Adverbs

A Novel

By: Daniel Handler

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

Hello.

I am Daniel Handler, the author of this book. Did you know that authors often write the summaries that appear on their book's dust jacket? You might want to think about that the next time you read something like, "A dazzling page-turner, this novel shows an internationally acclaimed storyteller at the height of his astonishing powers."

Adverbs is a novel about love, a bunch of different people, in and out of different kinds of love. At the start of the novel, Andrea is in love with David, or maybe it's Joe, who instead falls in love with Peter in a taxi. At the end of the novel, it's Joe who's in the taxi, falling in love with Andrea, although it might not be Andrea, or in any case it might not be the same Andrea, as Andrea is a very common name. So is Allison, who is married to Adrian in the middle of the novel, although in the middle of the ocean she considers a fling with Keith and also with Steve, whom she meets in an automobile, unless it's not the same Allison who meets the Snow Queen in a casino, or the same Steve who meets Eddie in the middle of the forest.

It might sound confusing, but that's love, and as the author, me, says, "It is not the nouns. The miracle is the adverbs, the way things are done." This novel is about people trying to find love in the ways it is done before the volcano erupts and the miracle ends. Yes, there's a volcano in the novel. In my opinion a volcano automatically makes a story more interesting.

A dazzling page-turner, this novel shows an internationally acclaimed storyteller at the height of his astonishing powers.

©2006 Daniel Handler (P)2006 HarperCollinsPublishers

Critic reviews

"This lovely, lilting book is a kind of After School Special for adults that dramatizes love's cross-purposes with panache." (Publishers Weekly)

not what i expected

If you're turning to this book as an escape from the pain you might be going through due to the loss of someone close to you, this may not be the book for you. What begins as slightly edgy and somewhat derainged train-of-thought comedy turns into a very realistic and poignant portrayal of terminal illness. This book is much more than it first appears to be, but it was not what I needed and expected it to be.

Great writing style/narrator combination

The first time I listened to this book I just thought it was so-so. I really enjoy Daniel Handlers writing style in the unfortunate events series and that's why I tried this book. Some of the stories were sort of unpleasantly vulgar in a sexual way, but only a few parts really. After the first time I listened I decided to listen again and now I'm on my 3rd or 4th time through. It just keeps growing on me. Even though a lot of the stories are absurd it really is one of the best descriptions of how love is that I've ever read. Also this narrator did an incredible job with it, the timing is perfect. Life really isn't about the nouns, it's the adverbs...

Short Stories for the Non-Short Story Reader

Handler's book of short stories is so interconnected that it reads like a novel. Every word of it is pure, self-effacingly narrative gold. I listened to this on the way to work and found my self pulling every cliche and laughing at some moments, crying at others. Anyway, you'll never regret listening to these stories.