New from Rachel Basch: The Listener
A wise and witty novel about the challenges to identity that arise in both adolescence and middle age—and the student and therapist who just may have the power to save each other.
The Listener chosen as finalist for MFA book award
Praise for The Listener
“A powerful story about loving yourself as well as others.” - Booklist
“[T]he central characters carry The Listener. Generations twist and turn, each exposing the others’ fallacies and lies. . . But it’s in the interactions between them. . .that Basch makes magic…. Everyone in this novel is trying to carve out meaning and an identity. . . . And that’s the beauty of this book: One person’s pain must inform the other. Father teaches daughter. Son teaches mother. The world teaches everyone to listen and be still.” - The Washington Post
“...a sharply observed exploration of identity and sexuality. ” - Michele Filgate
“The Listener unfolds like a map, leading us with remarkable clarity through landscapes we thought we knew into the wild territories at the heart of any American family. Rachel Basch uncovers such vital truths about parents, children, lovers, friends...that you’ll want to put this novel in the hands of everyone you meet and say, Read it now.” - Nalini Jones, author of What You Call Winter
“Heartbreaking and compelling. A sensitive, absorbing story about the need to be heard and the ability to listen.” -Bustle
“... not just writing that’s good, but writing that’s brave.” - BookPage