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A Calling for Charlie Barnes
A Calling for Charlie Barnes | Joshua Ferris
6 posts | 7 read | 1 reading | 8 to read
From National Book Award Finalist Joshua Ferris, a new novel about an American family in all messy forms, and one man at the head of it. But who gets to tell his story? Someone is telling the story of the life of Charlie Barnes, and it doesn't appear to be going well. Too often divorced, discontent with life's compromises and in a house he hates, this lifelong schemer and eternal romantic would like out of his present circumstances and into the American dream. But when the twin calamities of the Great Recession and a cancer scare come along to compound his troubles, his dreams dwindle further, and an infinite past full of forking paths quickly tapers to a black dot. Then, against all odds, something goes right for a change: Charlie is granted a second act. With help from his storyteller son, he surveys the facts of his life and finds his true calling where he least expects it - in a sacrifice that redounds with selflessness and love - at last becoming the man his son always knew he could be. A Calling for Charlie Barnes is a profound and tender portrait of a man whose desperate need to be loved is his downfall, and a brutally funny account of how that love is ultimately earned.
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Sophronisba
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Facts are full of dreary compromises and dead ends. Stare at them long enough and you'll go insane. Charlie's solution to this was to tinker, with headlamp and toolbox, in the workshop of the American dream, and to emerge sometime later with a diamond-cut hope that might make him a killing and redeem his lost time. This wasn't easy to dismiss as child's play or a variety of magical thinking; it was the most a man could be.

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Sophronisba
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Steady Boy woke, showered and spritzed, skipped breakfast for the time being, and headed in to work.

Oh, what a glorious morning! Maybe.

#FirstLineFridays #FridayReads

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britt_brooke
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Charlie Barnes is not exactly a renaissance man. In fact, he‘s a bit of a disaster, though kind of charming. Charlie has a cancer scare and awkwardness and hilarity ensues. This is ultimately about “the power you have when you control the narrative.” There are three sections aptly called Farce, Fiction, Fact, and once you realize who‘s narrating this story, everything falls into place quite cleverly. Satire and metafiction done well!

Megabooks Great review!! 2y
Megabooks And I loved the narrator reveal as well 2y
britt_brooke @Megabooks Thanks! It took me a bit to get into it, but I ended up really digging this. Thanks for the rec!! 2y
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Cinfhen I think this is coming up for me soon!! Im glad to know BOTH you and @Megabooks enjoyed 💕 2y
britt_brooke @Cinfhen Yay - hope you like it, too! 2y
SteveWJones I loved “Then We Came to the End.” I‘ll add this one to my list. 👍🏻 2y
britt_brooke @SteveWJones This was my first time reading Ferris, but I‘m definitely going to hit some of his backlist. Thanks for the rec! 2y
83 likes7 comments
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Megabooks
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Pickpick

How will your family remember you? This is a darkly humorous look at the life of a complicated man.

Charlie Barnes has pancreatic cancer…maybe. He starts calling family and people who have wronged him. His kids have heard so many lies from him, they doubt him now. The narrator, his son, writes the (nonlinear) story of Charlie‘s life; 4 kids, 5 wives, and many failed business ventures; to capture his legacy. Nick Offerman‘s narration = 🤩

Note ⬇️

Megabooks So I kept having the feeling I had read the bones of this story before, but I can‘t place it to a specific book. The general idea of the story is not new anyway, but I still enjoyed this, especially the reveals at the end. (edited) 2y
britt_brooke Now, you‘ve sold me on one today! #stacked 2y
Megabooks @britt_brooke this definitely is up your alley! 2y
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britt_brooke @Megabooks Awesome - I just borrowed the audio! Hopefully I‘ll get a chance to start it tomorrow. 2y
Cinfhen I think I‘ll save this for my plane listen 🎧 ✈️ 2y
BarbaraBB Sounds like a real Ferris one! 2y
BarbaraBB @Cinfhen Your flight! Something to look forward to 🤍 2y
Cinfhen You must be excited too @BarbaraBB !!! Will email@you & Meg later today 💗💗 (edited) 2y
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ThorsburgBooks
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ThorsburgBooks
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Time to read my biography, apparently.

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