The average person wouldn't consider Charlies Barnes' life a success. He has been married five times and divorced four. He has three children but only has a relationship with one of them. He has constantly drifted from job to job, often get-rich schemes that only last a while and then fail.

Now he has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, one of the worst kinds. He is facing an early death at age sixty-nine and not ready to go. He calls and informs family and friends and his youngest son, an author, rallies and comes home to take care of Charlie. Is this Charlie's end? When his son writes a book about Charlie's life, everything and everyone is upset.

Readers will find themselves liking Charlie in spite of himself. Although he was a terrible husband with a roving eye, he also was always there for his children, taking them into his home without a murmur when their living situations got bad. Although he wasn't successful in business, he tried to make sure no one else was hurt. He is willing to do anything for his current wife, Barbara Two, even though she doesn't care for any of his children. Charlie is a dreamer and sometimes dreams come true. I listened to this novel and the narrator had a matter-of-fact narration that was perfect for this tale. This book is recommended for literary fiction readers interested in family relationships.

Genre: family drama
In one sentence: Charlie Barnes is staring down a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer - but when he gets a second chance, can he build a new and better life?

I requested this book solely because it was narrated by Nick Offerman, and I loved his performance. His voice was a great fit for Charlie's complicated life.

Unfortunately, I think this book would have been better in text rather than audio for me. The narrative is complex, and I often found myself a little lost without the ability to go back a few pages and reread. As a result, I didn't connect to Charlie the way I had hoped until about halfway through the story. I did enjoy the last third, when the narrative "goes off the rails", so to speak. I think readers who like dark family stories (a la Shameless) will enjoy this one more than I did.

Thank you to Hachette Audio/Little, Brown for providing an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Narrator 5 stars
Nick Offerman has one of the most amazing voices. I could listen to that man read me the ingredients of cement.

Story 4 stars

What an interesting and unusual book. Charles made me feel all sorts of emotions! I hated him, felt sorry for him, he made me sad, happy and perplexed.

Joshua Ferris has some serious writing skills and I definitely need to read more books by him.

The Funny, The Sad and The Second Chances

💛 Tongue-in-cheek with shades of subtly dark humour, the tone of this book was well within my wheelhouse. Likewise, the themes of family and belonging and that little matter of the meaning of life, all fascinating.
💙 There was so much brilliant about this, but I couldn’t connect with the characters – not even Charlie - and I struggled with the conclusions reached, particularly as regards second chances and wiping out mistakes.
💚 In conclusion, it’s not you, Mr Ferris. It’s me.
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SOUNDBITE

🎧 Nick Offerman was a fantastic guide to the life of Charlie Barnes. The fun, the irony, the absurdity and the sadness, it all came through loud and clear.

🎧 A quick note on chapters. This is an 11.5 hour-listen, split into nine parts (other than the intro/outro). As someone who like to relisten to parts, I found this too few to allow for quick navigation.
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SHALL I COMPARE THEE TO…

There’s a bit of Shameless, some Modern Family and a touch of The Royal Tenenbaums in there. Just imagine a mix of those with a soupçon of sadness.
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Big thanks to Hachette Audio, Little, Brown & Company and NetGalley for providing me with an ALC in return for an honest review.