when Greenies former boyfriend and lover shares Allan's feelings. This helped me to see Greenie in a more complete light. I would have liked to see an entire book about Saga/Emily, I thought her story could have been explored deeper and look forward to seeing her in a new novel someday. I liked the way Allan and Greenie examined their marriage completely and had the courage to try again after failing each other. They both had made serious mistakes, although I did not feel like either was a villian. Another aspect I enjoyed was the authors inclusion of childrens literature, both famous and obscure. As a former Children's room Library page, I have leafed through most of these books and thought about how creating quality children's reading material is an art and a calling. I knew nothing of the book before I picked it up at the library in place of her earlier book, "Three Junes" which was recommended to me. So the entire time I read it I wondered what the time frame was, prior to 9/11 or after...So when the story lead right up to September 11th and its impact on the characters I found it believeable and respectful.
    • 4/5
      After finishing Ms. Glass's "Three Junes" two summers ago and giving her five stars on this site, I was bereft that it would be years before I could be engrossed once again in her world populated by fascinating, real, eloquently perceived characters. I have just devoured "The Whole World Over" and vascillated between 4 and 5 stars, only because her earlier work set the bar so high. There are no minor characters in the world created by Julia Glass- everyone has a story, a back-story, a depth of experience that creates fully-formed personalities whose actions and emotions feel natural because we know where they've been and how they got that way. She reprises her themes of family tensions, yearnings for parenthood, gourmet food preparation, dogs, gay relationships, and brings back Fenno McLeod and his parrot companion Felicity. Others have groused over the excessive detail about food and the lack of physical descriptions of characters. I find that one of the strengths of her writing - the details about what her characters do, what's important in their lives. We know them from their work, their actions, their emotions, and are free to conjure our own images of their physicality. I know people (except maybe for Governor Ray) exactly like those she's created, and so am even more impressed with her ability to flesh them out without actually coloring inside the lines. The final chapters are reminiscent of Nicholas Rinaldi's "Between Two Rivers" - a book so deserving of a wider audience - where we come to know an eclectic and fascinating cast of characters who are ultimately confronted with the horror of September 11. Strongly recommended for Julia Glass fans who can't bear to wait for her next book.
    • 3/5
      This wasn't quite what I expected (at all, really.) and I was kind of disappointed in it
    • 5/5
      I loved this book. It's a continuation, in some ways, of 'Three Junes', the earlier novel, but only in that one of the main characters, Fenno McLeod, reappears in this one. The book is set in New York and New Mexico and follows the lives of Saga, a 35-year-old woman who is recovering from a bad accident and dealing with an unsympathetic set of cousins; Greenie, a pastry chef whose marriage is in trouble; Alan, Greenie's psychologist husband and Walter, a restaurateur looking for a meaningful relationship.All the characters are drawn with loving attention to detail. It is a novel to savour: you have to concentrate on it and it isn't a book I could read in great chunks at a time. I read it in small pieces, as though it was a really big bar of fine chocolate. When I finished it, I was as satisfied and sorry as if I would have been if had finished such a bar!
    • 5/5
      I loved Three Junes and I was so happy when Fenno and the New York people turned up in this book too. This book was different but just as satisfying to me in the end tho may not have gripped my heart in quite the same way as Three Junes. Still and all, Julia Glass is simply an excellent writer!
    • 3/5
      It took me a while to get into this, but in the end I cared a great deal about the characters. It is a little disconnected b/c each chapter updates the story of a different character. It is true that sometimes we do the right thing in spite of ourselves.
    • 2/5
      I was really glad when this long, tedious book was finished. Not even the events of 9/11 picked up the pace.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. It was entertaining meeting each of the many characters in the book. Actually sometimes too many and I had to keep looking back and ask who is this one? I am anxious to read Three Junes by Julia Glass now that I have read this book.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book, but it was a bit slow in places. But the writing was good and I enjoyed the character development and felt that the author took her time revealing bits and pieces to create these characters.The ending seemed a bit unrealistic to me, but when I tried to remember back to the emotions that immediately followed 9/11 it did seem a bit more realistic to me, but I still struggled with the ending.
