Alexander and the Wonderful, Marvelous, Excellent, Terrific Ninety Days: An Almost Completely Honest Account of What Happened to Our Family When Our Youngest Son, His Wife, and Their Baby, Their Toddler, and Their Five-Year-Old Came to Live with Us for Three Months
Written by Judith Viorst
Narrated by Laural Merlington
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
When Judith's son Alexander announces that he, his wife, Marla, their daughter, Olivia (age five), and their two sons, Isaac (age two) and Toby (four months), would be staying with her and her husband for ninety days while their house was being renovated, Judy doesn't know quite how to repond. "I tried to think of it as a magnificent, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity not only to strengthen family ties and not only to really get to know the grandchildren, but also to further my personal growth while also achieving marital enrichment." She decides that she'll have to learn to let go of her excessive devotion to domestic neatness and adherence to carefully planned schedules.
As Judith's tightly run home turns into a high-octane madhouse of screaming grandkids, splattered floors, spilled milk, and tripped-over toys, she begins to understand that, despite the chaos, what she's been given truly is an amazing thing, an opportunity to know her children and grandchildren a little better than before, but also to reconnect with her husband as they hold hands, close their eyes, and wait patiently for move-out day.
When the "Alexander Five" make a final departure to their newly refurbished home, Judith realizes that Alexander's wonderful, marvelous, excellent, terrific ninety days might have been the greatest gift her son could have given her-the gift of discovering forgotten memories, making loving families, and a chance to live life a little more deeply.
Judith Viorst
Judith Viorst is the author of the beloved Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, which has sold some four million copies; the Lulu books, including Lulu and the Brontosaurus; the New York Times bestseller Necessary Losses; four musicals; and poetry for children and young adults. Her most recent books of poetry include What Are You Glad About? What Are You Mad About? and Nearing Ninety.
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Necessary Losses: The Loves, Illusions, Dependencies, and Impossible Expectations That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Grow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Alexander, Who's Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
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Reviews for Alexander and the Wonderful, Marvelous, Excellent, Terrific Ninety Days
32 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This was more an extended article than a book, and it was slight re-hashing generational parenting styles, but it was still fun. And I think those Viorst grandkids have a great set of grandparents.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I expected it to be light and funny, with a sense of truth. It was. Also kind. As a parent with grown children I appreciate the kindness.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I did find this short book to have its moments of intense humour- especially the stories that revolved around mealtimes with the grandchildren. Viorst has not lost her comedic touch, and it is interesting to see how the little boy with the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day handles adulthood!
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5I read this book right after my husband, our two young kids and I moved back home after living for 2 months with my mother (in a VERY small house) during some home reconstruction. I expected to find some hilarious anecdotes similar to some of the humorous events (retrospectively) that transpired during our stay with my mother. There were a few funny moments, but on the whole, I found her excessive praise of how PERFECT her kids and grandchildren are to be not only annoying but also unbelievable. Viorst spends a good deal of time talking about the plights of parenting today, and the tendency for kids to be over-parented, over-scheduled, and/or over-indulged. She takes great pains, however, to emphasize that HER sons and their wives do not make those parenting mistakes. Well then, why bring them up? Why not just write a book about the problem of parenting today? She admits that she let her son and daughter-in-law read/approve the manuscript before it was published, and you can sense that in the writing. It simply lacks the hard-core honesty that would make a book like this a success.I guess it's just not all that interesting to read a book about a family that is ostensibly so perfect. I expected to read more about the fault lines in the relationships and the experience that the love of family overcomes. Maybe I should write that book...