This book is filled with many controversial subjects. Too many. It left me drained, not knowing what to feel. I would have liked it better if there was one controversial subjects and a story based around that.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Dreamscape Media for an audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As Ana turns 60 she takes a takes and honest look at her life thus far. From a husband she who has spent the past 9 years either at work or home in a pot filled haze to the point of uselessness, her work and that it never gives her a moment that is just hers, her affair of seven years that her husband may or may not know about, her friends and truly awful mother and brother and horrible way she was treated by both of her parents and brother for the entirety of her life and how it has manifested in her life experience. It is more a series of vignettes told from multiple points of view that are put together to look at her life. A lot of tough subject matter and somewhat dark and depressing at times, but an overall interesting listen.

I found this interesting. Not incredible but an enjoyable story. Ana’s looking back on her 60 years… 2/3’s of one’s life if we’re lucky. Good writing. Good narration. Entertaining. Thanks for the ALC!

It’s Ana’s 60th birthday and as we go though the events of the day we also learn about some major events of her life and what has shaped her as a person.
Boy has she had a lot going on, from a absent father, a mother missing any maternal feelings, an insensitive brother, a lost friend and her son identifying as trans there is a lot to unpack in one day.

We follow Ana and those in her life on a multiple point of view journey. Often hearing two sides of a story throughout.

The book was well written and it was interesting to hear how people viewed and coped with different events.

I do wish we had a bit more emotion from Ana, she seemed like such a push over I wanted to just shake her and say “react!” But I think that is just who she is.

I do think the story missed a climax as it seemed to stay on one tear the whole time and when I reached the end I was left feeling we could have had more.

The Audiobook was done really well and very easy to listen to.

i was really intrigued by the premise of the book. a 60 year-old woman reflecting on her life so far on her birthday sounded like a great idea for a story, especially since i love introspective novels and fragmented narratives that jump from anecdote to anecdote to provide glimpses into characters‘ lives. but even though i did enjoy the novel overall and found some parts of it quite insightful, i did feel like the anecdotes never quite added up to a whole and often felt rather disconnected. the novel tries to cover so many difficult topics that it doesn‘t fully explore any of them. still, some really great writing and overall an enjoyable read.

This book had a lot of controversial topics in it and that was a huge turn off for me. I honestly wasn’t sure if I was going to finish it but I tried to keep an open mind. I do love the way that it ended and I was glad that I stuck it out to hear it. However, everything leading up to that was a bit much for me and for that reason I wouldn’t recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Audio for allowing me to listen to an ARAudiobook.

I loved this book. I loved Ana and her rambling thoughts. I loved the imperfect life she has led. I loved the dialogue. Her mother must be a twin of my mother. It was truly awful listening to someone else having this kind of mother but very believable. It is a treat to listen to such a well written book and I think that I will probably read the print copy when it comes out.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC! Ana Turns reads like a gracious scrapbook — each page a new photograph, each memory a new vignette into the lives of each character. Fans of Jenny Jackson's Pineapple Street will adore the compilation of backstories; however, instead of each anecdote being tied together by one common purpose, Ana Turns feels more like an exercise in world building. It's less linear, more in-depth, and every character in the protagonist's orbit seems to do more than just revolve around her and her 60th birthday.

As a lover of Virgina Woolf, the comparisons to Mrs. Dalloway are ample (and even tongue-in-cheek obvious / meta? with the protagonist herself reading Mrs. Dalloway at a cafe), but I do think that their structural differences can otherwise still be appreciated. Ana Turns is a recollection of memories told from different characters leading up to the main event of Ana's birthday — all of which are undeniably interesting and beautifully fleshed out. Plot-wise, this was so creative for such a simple premise. Clearly, Gornick's spotlights on each character allow them to glisten and as a result bring the story to life.

Lastly, I do really want to commend the author for her mentions of Palestine throughout the novel. While the references are succinct and few, each mention of Palestine does not go without relaying the atrocities that have impacted the Palestinian people for decades. It took a few minutes searching the Internet to find that Lisa Gornick is a part of the Jewish Book Council — that is to say, I have nothing but respect and admiration for people (especially writers; especially Jewish writers; especially Jewish writers who have been "hailed by NPR as 'one of the most per­cep­tive, com­pas­sion­ate writ­ers of fic­tion in Amer­i­ca'") who condemn Zionism and use their platform to recognize occupied Palestine and the horrendous violence that continues to plague the people and their land.

As we witness the witch hunt of artists/writers/journalists who publicize their support for Palestine and are punished for their rightful advocacy, I have the utmost respect for Lisa Gornick for including these mentions in her new book. Highly recommend.

3.75⭐️

<i> Nine years have passed since Ana Koehl had sex with her pot-addicted anesthesiologist husband, seven since she began an affair with a gonzo journalist. She’s gratified by her work as a book doula, but burdened by her belief that she need always be on call. Her elderly mother’s birthday greeting is an inflation-adjusted calculation of the cost of raising Ana in a mice-infested house, her brother has hijacked the will of their recently deceased starchitect father, her adult child is changing rapidly before her eyes, and her best friend advocates for “the truth in lies.” Gazing out at the dark moat of Central Park from behind her desk, Ana sees that she can no longer postpone making peace with her past or confronting her present.

Narrated by Ana and the key figures in her life—her husband, her brother, her lover’s wife, to name a few—Ana Turns spirals through issues from capital punishment to the dynamiting of the Bamiyan Buddhas, culminating in a watershed dinner party, with Ana’s family members’ true colors on full display. By day’s end, the bounds of her own collaboration and forgiveness illuminated, Ana turns towards a vision of what she wants next in this blink of a life. </i>

I found my interest repeatedly waxing and waning throughout this meandering narrative, which was more a series of interconnected vignettes than one linear narrative. There was depth and insight to be found, it just felt at times like sifting for those nuggets of gold among the dirt.

Petrea Burchard did a decent job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Lisa Gornick, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for providing this ALC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Keylight Books, and Dreamscape Media for the audio of this ARC. Let’s start talking about the main character and how much I loved it was a different character because it was a 60 year old. It’s a very engaging audiobook is a funny, raw, honest and interesting story and very deep one. So I recomend it to reader that like different stories that are well written and make you feel warm inside. Brilliant story for me

Many thanks to NetGalley, Keylight Books, and Dreamscape Media for gifting me an audio ARC of this book by Lisa Gornick and wonderfully narrated by Petrea Burchard - 4.5 stars!

Today Ana turns 60. Her mother's card stated that she had calculated how much it cost to raise Ana ($85,000); her son is going through a transition; her husband is a doctor addicted to pot since an injury; and she's been having a long-time affair with a married journalist. We hear from all the important people in Ana's life on her birthday, filling in her past, as the evening celebration looms.

I loved the fact that this book featured a 60-year-old, still active and still figuring out her life. Ana was consistently let down by her family, but is finally realizing that she has power over her own happiness and path in life. While she may not have made the best choices along the way, she takes responsibility over them. In doing so, she also lets other have responsibility over their lives and choices. It's relatable, funny, poignant, and I loved the ending!

The beauty of knowing it’s Manhattan editor, Ana Koehl’s birthday (April 28, 2017), “unspooling over the twenty-four hours”, suffuses the stories we follow and works its magic on us.
Backstories are interspersed with conversation and movement.
The dialogue is delicious.
A 60th dinner party is planned with family and friends…in New York City.

Listeners will be engaged - [I sure was] - with Lisa Gornick’s sweeping exploration of the meaning of life with her sublime narration. . . she does a remarkable job depicting every character. . . Husband, Lover, Son, Mother, Brother, immediate and extended family bonds, friends, the past, and present. (terrific-*interesting* engaging stories from start to finish).
Ana, herself, is a kick-ass, piercing-smart woman with a keen personality…..(funny in the best of ways, serious when it’s important), and brilliant at self—examining her psychological astute life… (through relationships, joys, happiness, obligations, regret, travel, Art, history, politics, love, romance, and sex)…..with extraordinary vision.
It’s fresh, original, with bursts of jollity and gratification.

“Ana Turns” is as funny, warm, brutally honest and entertaining as it is profound.
I sooooo loved it…..(even started listening a second time around)….plus I’m now reading “The Peacock Feast”….and want to read all othe books by Lisa Gornick.

As Ana turns 60 on her birthday, she is reflecting on her life and how she came to be where and who she is. The story is primarily told by Ana, but there are also sections from the POV of friends and family. Like everyone, Ana is flawed and a product of her life experiences.

I’m always cautious about reading books where a character is 60ish years old. Many authors have opinions on what the average 60 year old woman is about and most of them are way off base. The author here did an excellent job on that front and I find that exceedingly rare. Women in their sixties are still in the workforce, they go to yoga, they have sex and yes, they are still finding out who they are and what they want their future to be like. With the unabashed ageism in our world, it mattered to me that a 60 year old was portrayed accurately. Let’s start thinking Golden Bachelor rather than Golden Girls. Thank you @lisagornickauthor for doing your research to make all of your characters and especially Ana authentic. Ana Turns would be an excellent bookclub read for women over 40 as there are so many timely topics to discuss.

I listened to Ana Turns on audio and Patrea Burchard was a wonderful Ana. Thank you to @dreamscape_media @netgalley and the author for an advance audio copy. I enjoyed Ana turns and found it to be told from a place with humor and heart.

3.5 rounded up.

'Ana Turns' by Lisa Gornick was a well told, enjoyable story - a look into a woman's imperfect life amidst imperfect decision.

Ana is turning 60. She's also having an affair and her son, Simon, is going to have a sex-change surgery to become Simona. There's a lot going on.

The story is a composition of smaller stories, told in bits to create a collective whole. Though it's broken up in this way, the many little stories do have a red thread, at least as much as life does. Ana isn't a heroine you necessarily root for (she's in a seven YEAR affair, whaaaaat) but she feels like a real person. Isn't one of the best things about literature that it makes us consider perspectives we wouldn't ordinarily understand? This did that.

For readers at the end of midlife, I think this will be a comforting read. I'm 30 and while I didn't relate much to Ana, I never lost interest.

Thanks, NetGalley and Keylight, for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.