    • 3/5
      A quick read which I thought had sterotypical and flat characters.
    • 3/5
      Disappointing after "Three Junes". Neither are my kind of book usually, but Three Junes won me over by its characters and its pacing. In "The Whole World Over" Glass's tendency to the twee, simmering below the surface of Three Junes, steps forward and unbalances the book. I confess I was turned off by the name of the heroine ("Greenie"?!) and by the adorable-four-year-old (yawn). Somehow the things that worked in Three Junes just didn't work here. The split narrative just felt random and confusing, the ensemble cast was less interesting (except for Walter and, to some extent, the reappearing Fenno).Not that it was bad - but I found it hard work to finish. Oh well.
    • 4/5
      Definitely worth reading. The strongest part of the book was its' descriptions - great sense of NYC, New Mexico, life as a chef, environmental activist, animal lover, etc. Also good strong descriptions of characters, though I didn't like them all. I didn't always understand what motivated them, so some of their choices did not ring true.
    • 2/5
      I'm not sure how I made it through this one - except as helping me get to sleep! I liked the interweaving of the various New York characters, but unfortunately they were for the most part boring (Saga's was the most interesting story) and the reader's voice interpretations of them were sometimes irritating (especially Walter and George). Oh well.
    • 4/5
      The title refers to bird migration patterns found on a map in a small rest room in a small book store in New York. In the larger sense, it refers to the travels of this book's main characters, who drag their weak, or noble, or ambitious, or out-of-luck selves around the country from Maine to New York to New Mexico, and back home.This story revolves around Saga (given name Emily), who has been injured and is not quite all the way back. We also have Alan and Greenie and Greenie's lover Chuck, and their son George. George commits the crime of releasing a herd of horses into the wild and Alan and Greenie have to deal with that; this episode brings up the environmental and animal-rights themes which so prevail in this book. (It's almost Kingsolver-esque.) Our friend Fenno (from Glass's prior "Three Junes") finds happiness at the end of this book. I apologize; my notes on the plot are inadequate. Trust me, however, when I say that when you read Julia Glass, you will get graceful prose in the service of touching stories, told with wisdom. Glass is a polished, satisfying, wonderful author, and I recommend anything by her.
    • 4/5
      I’ve given a lot of thought to why Julia Glass’ second novel, The Whole World Over, has received so many lackluster reviews by avid fans of the author’s first novel, Three Junes. Obviously, fans of Three Junes were looking forward to another novel much like the first. They wanted another detailed character study. They wanted to get to know another character as intimately as Fenno McCloud, the much-loved main character at the center of Three Junes. What they got instead, was something entirely different. The Whole World Over is a study about family. The novel has a wide assortment of main characters, each belonging to ever-widening and intersecting circles of family connections. The author deftly sculpts each character—but none have that breath of life that Glass was able to achieve with Fenno McCloud. How could she? There are just too many characters…and after all, that is not the purpose of this novel.In this work, Glass delves deeply into the timeless question: “What does it take to make, or break, a family?” She gives us many families: a traditional family on the brink of a break-up; a hodge-podge family of friends, associates, and workers centered around a charismatic bachelor governor; a newly formed fragile group of three testing the possibilities of becoming a family; a father with one son, dealing with the possibility that he may have fathered another child who is totally unaware of his existence; a family that is shattered by how they deal with a mentally declining patriarch and a neurologically damaged sister; and many more. Glass takes us on a journey through these families. You won’t like all these characters, or their families, but each is fascinating and fundamentally unique. Each give us a view of family reality from another perspective. In this book, not all the families have bonds of blood, and some of the people tied together by blood do not turn out to be real families at all. At the end of this novel, no one character, or one family, will stand out in your mind. Instead, you will be left with the author’s all-important message seared into your heart: to make a family, all it takes is commitment and unconditional love. Without these, a family will shatter…or slowly dissolve.And, by the way, Fenno McCloud and his New York friends make a heart-warming appearance in this novel…and yes, they are most certainly one of the good and healthy examples of families that populate this remarkable book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it highly. It may not be as magnificent a novel as Three Junes, but it is still a powerfully-crafted and artful work of prose with an all-important message.