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    The Rocks: A Novel
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    The Rocks: A Novel
    Unavailable
    The Rocks: A Novel
    Audiobook14 hours

    The Rocks: A Novel

    Written by Peter Nichols

    Narrated by Steve West

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A romantic page-turner propelled by the sixty-year secret that has shaped two families, four lovers, and one seaside resort community.

    Set against dramatic Mediterranean Sea views and lush olive groves, The Rocks opens with a confrontation and a secret: What was the mysterious, catastrophic event that drove two honeymooners apart so suddenly and absolutely in 1948 that they never spoke again despite living on the same island for sixty more years? And how did their history shape the Romeo and Juliet-like romance of their (unrelated) children decades later? Centered around a popular seaside resort club and its community, The Rocks is a double love story that begins with a mystery, then moves backward in time, era by era, to unravel what really happened decades earlier.

    Peter Nichols writes with a pervading, soulful wisdom and self-knowing humor, and captures perfectly this world of glamorous, complicated, misbehaving types with all their sophisticated flaws and genuine longing. The result is a bittersweet, intelligent, and romantic novel about how powerful the perceived truth can be-as a bond, and as a barrier--even if it's not really the whole story; and how one misunderstanding can echo irreparably through decades.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMay 26, 2015
    ISBN9780698402317
    Unavailable
    The Rocks: A Novel
    Author

    Peter Nichols

    Peter Nichols is the author of the national bestseller A Voyage for Madmen and two other books, Sea Change: Alone Across the Atlantic in a Wooden Boat, a memoir, and the novel Voyage to the North Star. He has taught creative writing at NYU in Paris and Georgetown University, and presently teaches at Bowdoin College. He is lives in Maine with his wife and son.

