The Disappearing Andersons of Loon Lake
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
The Disappearing Andersons of Loon Lake
Buy for $6.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Jess Wells
-
By:
-
Jess Wells
About this listen
Love, loss, irony, and humor abound in the lives of eight families living around Loon Lake, a shallow fishing spot in Northern Michigan. Wells' "use of language is like music," critics says, while others call her writing "a rich and varied drug," and that these stories convey "a real sense of the contradiction and the ambivalence that goes on within the family circle...through writing that has a lyrical style." Whether it's the story of a young dreamer and a bully, a man looking forward to retirement and the family that stands in his way, a teacher facing ethical choices, or a family coping with disaster, these stories delight.
©2017 Jess Wells (P)2017 Jess WellsListeners also enjoyed...
-
Once in a Blue Moon Lodge
- A Novel
- By: Lorna Landvik
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 61
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 53
Set adrift when her mother sells the salon that has been a neighborhood institution for decades, Nora Rolvaag takes a camping trip, intending to do nothing more than roast marshmallows over an open fire and under a starry sky. Two chance encounters, however, will have enormous consequences, and her getaway turns out to be more of a retreat from her daily life than she ever imagined.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
I wanted to like it
- By Joan Walker on 04-24-19
By: Lorna Landvik
-
And the Mountains Echoed
- By: Khaled Hosseini
- Narrated by: Khaled Hosseini, Navid Negahban, Shohreh Aghdashloo
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 5,831
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 5,155
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 5,141
Khaled Hosseini, the number-one New York Times best-selling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Does the End Justify the Means
- By FanB14 on 05-24-13
By: Khaled Hosseini
-
Flight Behavior
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver
- Length: 16 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,321
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,679
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,691
Dellarobia Turnbow is a restless farm wife who gave up her own plans when she accidentally became pregnant at 17. Now, after a decade of domestic disharmony on a failing farm, she encounters a shocking sight: a silent, forested valley filled with what looks like a lake of fire. She can only understand it as a cautionary miracle, but it sparks a raft of other explanations from scientists, religious leaders, and the media.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A poignant literary work of art.
- By criswithcurls on 02-08-13
-
Unsheltered
- A Novel
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4,279
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 3,792
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 3,793
Brilliantly executed and compulsively listenable, Unsheltered is the story of two families, in two centuries, who live at the corner of Sixth and Plum, as they navigate the challenges of surviving a world in the throes of major cultural shifts. In this mesmerizing story told in alternating chapters, Willa and Thatcher come to realize that though the future is uncertain, even unnerving, shelter can be found in the bonds of kindred - whether family or friends - and in the strength of the human spirit.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Spring for a professional narrator, please!
- By Gail D. on 11-05-18
-
The Last Romantics
- A Novel
- By: Tara Conklin
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,330
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,168
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,171
In the spring of 1981, the young Skinner siblings - fierce Renee, dreamy Caroline, golden boy Joe, and watchful Fiona - lose their father to a heart attack and their mother to a paralyzing depression, events that thrust them into a period they will later call “the Pause”. Caught between the predictable life they once led and an uncertain future that stretches before them, the siblings navigate the dangers and resentments of the Pause to emerge fiercely loyal and deeply connected. Two decades later, the Skinners find themselves again confronted with a family crisis....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Maybe the best book I ever read
- By Plundered treasure on 02-16-19
By: Tara Conklin
-
Calling Me Home
- A Novel
- By: Julie Kibler
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin, Lorna Raver
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,103
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,807
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,806
Eighty-nine-year-old Isabelle McAllister has a big favor to ask her hairdresser, Dorrie. She wants the black single mother to drop everything and drive her from Texas to a funeral in Ohio - tomorrow. Dorrie, fleeing problems of her own and curious about Isabelle’s past, agrees, not knowing it will be a journey that changes both their lives. Isabelle confesses that, as a teen in 1930s Kentucky, she fell in love with Robert Prewitt, a would-be doctor and the black son of her family’s housekeeper - in a town where blacks weren’t allowed after dark. The tale of their forbidden relationship and its tragic consequences just might help Dorrie find her own way.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
I really wanted to like it
