Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

I'll Take You There: A Novel
I'll Take You There: A Novel
I'll Take You There: A Novel
Audiobook7 hours

I'll Take You There: A Novel

Written by Wally Lamb

Narrated by George Guidall

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

About this audiobook

New York Times bestselling author Wally Lamb weaves an evocative, deeply affecting tapestry of one Baby Boomer's life—Felix Funicello, introduced in Wishin’ and Hopin’—and the trio of unforgettable women who have changed it, in this radiant homage to the resiliency, strength, and power of women.

I’ll Take You There centers on Felix, a film scholar who runs a Monday night movie club in what was once a vaudeville theater. One evening, while setting up a film in the projectionist booth, he’s confronted by the ghost of Lois Weber, a trailblazing motion picture director from Hollywood’s silent film era. Lois invites Felix to revisit—and in some cases relive—scenes from his past as they are projected onto the cinema’s big screen.

In these magical movies, the medium of film becomes the lens for Felix to reflect on the women who profoundly impacted his life. There’s his daughter Aliza, a Gen Y writer for New York Magazine who is trying to align her post-modern feminist beliefs with her lofty career ambitions; his sister, Frances, with whom he once shared a complicated bond of kindness and cruelty; and Verna, a fiery would-be contender for the 1951 Miss Rheingold competition, a beauty contest sponsored by a Brooklyn-based beer manufacturer that became a marketing phenomenon for two decades. At first unnerved by these ethereal apparitions, Felix comes to look forward to his encounters with Lois, who is later joined by the spirits of other celluloid muses.

Against the backdrop of a kaleidoscopic convergence of politics and pop culture, family secrets, and Hollywood iconography, Felix gains an enlightened understanding of the pressures and trials of the women closest to him, and of the feminine ideals and feminist realities that all women, of every era, must face.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperAudio
Release dateNov 22, 2016
ISBN9780062657497
Author

Wally Lamb

Wally Lamb is the author of five New York Times bestselling novels: She’s Come Undone, I Know This Much Is True, The Hour I First Believed, Wishin’ and Hopin’, and We Are Water. His first two works of fiction, She’s Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True, were both #1 New York Times bestsellers and selections of Oprah’s Book Club. Lamb edited Couldn’t Keep It to Myself, I’ll Fly Away, and You Don’t Know Me, three volumes of essays from students in his writing workshop at York Correctional Institution, a women’s prison in Connecticut, where he has been a volunteer facilitator for two decades. He lives in Connecticut and New York.

More audiobooks from Wally Lamb

Related to I'll Take You There

Related audiobooks

Family Life For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for I'll Take You There

Rating: 3.5071428457142857 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

140 ratings22 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    A newspaper review or maybe the description on the back of this book described it a book that every college girl could relate to. Um, maybe if you're crazy? I read this right after reading Foxfire by Joyce Carol Oates, which was wonderful, and while I was able to get through the book and didn't actively dislike it, it was sorta a disappointment.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    An unflinching view of the life of an obsessive college student describing her run-in with sorority life and her compulsive love for a black philosophy graduate student. Remarkable prose. Piercing and haunting.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    JCO introduces her readers to a fascinating woman in this novel. She is desperate to fit into almost any place that will have her; she seeks identity, companionship and a sense of belonging that has eluded her all of her life. As is often the case, our greatest strength may also be our greatest detriment. "Annelia's" intellectual pursuits and abilities lead her to seek definition through another character, Vernor, who uses and discards her just as her sorority did. I felt intense compassion for Annelia in her quest for friendship and belonging. Often the most vulnerable among us are those most victtimized: which comes first? I found the philosophical quotations and discussions that weave through this book in increasing frequency to be an integral part of the exploration of the initiation into adulthood.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Here is another beautifully written story by Joyce Carol Oates. She perfectly captures the emotions and obsessions of the young protagonist, so that she is scarily easy to relate to. I see pieces of myself in "Anellia," and reading her experiences, I could empathize with her. Oates is a master in weaving stories!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    According to the blurbs on the back of the book Oates is a candidate for "Great American Novelist". I disagree. That's about all you need to know. Not quite sure how/why I finished it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    If you were politically aware in the 1960s, and especially if you were at university around that time, then this book will bring back memories. It's worth reading just for JCO's take on that situation of which she was very much a part. In fact, I reckon there's a lot of autobiography in this novel (I've just recently read her memoir written on the death of her husband, but looking back to their early relationship in the time this book is set). It's much more than of historical interest though. The un-named main character has a personal growth experience with which many readers will find empathy. JCO's perspective added significantly to my understanding of self, but could add much more to a reader who is a white female in a mixed-colour society. There's a fairly heavy philosophy orientation which is really integral with the story and enriches it a lot. JCO also makes a strong bid to rescue the semi-colon from demise, single-handedly using up the whole North American quota for one year :-) . I haven't noticed whether this is a feature of her other stories.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Lamb’s mastery of words weaves another classic tale that unravels through generations of a family that allows readers to easily identify and relate.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Unashamed feminist work, with fantastic magical realism! Read read read!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Enjoyable listening! Entertaining and an interesting look into the ways in which families shape our being