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    Reviews for The Rocks

    3.5/5

    89 ratings17 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I read 1/4 of the book, but I'm giving up. I feel like I'm wasting my time reading this book and I want to move onto something more interesting.
    • 5/5
      A great read...Nichols paints on a wide, deep and lovely canvas, taking us in artfully-managed flashbacks through the lives of star-crossed lovers and Mallorcan expats Gerald Rutledge and Lulu Davenport. There's a mystery here as to why these two fell apart after being in love in their post WWII youth, and why - despite the proximity of their subsequent lives in Mallorca - they never got back together, or even became civil to one another. Each section of the novel tells us more about those lives, and moves us closer to the source of their estrangement. A tension develops in the reader, who wants to find out the secret that spun these two apart (not TOO far apart), but who also wants to linger over the separate events of said sections, because they're so well told. Nichols also manages to subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) relate it all to the Odyssey, which is an obsession of Gerald's but which also reflects his own lifelong difficulties with sirens, swine and the sea, starting (the not-so-subtle part) with that 1948 secret.
    • 2/5
      Done. I am deeply impressed with the narrator of the audiobook version of The Rocks, but I hate the characters and the story is too depressing. I found the reverse timeline interesting and enjoyable, but not enough to finish the book. Frankly, I don't see any way to redeem the irredeemable Lulu and it looks like the others will come to miserable ends without enough to justify what they, and I, go through to get there.
    • 4/5
      Was a great book, a little mystery, love story, family and much more.
    • 3/5
      so I read all 417 pages even though I found the book a little dull and didn't really care for any of the characters!!!!
    • 3/5
      I didn't like that this story was told in reverse chronological order - frankly, I think it would have been just as effective told in correct sequence and would have been easier to follow. One of the main characters, Lulu, was not likable at all, and many of the other characters were kind of despicable also. The major setting - Mallorca - was interesting. Kind of ho-hum.
    • 3/5
      fiction (family drama in Mediterranean seaside town). Starts off with a hook, but lags a tiny bit when it follows all the different characters and their degenerating lives.
    • 4/5
      A slow story, told in reverse, from the current day back 60 years to the actual start of the story. The story of two families living on the small Spanish island of Mallorca. A story of lives intertwined. Revealing a little more of their lives and relationship as we go back in time. I'm not a huge fan of the reverse storyline, but it was easy enough to follow. Although the book was long, I still felt that we didn't really get to know a lot about some of the main characters. This was probably because we only got to really know about them in a few select time periods. Reminded me of Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walters. Enjoyed, didn't love.
    • 4/5
      I have fallen in love with las Islas Baleares again. The first time was with Chopin and his lady love. This time with the characters who ebb and flow from them with the tides. There are several romances in this novel that are celebrated with humor, love, hate and disgust, anguish and tragedy. The chapters are written from present time to beginning which caused me to need to read this book quickly. A lapse in time of reading it would cause confusion. Sex is treated as a casual incidence. Having money is taken for granted. Changing partners is expected. An ode to the Bohemian life is achieved. It's a pleasant summer read. My thanks to the author and Penguin's First to Read program for a complimentary copy.
    • 3/5
      Finally finished The Rocks; the setting was extremely enticing but hated the lead female character as well as a number of her posse; this is a story told in reverse chronological order which seemed to work initially but I found that I had to go back a few times to confirm some of the references later/earlier in the book. Like many, the cover reminded me of Beautiful Ruins but the book itself was less so.
    • 4/5
      Read from May 30 to June 13, 2015This book has a great opener -- a 90 year old woman that curses uncontrollably thanks to a stroke and a just as old man who has smoked for decades meet in the street. We learn they used to be married and have both lived in the island of Mallorca since their divorce 60 years previously. Gerald, the old man, is desperate to tell Lulu, the woman, that he got them away. Who they are or what happened with the two former lovers, we don't know because then the two of them fall over the side of a cliff. Each section of the book goes a little further into the past. We see Lulu at her 70th birthday party, Gerald republishing his book, their children (with other people) as adults, then teens, then toddlers. Until finally at the end we discover why the two of them fell out. I liked the way the story unfolded, where we got to know the characters and my opinions of them changed as time went backward. We see awful decisions they've made and then discover what brought them to the decisions later. All clever and wonderful. Had it been a traditional narrative, I'm pretty sure this would have been a terribly boring novel.The setting plays a huge part -- at times reading it was torture because it made me desperate for a vacation to a beach...anywhere...it doesn't have to be an island in the Mediterranean! I thought this was a lovely novel that that tells the story of people and how misunderstandings can change everything. While the story itself isn't romantic, the place, the time, gives the book a sense of romance. If you like Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter, I think you'll like this one, too.
    • 3/5
      so I read all 417 pages even though I found the book a little dull and didn't really care for any of the characters!!!!
    • 3/5
      A star-crossed lovers, coming-of-age story, in reverse. The good: the setting. I love that Mallorca is described so beautifully. I also liked that the secret (secrets) were revealed in reverse chronological order. Think the game of life in Jeopardy! form; the reader gets an answer in the beginning and must discover the correct question by the end. The not quite as good: the reality of misunderstandings and miscommunications that darkened many of the central characters for most of their lives. It's depressing, especially if some people did not learn from their experiences. Also, there were so many affairs that the storyline became clouded. If you enjoy realism more than happy endings, then this may be up your alley. Penguin First to Read Galley
    • 5/5
      Gorgeous, evocative, lush, rich — with fully formed, compelling characters and an intriguing plot. THE ROCKS is the kind of novel that sucks you in and refuses to let you go.
    • 3/5
      To have a cover so similar to Beautiful Ruins is inviting comparison. I loved Beautiful Ruins but didn’t find The Rocks to be as compelling. I don’t really consider it a beach read either, because it was work to keep track of all the characters, their ages and relationships as the story moved backwards in time. There were enough interesting characters and settings to keep me reading, but the big reveal – the reason that a marriage ended 60 years previously – kind of fell flat for me. The “secret” was a let down because it hardly seemed insurmountable, or something that should have, or even could have, been kept secret for so long. On the other hand, for me, adults sleeping with teenagers is a “secret” that should be revealed, and should irreparably break family/friend relationships, yet in this book they do not.
    • 4/5
      The past few weeks, I’ve seen glowing reviews of “The Rocks” everywhere. (And every time I see the cover, all I can think about is the cover of Jess Walter’s “Beautiful Ruins”.) For me, at least, the actual book did not lease up to the press or the hype.I enjoyed the setting of the book the most. The descriptions of Mallorca – the sights, smells, daily life were wonderful. Every time the reader was allowed to stop and look around – I could practically feel the warmth, smell the sea…luxuriate in the somnolence that seemed to envelop the island. I was transported to a place I’ve never been – one that seems almost otherworldly in its tranquility and old-world atmosphere.“When twilight was quite gone, the sea and sky became fathomlessly dark. There was no moon, the stars were faint, the air opaque with humidity. Mallorca lay below the horizon to the north beneath patches of sulfurous loom. Closer, at indeterminate distances, hovered the lights of fishing boats hung with incandescent lamps to attract fish, each surrounded by a diffuse glow on the black vinyl sea. Low on the water, the fishing boats disappeared and reappeared like fireflies.” But there is a story in addition to the place – one which begins at the end. There is a mystery regarding the lives and love of Gerald and Lulu – nearly lifetime residents of Mallorca. The reader immediately knows what became of these two people – but has no idea how they got there. That was interesting to me – instead of wondering what would happen at the end of a story – I was wondering how it all began. (This device does get just a bit confusing at times – but works well overall.) I also found it interesting that while the reader is given direct access to many of the minor characters and most of the main characters – Lulu remains a mystery. The only way we see her is through the eyes of other characters. Her thoughts will forever remain a mystery.We know of Lulu from her son, her first husband Gerald, her second husband Bernard, various members of her cast of friends…but not from her. She is well known on this island as the owner of The Rocks, a seaside resort, and seems much admired by most and loved by a few – but what Lulu chooses not to discuss – none will know.Not even her son, Luc, who is inextricably linked to the island and to the daughter of Gerald, knows the full story of Lulu’s life. He is always drawn back to Mallorca, to his mother’s home and chosen way of life, and to Aegina. To the girl he has always known and has never been able to love fully. “Aegina stood up abruptly. “I’m sorry, she said again. “Bye.” “Bye”. She walked away. Luc turned his head and watched her until his eyes filled and he could see nothing but an unfocused wash of light and color.”“The Rocks” is compelling in both its luxurious location and the mystery surrounding the events that begin the book, but much of the book seems to stall in either too much about characters that matter little in the grand scheme of the story or (unfortunately) what comes across as gratuitous descriptions of sex.
    • 4/5
      I received The Rocks as a Goodreads First Read Giveaway novel. The story is situated on the beautiful, picturesque island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean, which is about as exotic a setting as one can get. The story is really a double love story, which begins in the present day with an unfortunate dramatic event, and then is told in reverse chronologically, until the reader finally discovers the series of events that caused a love relationship to become irretrievably damaged. The author is a gifted writer, but sometimes, because of the reverse structure, the story is difficult to follow. I appreciate the author attempting a more unique structure, but I think that it detracts from the story at times. As a consummate romantic, I am entranced by the love relationships that are portrayed in the novel, and I especially appreciate the author’s characterization of Lulu, a strong-willed and complex woman who creates her own destiny. I contemplated giving the book four stars, but decided that because of the difficult-to-follow structure and some lengthy text that might be condensed, the novel is more deserving of 3 1/2 stars instead. Nevertheless, The Rocks is not just a romance novel, and is meritorious of deeper consideration and thought as a reader.