- By Alexandria on 12-13-13
By: Julie Kibler
-
Once in a Blue Moon Lodge
- A Novel
- By: Lorna Landvik
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 61
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 53
Set adrift when her mother sells the salon that has been a neighborhood institution for decades, Nora Rolvaag takes a camping trip, intending to do nothing more than roast marshmallows over an open fire and under a starry sky. Two chance encounters, however, will have enormous consequences, and her getaway turns out to be more of a retreat from her daily life than she ever imagined.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
I wanted to like it
- By Joan Walker on 04-24-19
By: Lorna Landvik
-
And the Mountains Echoed
- By: Khaled Hosseini
- Narrated by: Khaled Hosseini, Navid Negahban, Shohreh Aghdashloo
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 5,831
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 5,155
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 5,141
Khaled Hosseini, the number-one New York Times best-selling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Does the End Justify the Means
- By FanB14 on 05-24-13
By: Khaled Hosseini
-
Flight Behavior
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver
- Length: 16 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,321
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,679
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,691
Dellarobia Turnbow is a restless farm wife who gave up her own plans when she accidentally became pregnant at 17. Now, after a decade of domestic disharmony on a failing farm, she encounters a shocking sight: a silent, forested valley filled with what looks like a lake of fire. She can only understand it as a cautionary miracle, but it sparks a raft of other explanations from scientists, religious leaders, and the media.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A poignant literary work of art.
- By criswithcurls on 02-08-13
-
Unsheltered
- A Novel
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4,279
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 3,792
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 3,793
Brilliantly executed and compulsively listenable, Unsheltered is the story of two families, in two centuries, who live at the corner of Sixth and Plum, as they navigate the challenges of surviving a world in the throes of major cultural shifts. In this mesmerizing story told in alternating chapters, Willa and Thatcher come to realize that though the future is uncertain, even unnerving, shelter can be found in the bonds of kindred - whether family or friends - and in the strength of the human spirit.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Spring for a professional narrator, please!
- By Gail D. on 11-05-18
-
The Last Romantics
- A Novel
- By: Tara Conklin
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,330
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,168
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,171
In the spring of 1981, the young Skinner siblings - fierce Renee, dreamy Caroline, golden boy Joe, and watchful Fiona - lose their father to a heart attack and their mother to a paralyzing depression, events that thrust them into a period they will later call “the Pause”. Caught between the predictable life they once led and an uncertain future that stretches before them, the siblings navigate the dangers and resentments of the Pause to emerge fiercely loyal and deeply connected. Two decades later, the Skinners find themselves again confronted with a family crisis....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Maybe the best book I ever read
- By Plundered treasure on 02-16-19
By: Tara Conklin
-
Calling Me Home
- A Novel
- By: Julie Kibler
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin, Lorna Raver
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,103
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,807
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,806
Eighty-nine-year-old Isabelle McAllister has a big favor to ask her hairdresser, Dorrie. She wants the black single mother to drop everything and drive her from Texas to a funeral in Ohio - tomorrow. Dorrie, fleeing problems of her own and curious about Isabelle’s past, agrees, not knowing it will be a journey that changes both their lives. Isabelle confesses that, as a teen in 1930s Kentucky, she fell in love with Robert Prewitt, a would-be doctor and the black son of her family’s housekeeper - in a town where blacks weren’t allowed after dark. The tale of their forbidden relationship and its tragic consequences just might help Dorrie find her own way.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
I really wanted to like it
- By Alexandria on 12-13-13
By: Julie Kibler
-
Glad Farm
- A Memoir
- By: Catherine Marenghi
- Narrated by: Catherine Marenghi
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 79
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 71
Raised in a primitive one-room farmhouse with no indoor plumbing, the fourth of five children, Catherine Marenghi begins her life in poverty and isolation. She leaves home at the age of 17. A decade later, she is a successful journalist with the means to buy her family their first decent house. But the past will not be put to rest so easily. Catherine unravels a web of long-buried family secrets, and a terrible betrayal that robbed her family of the home that was rightfully theirs. And she finally uncovers the story her parents never shared: the gladiolus farm that was once their dream.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A beautiful story of a real family!
