★ "Powerfully poetic...a testament to American virtues-and flaws."-Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
A deeply moving family story unfolding in richly evocative prose and a poetic portrayal of a town in decline during the final decades of the American century, Ashland is a book of metamorphoses-of the dance between permanence and transformation.
In Ashland, New Hampshire, Carolyn, born of a teenage pregnancy, grows up alongside her mother Ellie, her aunt Jennie, and her cousins. Ashland is the type of place that most people plan to leave, but few do. Beauty can be found in small things-the trees in the wind, the sky's particular shade of blue, a swim in the river, love, and family. But life can often be unforgiving and solace hard to come by. Carolyn reconciles the losses in her own life with an education at Plymouth State, the local university, and then by capturing in words her world and the people who inhabit it.
Recalling the novels of Richard Russo, Paul Harding, Marilynne Robinson, and Elizabeth Strout, Ashland is a debut novel of great intensity and poetry told in the voices of many vivid characters and, through them, in the voice of Ashland itself.
"Ashland, New Hampshire provides a quiet backdrop for this subdued audiobook. Six different characters share their points of view, with Emmy Bean voicing the female townsfolk and Evan Sears performing the roles of their male counterparts. Both narrators have earnest, personable voices that suit their respective characters. For the most part, both Bean and Sears imbue each individual with an appropriate tone and energy. The interconnected stories, though, have an element of stream of consciousness that can be confusing in the audio format. The placid performances are fine, but without the benefit of the written word to look back on, the content lacks a strong direction and often feels choppy.
These meditative stories will appeal to the patient listener."
