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We All Want Impossible Things

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We All Want Impossible Things

By: Catherine Newman
Narrated by: Jane Oppenheimer
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The uplifting and moving Richard and Judy Book Club pick.


Edi and Ash have been best friends for over forty years, a bond formed by a lifetime of memories. Since childhood they have seen each other through life's milestones: stealing vodka from their parents, REM concerts, unexpected Scottish wakes, marriages, infertility, children. As Ash notes, "Edi's memory is like the back-up hard drive for mine."

When Edi is diagnosed with the final stages of terminal ovarian cancer, she makes the painstaking decision to leave behind her husband and son to move to a hospice down the road from Ash. Fierce and loving, Ash's world reshapes around the rhythms of Edi's palliative care, from chipped ice and watermelon cubes to music therapy; from inadvisable Pringle-consumption to impromptu excursions out into the frozen Massachusetts winter night.

As the novel winds to its powerful conclusion, We All Want Impossible Things' unforgettable characters and the forcefields of love between them will touch readers to the core, throwing the full panorama - the humour, compassion and absurdity - of not only dying, but also of living, into bold relief.

'Devastatingly humorous and humorously devastating...an unbelievably brilliant and funny book about friendship, family, food, sex, and death. Catherine Newman serves up a masterclass in narrative - you'll stay up late devouring every word.' KATHERINE HEINY

'Nora-Ephron-style wit...comforting, so funny, moving but never mawkish and packed with all kinds of love. It's one of my favourite books ever' MARIAN KEYES

'Dazzling, heart-wrenching, snorty-hilarious...a masterclass on friendship, family love, memory, and the messiness of life, love and dying. An utter joy to read.' RACHEL JOYCE

©2022 Catherine Newman (P)2022 Penguin Audio
20th Century Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Romance World War I Marriage Funny Heartfelt Tear-jerking Witty

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All stars
Most relevant  
Read with the moving sympathy this book deserves. Highly recommended for everyone who is still breathing. What we need to know before we die. A celebration of individual humanity.

Brilliant!

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The detail and yet simple words of comfort throughout this story just kept me captivated. Such a beautiful story

Just a beautiful story

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So enjoyable. So much funnier than the synopsis would suggest. Beautiful and poignant. Life affirming.

A manifesto for friendship

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A truly memorable story of friendship, love and just how messy life can be. This will uplift you and make you want to tell all your friends and family just how much you love them.

This made me laugh out loud and cry in equal measure

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This was beautifully written. It felt very real and very poignant. I’m not sure what genre it would fit in but wonderful nonetheless.

A beautiful journey through loss

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I wonder if I might have enjoyed this book more if I’d read it rather than listened to it but I suspect not….disappointing really, particularly after hearing so many good reviews. I just could not warm to the character of Ash at all, I appreciate that she was the narrator of the story but I just could not feel any empathy for her - I found her selfish, possessive & her behaviour so offputting. I hate to not finish books, that was the only thing that kept me going until the end….

Slightly disappointing

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This is one of the best books of 2022 . I listened to it in one sitting ,

Brilliant

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I felt time slow down to allow me to truly absorb the love, the pain and all the rainbow of emotions beautifully poured forth by this incredible author in this gorgeous book. It made me reach for my own best friend to say “that’s us” and it made me hug my children closer x Absolutely loved it and so brilliantly read too!

Touching and raw, the truth about love and death

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Not one to read if you want a laugh. The whole story is about death and dying.

All about death and dying

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Excellent all round and it will stay in my mind for a long long time.

Beautiful book which I will listen to twice . Very moving and also funny.

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