- By Jacqueline Spiros on 11-28-23
-
The Widower's Tale
- A Novel
- By: Julia Glass
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 527
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 271
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 270
In a historic farmhouse outside Boston, 70-year-old Percy Darling is settling happily into retirement: Reading novels, watching old movies, and swimming naked in his pond. His routines are disrupted, however, when he is persuaded to let a locally beloved preschool take over his barn. As Percy sees his rural refuge overrun by children, parents, and teachers, he must reexamine the solitary life he has made in the three decades since the sudden death of his wife. No longer can he remain aloof from his community.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Shedding old skin ...
- By Kelly on 09-23-10
By: Julia Glass
-
Barefoot to Avalon
- A Brother's Story
- By: David Payne
- Narrated by: David Payne
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50
In 2000, while moving his household from Vermont to North Carolina, David Payne watched from his rearview mirror as his younger brother, George A., driving behind him in a two-man convoy of rental trucks, lost control of his vehicle, fishtailed, flipped over in the road, and died instantly. Soon thereafter, David's life hit a downward spiral. His career came to a standstill, his marriage disintegrated, and his drinking went from a cocktail-hour indulgence to a full-blown addiction.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic
- By Susan Newcomb on 04-01-16
By: David Payne
-
Bettyville
- By: George Hodgman
- Narrated by: Jeff Woodman
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 371
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 332
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 332
When George Hodgman leaves Manhattan for his hometown of Paris, Missouri, he finds himself - an unlikely caretaker and near-lethal cook - in a head-on collision with his aging mother, Betty, a woman of wit and will. Will George lure her into assisted living? When hell freezes over. He can't bring himself to force her from the home both treasure - the place where his father's voice lingers, the scene of shared jokes, skirmishes, and, behind the dusty antiques, a rarely acknowledged conflict...
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Title Should Be Georgeville-It's All About George
- By Sara on 10-08-15
By: George Hodgman
-
The Lost Girls
- A Novel
- By: Heather Young
- Narrated by: Alice Rosengard, Laurel Schroeder
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 718
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 652
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 650
In 1935, six-year-old Emily Evans vanishes from her family's vacation home on a remote Minnesota lake. Her disappearance destroys the family - her father commits suicide, and her mother and two older sisters spend the rest of their lives at the lake house, keeping a decades-long vigil for the lost child. Sixty years later, Lucy, the quiet and watchful middle sister, lives in the lake house alone. Before her death, she writes the story of that devastating summer in a notebook that she leaves, along with the house, to the only person who might care: her grandniece, Justine.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Engaging story spanning three generations.
