Unavailable
Unavailable
Unavailable
Audiobook10 hours
The Chalk Artist: A Novel
Written by Allegra Goodman
Narrated by Orlagh Cassidy
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
A tender affair and the redemptive power of art are at the core of this compelling novel from National Book Award finalist Allegra Goodman, "a romantic realist who dazzles with wit [and] compassion" (The Wall Street Journal).
Collin James is young, creative, and unhappy. A college dropout, he waits tables and spends his free time beautifying the streets of Cambridge, Massachusetts, with his medium of choice: chalk. Collin's art captivates passersby with its vibrant colors and intricate lines—until the moment he wipes it all away. Nothing in Collin's life is meant to last. Then he meets Nina. . . .
The daughter of a tech mogul who is revolutionizing virtual reality, Nina Lazare is trying to give back as a high school teacher—but her students won't listen to her. When Collin enters her world, he inspires her to think bigger. Nina wants to return the favor—even if it means losing him.
Against this poignant backdrop, Allegra Goodman paints a tableau of students, neighbors, and colleagues: Diana, a teenage girl trying to make herself invisible; her twin brother, Aidan, who's addicted to the games produced by Nina's father; and Daphne, a viral-marketing trickster who unites them all, for better or worse.
Wise, warm, and enchanting, The Chalk Artist is both a finely rendered portrait of modern love and a celebration of all the realms we inhabit: real and imagined, visual and virtual, seemingly independent yet hopelessly tangled.
Praise for The Chalk Artist
"Enjoyably sharp dialogue and convincing portraits of multiple mindsets and terrains . . . One can't help but marvel at how Goodman has captured the atmosphere of this virtual fantasy land so effectively in words."—NPR
"Mesmerizing depictions of virtual-reality landscapes of 'Neverwhen' and 'Underworld' make the games' dangerous power over one of Nina's students very real."—People
“Goodman’s latest combines fantastical flourishes (an imagined video game called ‘UnderWorld’) and realistic Cambridge details . . . in a narrative about art and ambition.”—The Boston Globe
"Allegra Goodman creates suspense where you might least expect to find it."—The Atlantic
“In Goodman’s inventive and moving new novel, an interlocking set of characters raise provocative questions about art and relationships. . . . The Chalk Artist deftly contends with the commodification of art, the transformations being wrought by technology, and the ephemeral nature of human bonds.”—The National Book Review
“The story is so fluid, traveling through each character’s intensity with ease. Bits of their lives fall apart and come together just as quickly. . . . It hits close to home, reveling in isolation and the ways art can at once save you from it yet push you deeper in. Aidan, Diana, Nina, Collin—they live in all of us, pieces of them glimmering when we’re irrational from passion or desperate from loss. It’s an open, rough peer into our world, and it’s difficult to not turn the page.”—The Michigan Daily
“Can Emily Dickinson compete with World of Warcraft? That’s among the intriguing questions raised by Allegra Goodman in The Chalk Artist.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Collin James is young, creative, and unhappy. A college dropout, he waits tables and spends his free time beautifying the streets of Cambridge, Massachusetts, with his medium of choice: chalk. Collin's art captivates passersby with its vibrant colors and intricate lines—until the moment he wipes it all away. Nothing in Collin's life is meant to last. Then he meets Nina. . . .
The daughter of a tech mogul who is revolutionizing virtual reality, Nina Lazare is trying to give back as a high school teacher—but her students won't listen to her. When Collin enters her world, he inspires her to think bigger. Nina wants to return the favor—even if it means losing him.
Against this poignant backdrop, Allegra Goodman paints a tableau of students, neighbors, and colleagues: Diana, a teenage girl trying to make herself invisible; her twin brother, Aidan, who's addicted to the games produced by Nina's father; and Daphne, a viral-marketing trickster who unites them all, for better or worse.
Wise, warm, and enchanting, The Chalk Artist is both a finely rendered portrait of modern love and a celebration of all the realms we inhabit: real and imagined, visual and virtual, seemingly independent yet hopelessly tangled.
Praise for The Chalk Artist
"Enjoyably sharp dialogue and convincing portraits of multiple mindsets and terrains . . . One can't help but marvel at how Goodman has captured the atmosphere of this virtual fantasy land so effectively in words."—NPR
"Mesmerizing depictions of virtual-reality landscapes of 'Neverwhen' and 'Underworld' make the games' dangerous power over one of Nina's students very real."—People
“Goodman’s latest combines fantastical flourishes (an imagined video game called ‘UnderWorld’) and realistic Cambridge details . . . in a narrative about art and ambition.”—The Boston Globe
"Allegra Goodman creates suspense where you might least expect to find it."—The Atlantic
“In Goodman’s inventive and moving new novel, an interlocking set of characters raise provocative questions about art and relationships. . . . The Chalk Artist deftly contends with the commodification of art, the transformations being wrought by technology, and the ephemeral nature of human bonds.”—The National Book Review
“The story is so fluid, traveling through each character’s intensity with ease. Bits of their lives fall apart and come together just as quickly. . . . It hits close to home, reveling in isolation and the ways art can at once save you from it yet push you deeper in. Aidan, Diana, Nina, Collin—they live in all of us, pieces of them glimmering when we’re irrational from passion or desperate from loss. It’s an open, rough peer into our world, and it’s difficult to not turn the page.”—The Michigan Daily
“Can Emily Dickinson compete with World of Warcraft? That’s among the intriguing questions raised by Allegra Goodman in The Chalk Artist.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Unavailable
Related to The Chalk Artist
Related audiobooks
Peanut Jones and the Twelve Portals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hard Times: Full Cast Drama Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Secret by the Lake Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Her Shadow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Valley of the Dogs: Dark Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKubrick’s Game: Puzzle-Thriller for Film Geeks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Spooksville Collection Volume 2: Aliens in the Sky, The Cold People, The Witch's Revenge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Room in the Attic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bruised Spirits (A Daisy Gumm Majesty Mystery, Book 11): Historical Cozy Mystery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCollege of Shadows Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Be Mine This Christmas Night Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Self-Portrait with Boy: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ridge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Vanishing Trick Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Diary Of A Zombie Villager Book 4 - Treasure Map: An Unofficial Minecraft Book Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Identicals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Miniature Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Drone Child: A Novel of War, Family, and Survival Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5It Started with a Kiss: The perfect uplifting romantic read Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Team Chu and the Battle of Blackwood Arena Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bleak House Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Starting Over At Sunset Cottage: A warm, uplifting read from Lisa Hobman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Reluctant Dragon - Unabridged Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Three Billy Goats Gruff Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lady Plays with Fire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Literary Fiction For You
The Bell Jar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Measure: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: A Hunger Games Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Demon Copperhead: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Hunger Games Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Man Called Ove: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stardust Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Covenant of Water Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Yellowface: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Poisonwood Bible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Parable of the Sower Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dutch House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Picture of Dorian Gray: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tom Lake: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Road Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House in the Cerulean Sea Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Song of Achilles: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Name of the Wind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Left Hand of Darkness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Chalk Artist
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews