The Golden State

A Novel

By: Lydia Kiesling

Narrated by: Amanda Dolan

A gorgeous, raw debut novel about a young woman braving the ups and downs of motherhood in a fractured America

In Lydia Kiesling's razor-sharp debut novel, The Golden State, we accompany Daphne, a young mother on the edge of a breakdown, as she flees her sensible but strained life in San Francisco for the high desert of Altavista with her toddler Honey. Bucking under the weight of being a single parent - her Turkish husband is unable to return to the United States because of a "processing error" - Daphne takes refuge in a mobile home left to her by her grandparents in hopes that the quiet will bring clarity.

But clarity proves elusive. Over the next 10 days, Daphne is anxious; she behaves a little erratically; she drinks too much. She wanders the town looking for anyone and anything to punctuate the long hours alone with the baby. Among others, she meets Cindy, a neighbor who is active in a secessionist movement, and befriends the elderly Alice, who has traveled to Altavista as she approaches the end of her life. When her relationships with these women culminate in a dangerous standoff, Daphne must reconcile her inner narrative with the reality of a deeply divided world.

Keenly observed, bristling with humor, and set against the beauty of a little-known part of California, The Golden State is about class and cultural breakdowns and desperate attempts to bridge old and new worlds. But more than anything, it is about motherhood: its voracious worry, frequent tedium, and enthralling, wondrous love.

A Millions.com Pick of Most Anticipated Books. Nominated for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize.

©2018 Lydia Kiesling (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Amazing book. Bad pronunciation.

The reader was amazing but her producer really let her down. Quite a few pronunciation errors, the worst of which Nevăda.

not bad,but not good

I liked the mother problems. There was a lot of repeation in the novel. The mother doesn't believe she is a good mom. I liked Alice(the old women). The book ended on a sad note. I felt bad for the main character. This book was also hard to get into and picked up at the end of the book.

Getting Unstuck

A reminder of how mundane daily life is. A portrait of a stuck moment, and how we get unstuck. I love this book for knowing that other people are sometimes lonely like this, get stuck like this. And I loved the characters.

Tedious read but delightful reader Amanda Dolan

I was so bored by Kiesling's self-absorption. Though she pretended that she was fascinated by her daughter, she was really fascinated by herself--and every sentence contained a "look at me, look how awesome I am" vibe. Big, big ego even as she self-deprecated. Anxious moms may enjoy it. The reader, however, did an amazing job. Kudos to Amanda Dolan

boring

The story really just goes nowhere and is slow moving. I was disappointed and struggled to finish.

Couldn't Get Invested in Story or Narrator

Amanda Dolan gives it her best, but she just approaches the main character wrong (it's told in the first person). I couldn't like this personification no matter how hard I tried. The story doesn't do much to help -- I was bored with it by Chapter 3 and didn't finish the book.