- By LilMissMolly on 09-23-16
By: Heather Young
-
Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It
- By: Maile Meloy
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter, Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 453
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 391
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 392
Eleven unforgettable new stories demonstrate the emotional power and the clean, assured style that have earned Meloy praise from critics and devotion from readers and listeners. Propelled by a terrific instinct for storytelling, and concerned with the convolutions of modern love and the importance of place, this collection is about the battlefields—and fields of victory—that exist in seemingly harmless spaces, in kitchens and living rooms and cars.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The beautiful ache of the unattainable
- By Ryan on 01-16-14
By: Maile Meloy
-
Rough Beauty
- By: Karen Auvinen
- Narrated by: Jayme Mattler
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 104
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 96
During a difficult time, Karen Auvinen flees to a primitive cabin in the Rockies to live in solitude as a writer and to embrace all the beauty and brutality nature has to offer. When a fire incinerates every word she has ever written and all of her possessions - except for her beloved dog Elvis, her truck, and a few singed artifacts - Karen embarks on a heroic journey to reconcile her desire to be alone with her need for community.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Author's Memoir
- By Leonora on 08-06-18
By: Karen Auvinen
-
Did You Ever Have A Family
- By: Bill Clegg
- Narrated by: Bill Clegg
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 514
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 462
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 461
On the eve of her daughter's wedding, June Reid's life is completely devastated when a shocking disaster takes the lives of her daughter, her daughter's fiancé, her ex-husband, and her boyfriend, Luke - her entire family, all gone in a moment. And June is the only survivor.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
One of my favorite books, but sadly, read by author
- By Elizabeth on 09-03-15
By: Bill Clegg
-
The Waiting
- The True Story of a Lost Child, a Lifetime of Longing, and a Miracle for a Mother Who Never Gave Up
- By: Cathy LaGrow, Cindy Coloma - contributor
- Narrated by: Pamela Klein
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 266
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 243
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 243
In the summer of 1928, sixteen-year-old Minka was looking forward to a sewing class picnic. This would be a rare chance to put aside farm chores, don a pretty dress, and enjoy an outing with other girls. It would be a day to remember. And it was - but not in the way Minka had dreamed. Cornered by a stranger in the woods, the young girl was assaulted. Minka still believed that the stork brought babies; she would not discover for months that she was pregnant.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Captivating and fantastic
- By John alexander on 10-03-19
By: Cathy LaGrow, and others
-
The Book of Polly
- A Novel
- By: Kathy Hepinstall
- Narrated by: Jenna Lamia
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,743
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,524
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,515
Willow Havens is 10 years old and obsessed with the fear that her mother will die. Her mother, Polly, is a cantankerous, take-no-prisoners Southern woman who lives to chase varmints, drink margaritas, and antagonize the neighbors - and she sticks out like a sore thumb among the young, modern mothers of their small conventional Texas town. She was in her late 50s when Willow was born, so Willow knows she's here by accident, a late-life afterthought.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The incredible Jenna Lamia!
- By Mary Smiroldo on 05-09-17
By: Kathy Hepinstall
-
All the Best People
- By: Sonja Yoerg
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,915
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,643
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,635
Vermont, 1972. Carole LaPorte has a satisfying, ordinary life. She cares for her children, balances the books for the family's auto shop, and laughs when her husband slow dances her across the kitchen floor. Her tragic childhood might have happened to someone else. But now her mind is playing tricks on her. The accounts won't reconcile and the murmuring she hears isn't the television.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic
- By Samantha on 05-20-17
By: Sonja Yoerg
-
The Golden Hour
- By: T. Greenwood
- Narrated by: Thérèse Plummer
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 99
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 92
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 91
On a spring afternoon long ago, 13-year-old Wyn Davies took a shortcut through the woods in her New Hampshire hometown and became a cautionary tale. Now, 20 years later, she lives in New York, on the opposite side of a duplex from her ex, with their four-year-old daughter shuttling between them. Wyn makes her living painting commissioned canvases of birch trees to match her clients' furnishings. But the nagging sense that she has sold her artistic soul is soon eclipsed by a greater fear.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Maine accent is hard to stomach : (
- By Arai D. on 03-08-17
By: T. Greenwood
What listeners say about The Disappearing Andersons of Loon Lake
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- 'Nathan
- 05-08-18
A gentle, lovely collection
I loved this.
I'm a lover of short fiction (as I'm sure everyone is already aware) and having loved Jess Wells's other works (especially A Slender Tether), this was an instant choice for me, and perfectly timed. It became a wonderful companion on an overnight flight to the UK.
Often in collections, the stories might touch each other thematically, but sometimes not even that comes together. Not so in The Disappearing Andersons of Loon Lake, where each story was a lovely complement to those that came before. I caught myself with a little smile on my face at the end of most of the tales: there's a gentle humour at play here, and—again—while flying across the ocean, it was a welcome respite indeed.
I listened to this book on audiobook, so I should add that it's such a joy to listen to a book narrated by the author when the author is so gifted at performance.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!