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Outstanding piece of work. Wally Lamb did it again. Highly recommend!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Not for me. No plot and underwhelming characters.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is the first Wally Lamb book I've read. It will not be the last!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Felix Funicello is back from "Wishin' and Hopin'" though in a darker and more issue-oriented story encompassing the past and present. In present day, he is a divorced film studies professor and movie connoisseur on good terms with his ex, Kat and enthralled by his young adult daughter Aliza who is making her way in NYC as a writer. However, Felix is propelled to the past by some ghosts of movie stars and a prestigious woman director. He is able to view the film of his childhood in 1959 by entering it and reliving a day with his older sisters Simone and Frances, walking through his hometown with all the familiar places and characters. "That's what movies are right? Thousands of still pictures taken months or years or decades before -- streams of images burned onto celluloid that are reeled in front of a lamp and projected onto a screen, allowing us the illusion that they're alive. Flickers of light and dark. Brightness and shadow that won't stand still -- like life itself." (3) He returns again in 1965 to view a family crisis centering on his sister Frances, and like many families of the era, especially those with deep immigrant roots -- here Italian, not much is explained or openly expressed. Felix is chosen for this experience because he is "educable" according to ghost director Lois Weber, so what he needs to figure out is the bigger lesson here. Given that the book is dedicated to "feminists everywhere of every era" and that Frances struggled both with body image and sexual identity, that's part of what he is supposed to learn, which helps him understand both his feminist ex-wife and his post-feminist daughter. Skillfully interwoven is the true history of the Miss Rheingold advertising campaign, a beer company that had the public choose its spokesmodel from the 40s to the 60s (predecessor to St. Pauli girls?) and lots of other nostalgia and reflection upon time and its impact on society and culture. Felix reflects: "If the future is inevitable, then maybe it's best that we're blind to it." (162) He concludes with a treatise: "what do I believe in? Equality. Forgiveness. Compassion. Social Justice. I believe in the value of family, whether you define it as your blood relatives or the people you draw to you -- which is to say that I believe in love....I believe too, that art -- literature, painting, music, film --
    has the power to illuminate the human condition.....How could I not believe in ghosts, and what they have to teach us about how to learn from the past, fully inhabit the present, and embrace the propulsive thrust of the future...." (252) This is a folksy story with a bit of a Mitch Albom feel, though with a little more bite and substance and another song-title title bullseye.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I'd give this 3 1/2 stars. I liked it but felt it left me wanting. The characters weren't developed enough and the ends tied up too quickly and neatly. I liked both the story which took place in the past and the present day story but didn't like the gimmick used to tell about Felix's childhood. Left me wishing the book was actually longer
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Felix Funicello, cousin of, of course, Annette, has just turned 60 and is lamenting his crying stage that has returned from his childhood. Felix is in charge of a movie club, as in film noir. Celluloid, projection, click, click, click. Felix is a professor. Felix gets along splendidly with his daughter and wears argyle socks with crocs. Felix talks to you as you read.His movie club meets in a renovated movie theater, back to its 1926-ish photoplay, vaudeville stage days. He give a lot of film and fin star history. Whilst reminiscing on the late Lois Weber, she appears before him with one of her leading ladies, Billie Dove. Chit chatting with a beguiled & boggled Felix, she informs him that not only do her clique of ghosts stay current, but that “When Robert Ebert crossed over not so long ago, he did so with his Netflix account intact, so we have access to contemporary films in that way, too.”I do so wish we all still spoke with the eloquence of yore. Language was beautiful before we bastardized it with slang and texted abbreviations. But I digress. Back to the story.Lois wants Felix to write her “authorized” biography, promising to fill him with extra dirt on behind the scene skirmishes and “lavender marriages” and “sewing circles” concealing sexual preferences. (That of which continue today, no matter how many children transpire thereof.)Then she gifts him with him. His life on reel-to-reel, bonafide celluloid film of which he can view, insert himself and return back to now.He starts at 6, watching his life until Lois tells him to narrate and then to go into it. Interesting, the way things were, especially seen through the eyes of the young. These episodes continue with each visit to the theater. Age progression and the conundrums of growing up with 2 older sisters play out, including one’s bout with anorexia after a span of chubbiness when he was 12.I admit to forcing myself through the childhood reflections and readily confess my delight in doing so. The ending chapters made me a fan. Who’d have thought this to be a feminist novel? That the intent of Mz Weber’s ghost was to educate him in the history of womyn trailblazers in film, both in front & behind the camera. And for that, I thank Mr Lamb. Laterally, I’ve taken my own notes.