Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Mother Land
    Unavailable
    Mother Land
    Unavailable
    Mother Land
    Audiobook23 hours

    Mother Land

    Written by Paul Theroux

    Narrated by Jefferson Mays

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    Read the ebook instead

    About this audiobook

    A richly detailed, darkly hilarious novel of a family held together and torn apart by its narcissistic matriarch.

    To those in her Cape Cod town, Mother is an exemplar of piety, frugality, and hard work. To her husband and seven children, she is the selfish, petty tyrant of Mother Land. She excels at playing her offspring against each other. Her favorite, Angela, died in childbirth; only Angela really understands her, she tells the others. The others include the officious lawyer, Fred; the uproarious professor, Floyd; a pair of inseparable sisters whose devotion to Mother has consumed their lives; and JP, the narrator, a successful writer whose work she disparages. As she lives well past the age of 100, her brood struggles with and among themselves to shed her viselike hold on them.

    Mother Land is a piercing portrait of how a parent's narcissism impacts a family. While the particulars of this tale are unique, Theroux encapsulates with acute clarity and wisdom a circumstance that is familiar to legions of readers. And beyond offering the shock and comfort of recognition, Mother Land presents for everyone an engrossing, heartbreaking, and often funny saga of a vast family that bickers, colludes, connives, and ultimately overcomes the painful ties that bind them.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books Audio
    Release dateMay 19, 2017
    ISBN9781501967382
    Author

    Paul Theroux

    PAUL THEROUX is the author of many highly acclaimed books. His novels include The Bad Angel Brothers, The Lower River, Jungle Lovers, and The Mosquito Coast, and his renowned travel books include Ghost Train to the Eastern Star and Dark Star Safari. He lives in Hawaii and on Cape Cod.

    More audiobooks from Paul Theroux

    Related to Mother Land

    Related audiobooks

    Literary Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      In Summary

      Jul 1, 2021

      There’s some good writing here. This short extract has covered a lot of ground and established that Edwina is a recently widowed woman thanks to the sinking of the Titanic. Her interior voice is skilfully rendered and there are some subtle touches su

      1 min read

    • Article

      The Lighter Side of Dan Chaon

      Apr 11, 2022

      I had a dystopian idea in the beginning, and in the end the dystopia caught up with me. The post The Lighter Side of Dan Chaon appeared first on The Millions.

      4 min read

    • Article

      Jonathan Franzen’s New Novel ‘Crossroads’ Is Set In The Chicago ‘Burbs And Launches A Trilogy. He Knows You Already Have An Opinion About It.

      Oct 20, 2021

      Jonathan Franzen’s New Novel ‘Crossroads’ Is Set In The Chicago ‘Burbs And Launches A Trilogy. He Knows You Already Have An Opinion About It.
      8 min read

    • Article

      Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Mahmoud, Davidson, and More

      Oct 26, 2021

      Here’s a quick look at some notable books—new titles from Doma Mahmoud, Craig Davidson, and more—that are publishing this week. The post Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Mahmoud, Davidson, and More appeared first on The Millions.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Interlude

      Mar 28, 2022

      Interlude
      10 min read

    • Article

      Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Shipstead, Ryan, Walker, and More

      May 17, 2022

      Here’s a quick look at some notable books—new titles from Maggie Shipstead, Eimer Ryan, Sarai Walker, and more—that are publishing this week. Want to learn more about upcoming titles? Then go read our most recent book preview. Want to help The Millio

      5 min read

    • Article

      Quiet on the Set: William Boyd on His Latest Novel

      Nov 18, 2020

      I think of a novelist as a magpie rather than a scholar. Anything bright that catches your eye can be brought into the work. The post Quiet on the Set: William Boyd on His Latest Novel appeared first on The Millions.

      4 min read

    • Article

      Knocking At The Door Of The Booker Prize

      May 25, 2023

      WHEN I MENTIONED ON Twitter that I was reading Tan Twan Eng’s third novel, writer Richard Osman commented that “The House of Doors is the exact title I’d use if I had to invent an imaginary Booker Prize-winning novel in a book”. Cynicism aside, he’s

      6 min read

    • Article

      A Year in Reading: Kevin Barry

      Dec 18, 2020

      Rattling around the house in the County Sligo hills, swinging from bouts of paranoia to moments of strange, demented hilarity, a 900-page doorstopper was just what I needed to stay grounded. The post A Year in Reading: Kevin Barry appeared first on T

      2 min read

    • Article

      Femi Kayode

      Feb 4, 2021

      Femi Kayode
      6 min read

    • Article

      Fiction To Look Out For In 2023

      Jan 1, 2023

      During the lockdown years, I kept reading articles by novelists saying how unproductive they were feeling, how virus narratives had colonised their subconscious minds, destroying the creative impulse. 2023’s novels – or at least those of them I’ve re

      3 min read

    • Article

      To Paradise By Hanya Yanagihara – A Masterpiece For Our Times

      Jan 10, 2022

      To Paradise, Hanya Yanagihara’s vast, complex follow-up to her Booker-shortlisted A Little Life, is a novel of many faces. I could tell you, for instance, that it’s about colonialism and racism in America today; or that it’s a queer counterfactual hi

      4 min read

    Reviews for Mother Land

    4.5/5

    3 ratings1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Awesome book. I really enjoyed it, narrated well also. I found the journey enjoyable.
      A real giggler even.
      For those not inclined to giggle- then a good chuckle). i didnt want to put it down, audibly.
      Have since recommended to several people, mostly related (including Mum).
      Another pearler for this lyrical genius.