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Faithful: A Novel
Faithful: A Novel
Faithful: A Novel
Audiobook8 hours

Faithful: A Novel

Written by Alice Hoffman

Narrated by Amber Tamblyn

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Marriage of Opposites and The Dovekeepers comes a soul-searching story about a young woman struggling to redefine herself and the power of love, family, and fate.

Growing up on Long Island, Shelby Richmond is an ordinary girl until one night an extraordinary tragedy changes her fate. Her best friend’s future is destroyed in an accident, while Shelby walks away with the burden of guilt.

What happens when a life is turned inside out? When love is something so distant it may as well be a star in the sky? Faithful is the story of a survivor, filled with emotion—from dark suffering to true happiness—a moving portrait of a young woman finding her way in the modern world. A fan of Chinese food, dogs, bookstores, and men she should stay away from, Shelby has to fight her way back to her own future. In New York City she finds a circle of lost and found souls—including an angel who’s been watching over her ever since that fateful icy night.

Here is a character you will fall in love with, so believable and real and endearing, that she captures both the ache of loneliness and the joy of finding yourself at last. For anyone who’s ever been a hurt teenager, for every mother of a daughter who has lost her way, Faithful is a roadmap.

Alice Hoffman’s “trademark alchemy” (USA TODAY) and her ability to write about the “delicate balance between the everyday world and the extraordinary” (WBUR) make this an unforgettable story. With beautifully crafted prose, Alice Hoffman spins hope from heartbreak in this profoundly moving novel.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateNov 1, 2016
ISBN9781508225126
Author

Alice Hoffman

Alice Hoffman is the author of many books for children including Aquamarine, Green Angel, and Nightbird. Her books for adults include Practical Magic, The Museum of Extraordinary Things,The Dovekeepers and The Marriage of Opposites. Half Magic is her favorite book for children and Edward Eager is her favorite children’s book author.

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Reviews for Faithful

Rating: 4.163492064444444 out of 5 stars
4/5

630 ratings61 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Good. Melancholy, melodrama, and bittersweet. It had a very long storyline. Longer than expected.

    3 people found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Starts slow, but once it picks up, it's powerful. I cried, I laughed. It is a very enjoyable listen, excellent narrator.

    2 people found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Touching tale of how destructive trauma can be...the power of the will to survive it, and the journey to a beautiful transformation.

    2 people found this helpful

  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    The 1st 2 Chapters were super slow, it started to get more interesting later in the book.. not bad but ehhh

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I enjoyed the depth of the characters, and the storyline was excellent.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The bulk of the book is very morose. There is such a long stretch of sadness until the main character transitions into the best version of herself... there should be elements of relief along the way to balance the heaviness.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Don’t waste your time on this book. Poorly written book
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A well-paced novel which paints a convincing picture of life in suburbia, life in the inner city and the consequences of post traumatic depression
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Such a remarkable and humane writer - her characters so vivid her humanity shining through - I simply love this novel and the half dozen or so other novels by Alice Hoffman I have listened to this year - definitely one of my new FAVOURITE authors
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Muy buena historia, el desarrollo es genial; ademas de que la narración es muy buena.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved Shelby’s journey. We can all take a lesson from her. We are all worth something to someone and we should use our grace to benefit others!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I thought it was great. It was well written and the narrator did a good job.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I like this a lot, just as I like all of Alice Hoffman's stories. But there was a little less of that magical realism she is known so well for. Still, the story captivated me.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Too far-fetched. Clunky dialogue. Disappointing. The only character I liked was Ben and in the end Hoffman makes him unlikeable too.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Well written, emotional and soul grabbing. This journey through healing after tragic events leave Shelby understandably scarred left me not wanting it to end Loved it
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Shelby and her friend are in a horrible car accident, which leaves her friend in a coma. Shelby deals with survivor’s guilt and depression. She moves in with a person she does not care about and treats him poorly. Her family’s situation is not conducive to healing. She struggles to piece together a life after more than one traumatic experience.

    I had previously read and enjoyed a book by Alice Hoffman, but this particular book felt like it was written by a different person. It is almost, but not quite “young adult.” I say almost because it deals with adult content, such as rape, drugs, and attempted suicide.

    It starts with a glimpse of spirituality, but this aspect is soon forgotten. Somehow Shelby retains the good favor of many people despite how poorly she treats them. Her path through the darkness of survivor’s guilt is mostly covered by repetitive remarks about what a horrible person she thinks she is. This is a novel that remains mostly on the surface with little exploration of deeper thoughts or learning from experiences.

    I am not generally a fan of contemporary fiction, and this one falls into some of the same traps that I do not care for, such as melodrama, rescuing of the heroine via romantic relationships, and many unlikely events. If it is intended to be hopeful, it did not come across that way to me. It felt unreal and unsatisfying. I think I will stick to Hoffman’s historical fiction, such The Marriage of Opposites, which I enjoyed very much.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The book starts with the aftermath of a car accident. Shelby Richmond was driving and slid on ice; her best friend ended up in a coma. Shelby has terrible survivor's guilt and has a nervous breakdown. Gradually, she puts her life back together with the help of her loving mother, Ben, her pot dealer and lover, a new friend Maravelle, and a mix of dogs. Through all the ups and downs, Shelby clings to the postcards she receives from "her angel," the unknown man who sat by her the night of the accident until the ambulance came. I've never read a bad Alice Hoffman book, but this one might be one of my favorites. The writing is excellent, with all the little details that make Shelby such a genuine and caring person, despite how she goes off the rails for a while. Her interactions with Maravelle's family and how she stole her dogs to save them show that she does not deserve the self-loathing she feels after the accident. It's a beautiful story that I savored, and I can see myself rereading this in the future. Meanwhile, I highly recommend it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It's been awhile since I read anything by Hoffman -- I'm glad I did. Shelby Richmond's life takes a dramatic turn when she is a senior in high school -- she and her best friend Helene are in a car accident. Shelby survives, sort of. Helene doesn't, sort of. Helene is permanently on life support in her parents' home and becomes the source of miracles and other unexplained events. She is the "good one." Shelby spends time in a psych ward, then 2 years in her parents' basement incapable of facing life. This is the story of her climb back to the living. With the help of her pot-supplier/then boyfriend Ben who moves her to NYC and models a transformation to a new life, becoming an upstanding citizen and pharmacist, her unconditionally supportive mother Sue, and a mysterious "angel" who delivers artistic postcard unaddressed with messages like: Trust someone, want something, be something Shelby begins to heal. She becomes a healer as well, taking in stray dogs which ultimately leads her on a path to vet school. NYC is also good for her, because her identity is no longer tied to the accident, and the anonymity and busy-ness of the city let her lose the parts of herself she longed to escape. Befriending Maravelle, a single mother of three kids, also helps her begin to love other people and accept their love in return. An avid reader of fairy tales as a girl, Shelby longs for rescue or intervention, which finally does come from the most unlikely source, but she also learns that she needs to become an active participant in life.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A beautifully written and constructed novel. I adored it from the moment I realized that the lead character Shelby wasn’t going to continue her self-destructive ways, and had a chance at life, and improving herself. This character grew into such a wonderful person, I rather hate to see her go.
    If you had any issues with the way the beginning of the novel was created, and the way Shelby acted out because of her issues, PLEASE stick with it. You will be thankful that you did.
    The audiobook was narrated by the actress Amber Tamblyn, who should be utilized much more for this work. She was brilliant.
    4.5 stars, and highly recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    LOVED IT. I certainly didn't think so in the beginning, but I trust Alice Hoffman to deliver.. and she does!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Alice Hoffman does it again...From start to finish I could not put this book down. A ponginat story of life, love, loss, regret and ultimately about life moving on. And I leave you with a quote from the novel,"A man you love will walk away from you and not look back. A women will stupidly cast away a true love. A sheet of ice will await you. A dog will be your best friend."...Truer words have never been written.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    When Shelby is seventeen, she's involved in a one-vehicle crash that leaves her best friend in a vegetative state and she attempts to commit suicide, as she was the driver. When she is released, she feels that she must be punished. Instead of going to college, she shaves her head, lives in her parents' basement, and only makes human contact with her weed supplier, Ben. There are two different Shelbys. The before Shelby, seventeen, fun loving, popular in school, a good student and there is the after Shelby. Survivor guilt. This is her story and parts of it are not pretty.