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    What’s it about . . .Felix, an aging baby-boomer, turned 60 this past year. He is a film scholar and runs a film club in an old vaudeville theater.One evening while setting up for a film, Felix is visited by the ghost of Lois Weber, a little known but innovative silent film director, and Billie Dove, an actress from the same era. They invite Felix to relive scenes from his childhood as they are magically projected on the screen.The ghostly ladies return again and again, and these encounters help Felix gain a better understanding of the women in his life. He begins to look forward to his visits with Lois and her other ghostly friends.What did I think . . .I enjoyed the writing, and the ghosts were an interesting technique to allow Felix to travel back in time to visit with three important women from his life, but this story never really took off for me. There were some family secrets and drama revealed, and a look at feminism and the politics of the past, but nothing earth shattering or new.I couldn’t decide if this book was intended as a nostalgic trip for baby boomers, or an education aimed at millennials. Either way, it was a pleasant read but not as engrossing as some of the author’s other novels.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a quiet story and, while I liked the main character and the time period quite a lot, I didn't feel very satisfied upon finishing it. It's an interesting story on family dynamics, how times have changed in the last 50 years, and has some lovely film history to geek out over but it was too cozy for my taste.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I have loved Wally Lamb's books since his first one, She's Come Undone, so I always pre-order his books, signed if available and I have never been disappointed, ever in any of his books. This book is no exception. Loved it!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Read from September 04 to 05, 2016Wally Lamb doesn't disappoint in this lighthearted, yet surprisingly deep novel about the women that have effected the life Felix Funicello - a character we first met in Lamb's 2009 Christmas novella Wishin' and Hopin'. The writing makes for an easy read, while the story gives us a look into the lives of women and the choices they faced throughout the Funicello family's history. There are family secrets and difficult choices that the reader discovers along with Felix.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wally Lamb is a writer who grabs the reader emotionally, taking them on a heartfelt journey in each book that he writes. I first discovered him in She's Come Undone, which I read at work. I cried so hard, people would stop by and ask me if I was OK. That's the kind of writer he is.When I began his latest novel, I'll Take You There, I got a different kind of vibe, a lighter tone. Felix Funicello, cousin of 1960's star Annette Funicello, is a divorced dad of Aliza, a young woman working as a writer for New York magazine.I loved the interplay between Aliza and her dad. Felix teases Aliza about her coarse language (an unfortunate side effect of living in NYC) and is supportive and encouraging in her career. Kat, Aliza's mom and Felix's ex-wife, is a strident feminist, and Felix and Kat still get along well even though they are divorced.Felix runs a Monday movie night club at a old theatre that used be a vaudeville theatre. He has heard talk of ghosts that inhabit the place, but hadn't seen any until one day he is accosted by the ghost of Lois Weber, who made her name as a female director of films of the silent era. Lois tells Felix that she is going to show him a film of his life, starting when he was ten years old.Felix actually enters the film and he becomes the young boy he once was. We meet his older sisters, Simone and Frances, as they are going to the theatre to see a movie. We learn about Felix's family and their relationships to each other.The story deepens midway, when Frances faces some issues that she has been unable to deal with. The entire family is affected by Frances's problems, and the children learn some secrets that threaten the family's cohesion.I grew to love I'll Take You There. I enjoyed the nostalgic look back at 1950's Brooklyn, and the history lesson of the Miss Rheingold beer competition that the Funicello children became personally involved in when their former babysitter was a finalist.Lamb tugs at the heartstrings of the reader in the latter half of the story, with a tale that brought tears to my eyes. (Damn you Wally Lamb, you did it again!) The Funicello family worms their way into your heart and you love and identify with them. (Fans of TV's wonderful new show This Is Us would love I'll Take You There. It has a similar sensibility and blend of humor and pathos.)Aliza is given the task of writing about the Miss Rheingold competition, which galls her since she was a Feminist Studies major in college. But she learns something interesting, and Lamb ends the novel with a blog post written by Aliza to her mom about the new generation of feminists that will particularly enlighten feminists of my age who may not quite recognize the feminists of today.I'll Take You There features a grown-up Felix, whom we first met as a young boy in Lamb's sweet Christmas novel Wishin' and Hopin', and while you don't have to have read that book to appreciate this one, those who have read it will enjoy it on a higher level. I highly recommend I'll Take You There, and it would make a great gift for the literary feminist on your list.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Before I give you my opinion of Wally Lamb's newest book, I have to admit that I have read and loved everything he has written and he is one of my favorite authors. This wasn't my favorite book by him but it's still a fantastic book. The character of Felix Funicello (who we knew as a child in Wishin' and Hopin') is now 60 years old and this book is a reflection on his life helped along by a few ghosts who provide him with movies of critical points in his childhood. He could not only view the films but he could also become part of it with the feelings that he had at the age he was viewing. Just as important as his reviewing his life is his look at feminism in the past compared to feminism today. I loved seeing how Felix's character evolved from his earlier book and seeing how the events in our past are what makes us the adult we are today. To sum it up, this is a book about aging, family and feminism told in a way that only Wally Lamb could tell it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I really enjoyed this book. History, feminism, pop culture, storytelling and Hollywood lore: it had it all.