Three Stages of Amazement

A Novel

By: Carol Edgarian

Narrated by: Anne Twomey

Length: 11 hrs

Publisher's summary

A sweeping, richly compassionate novel about marriage, ambition, and the reclaiming of love - by the bestselling novelist and cofounder of Narrative magazine.

Many love stories end in marriage; rare is the love story that begins with one - already promised, already worn. Set in San Francisco during the first year of Obama’s presidency, Three Stages of Amazement deftly charts the struggles and triumphs of Lena Rusch and her husband Charlie Pepper, still believe they can have it all - sex, love, marriage, children, career, brilliance. But life delivers surprises and tests - a stillborn child, an economic crash, a ruthless business rival and the attentions of an old lover. Touched by tragedy and by ordinary hopes unmet, Lena and Charlie must face, for the first time in their lives, real limitation.

Fifteen years after her stunning debut, Rise the Euphrates, Carol Edgarian has created a panoramic and deeply moving story about business and family and the demands of love in our time. She takes readers on a spellbinding journey inside America today, with an unforgettable cast of characters including Cal Rusch, Lena’s uncle, a Silicon Valley titan, and Ivy, his socialite wife, who engender complication in the lives of all the people they touch: their grown children, business partners, friends, the servants and workers upon whom the glamorous life depends - and Lena, whose quest for grace is the pulse of this gorgeous novel.

As Lena and Charlie, Ivy and Cal, face the temptations of their youth and the fantasy of the redo, they discover that real life is the ultimate challenge. Told with eloquence and compassion, Three Stages of Amazement is a true thriller of the heart, a riveting story about confronting adversity, gaining wisdom, and finding great love.

©2011 Carol Edgarian (P)2011 Simon and Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

"Carol Edgarian's novel is a book about grown-ups for grown-ups. Given that we never really grow up, yet have to make our way in the world, it ends up being thought provoking, intelligent, wise, sad, and illuminating. If that makes it sound too lofty, it's not: it's humane and therefore sometimes funny, and it nails the complexities of adulthood with a steel hammer held gently in very capable hands." (Ann Beattie, author of Walks with Men and Ann Beattie: The New Yorker Stories)

“Love, family, marriage, illness and money--this is a life story and a love story for our era, beautifully observed, sharply etched by a master storyteller.” (Amy Bloom, author of Away and Where the God of Love Hangs Out)

"In Three Stages of Amazement, Carol Edgarian gives you a brilliant and irresistible look at married life and happiness and the very human limitations of both. She's a wonderful writer." (James Salter, author of Light Years and A Sport and a Pastime)

Beautifully written

I almost didn't buy this book because some reviewer complained about the bad writing. In fact, I tried to get it out of my cart but couldn't, so I went ahead and got it. I am so glad I did. I can only conclude that this other reviewer doesn't know what good writing is.

This is a beautifully, beautifully written book. Its prose plunges into the depths of feeling and experience and displays them in pure poetry.

Uneven but Poignant at Times

Interesting story told in words that sometimes soar, though too often overwritten and strained to the point of near-parody