    After her move to New York with Ben, things begin to happen to Shelby. Good things, even though she doesn't want them and doesn't think she deserves them. She gets a job at a pet store where she ends up rescuing (stealing) some dogs, becomes friends with Maravelle, and is promoted to manager. She enrolls in college where she hopes to eventually apply to Veterinarian School.

    Alice Hoffman has an understanding of people and their flaws. I cheered for Shelby, sympathized with her and was heartbroken for her at various times. I loved watching her move forward and try to forgive herself, even though she did everything she could not to. I love stories like Faithful that explore characters who are flawed and scarred and that draw me into the their lives as they find their way in life. This makes for a powerful and interesting read for me. I really enjoyed this audio book. The narration was very good and it felt like I was actually talking to Shelby as she moved through her story. I will definitely look for more from Alice Hoffman.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a story of forgiveness and finding your way back. Shelby has been in a terrible accident, which has left her best friend, Helene, in a coma. Shelby cannot forgive herself. Slowly people show Shelby that she has worth and, finally, Shelby seems to start believing in herself again.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ms. Hoffman paints a true picture of adolescence and growing up. This is a wonderful story abot life, tragedy and love.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Heartbreaking story of Shelby, who is the driver in a car accident that puts her best friend in a coma at age 17. The book traces her fall and slow recovery over many years. Themes of mother-love, guilt, and of course redemption pepper the book. There is also a central mystery of a series of anonymous postcards she receives with beautiful art work and cryptic messages over the years.There are a couple of absurdly unlikely coincidental meetings that I could have done without, but the book is beautifully presented and poignant. A good read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    "In February,when the snow comes down hard, little globes of light are left along Route 110, on the side of the road that slopes off when a driver least expects it. The lights are candles set inside paper bags, surrounded by sand, and they burn past midnight. They shouldn't last for that amount of time, but that's part of the miracle."

    There's a heat wave all over Greece at the moment I'm writing this review. I don't like summer and heat, I want to live in a place of eternal winter. Also, bright sun changes my mood and character completely and in this review, you'll probably see me obsessively describing my incoherent thoughts on how easily and readily I gave my heart to this book. It is one of the rarest of cases when I couldn't stop myself from reading the last chapter when I reached about 80% mark. I just wanted to know. This is how deeply I feel in love with Hoffman's novel.

    After a horrific car accident, Shelby's life changes dramatically. She gives up on her dreams, she punishes herself in all ways imaginable and chooses to escape to New York. Not to start anew. She cannot do that yet, because she doesn't believe she is able or even worthy of a good life. She believes she's a nobody, a nothing, a monster. She practically begs for other people to see her this way. But they don't. Because some of us have faith.

    The title is extremely poignant and well-chosen. "Faithful" to whom? To what? My answer is to everything. This is the reply I got from the book. To people, to a higher power, but most of all, to ourselves. It is the amount of faith in our abilities and value we gain through the children's love, through the animals' trust. Here, Shelby starts finding her way out of the darkness the moment people start trusting her. They have faith in her and she begins to look at herself under a different light. After trust comes faith and then love follows closely.

    Love lies at the centre of the novel, along with faith. Love between a mother and a daughter. Love between a couple (beautifully depicted in Shelby and James). Love between friends, between animals and humans. Love that is firmly rooted in the past or the kind of love that comes out of nowhere, sweeps you off your feet and helps you find yourself a little sooner than you'd think possible.

    "As evening falls, the wet street glows as if sprinkled with diamonds...There are bats in the tower of a church overlooking a small park. There's a sprinkling of gold -trigged stars in the sky.

    What is it with stories and New York? What is it about this city that makes everything so poetic and special? Why does it turn me into a romantic? I don't know...I fell in love with Hoffman's descriptions of the city. They're marvellous, especially the ones about the evening streets. You'll also find a few but extremely poetic images of the Hudson.

    There are certain well-placed hints of magical realism, with the postcards of an angel and Helena's supposed healing abilities. I think they're there to remind us that sometimes magic sometimes and beauty lies within our daily routine, within difficult choices, within the past. The narration is written in the present tense which is probably my favourite technique and it fits the story perfectly. And if by now you haven't been convinced that the writing is impeccable, I don't think I can trust you...

    I read that it took Hoffman ten years to write Faithful and this definitely shows in the way the story is tightly put together, in the characters that are fully developed, in the interactions that are realistic and vivid. Dogs have a very prominent role in the action and Hoffman even manages to include references to Poe's Nevermore and to Gaiman's Neverwhere. I mean, come on...This is perfection.

    Shelby is one of the most beautiful, most memorable characters out of all the books I've ever read in my life. You'll support her, get frustrated by her, cheer for her to succeed, cry and laugh. You will embark on an exciting journey. Call me superficial but James was...if he doesn't make your heart melt, if you don't fall in love with him as soon as you meet him on the page, then I believe you're heartless beyond repair. (Also, if the book is ever made into a film, I want Jonathan Tucker for the role. I don't know why but I pictured him as I was reading.) Ben, on the other hand, is irritating, a crying self-absorbed infant, competing with Shelby's father for the award of the most annoying character in the novel. To be fair, he has a few redeeming qualities, but I don't want to be fair today, I want to be emotional. See what this book did to me?

    None of us wants to make even the tiniest mistakes, but this is impossible. We're human beings. Even gods make mistakes and quite big ones. We're made to make mistakes and to learn in the process. Life isn't the silky cocoon our parents struggled to provide for us. Whatever few ugly experiences I've had taught me to think differently, taught me that there are people you need to discard without a second thought and people you need at all costs. In those moments, everyone need to have faith and trust in someone. In my opinion, this "someone" must be our self. And the rest will follow...

    "Together they fight demons in New York City, of which there is an endless supply. Each time another one is defeated, the Misfit comes closer to forgiveness, a state of grace he never can quite reach."

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Life is difficult, but add an accident that changes the life of your best friend by your doings and life can unravel. Alice Hoffman weaves a tale of love, loss, heartbreak, redemption, and forgiveness. This novel has it all and keeps you rooting for the happy ending that her characters deserve. Definitely a must read. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A beautifully written novel that deals with major emotions such as grief, love, loss and dealing with life. I really connected with Shelby the main character and was seriously pulling for her through the whole book. She pulled at my heartstrings and made me furious the next chapter. Not many good novels connect with so many novels. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this lovely novel.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Story of a teenage girl who feels responsible for her friends accident. Friend remains in a coma as she tries her best to live with the guilt. She discovers her love for animals, particularly dogs. This is Shelby’s story and how she finds a way to forgive herself.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    At the beginning of the book, Shelby Richmond is suffering from severe depression, anxiety, guilt, and post-traumatic stress. It’s been two years since the accident that ruined her best friend, Helene’s, life and Shelby has spent all this time (after a suicide attempt and being in the psych hospital) living in her parents basement with no contact to the outside world. She blames herself and doesn’t understand, “Why would an angel rescue her when she’s worthless and Helene, who was so much better than she leave a person?”could ever be, was right there, in desperate need of help?”One night while out walking she runs into Ben, someone she went to school with. “They stumbled into each other’s lives one cold winter when they were both desperate for warmth.” Even though Shelby tries to do everything she can to prevent it, they become friends. She decides to move to New York with Ben because she is haunted in her hometown and she wants to try to escape her past. She soon finds in New York that it’s not that easy to escape your past. She eventually develops friendships even though, “She has never wanted to be involved with people. People are dangerous, unreliable, stupid, greedy, needy, breakable.” Despite her best efforts, people come into her life and she becomes attached to them.She has an eye for tragedy and sorrow and seeks out needy people and animals. Since she couldn’t help Helene, I feel like she tries to help everyone else she possibly can. “She understands abandonment and loneliness. Her desire to do right for those creatures is what fuels her.”I won’t spoil the book through you, but the people and animals she helps, really end up helping her. I loved this book. I was immediately pulling for Shelby and wanted her to find her way. The other characters in the book were lovely as well and there were lots of dogs! A few quotes from the book:“Maybe that’s what love is. Maybe it’s like a hit-and-run accident; it smashes you before you can think. You do it no matter the cost and you keep on running.”“If you don’t think you’re worth something, no one else will either.“How much of the world can never be understood or explained?”“Life was beautiful, everyone knew that, but it was also bitter and bleak and unfair as hell and where did that