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    Unavailable
    All Shall Be Well; And All Shall Be Well; And All Manner of Things Shall Be Well: A Novel
    Unavailable
    All Shall Be Well; And All Shall Be Well; And All Manner of Things Shall Be Well: A Novel
    Unavailable
    All Shall Be Well; And All Shall Be Well; And All Manner of Things Shall Be Well: A Novel
    Audiobook9 hours

    All Shall Be Well; And All Shall Be Well; And All Manner of Things Shall Be Well: A Novel

    Written by Tod Wodicka

    Narrated by Jason Culp

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Meet Burt Hecker: a mead-drinking, tunic-wearing medieval re-enactor from upstate New York. He prefers oat gruel to French fries because potatoes were unavailable in Europe before 1200 AD; and, at war with the modern world, he enjoys hosting large-scale re-enactments at the Victorian bed and breakfast he calls home.

    But Burt has some serious problems. After an incident involving the New York State police and an illegally borrowed car, Burt is forced to join a local music therapy workshop to manage his anger. He gallantly accompanies the group to Germany for a festival celebrating the music of the visionary saint Hildegard von Bingen--but he has no plan to return home. His real destination is Prague: he must find his estranged son Tristan, who, he believes, has lost his way in the Bohemian city.

    As we move between past and present, the tragic details of Burt's life are gradually revealed: the recent death of his beloved wife; the circumstances that separate him from his children; his complicated relationship with his mother-in-law. And we begin to understand, with heart-wrenching clarity, Burt's eccentric and poignant devotion to a time other than one's own.

    Wildly inventive and mesmerizing, Tod Wodicka's debut is a modern-day Arthurian quest that introduces one of the most winning oddball characters to come along in years.


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJan 29, 2008
    ISBN9780739329153
    Unavailable
    All Shall Be Well; And All Shall Be Well; And All Manner of Things Shall Be Well: A Novel

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    Reviews for All Shall Be Well; And All Shall Be Well; And All Manner of Things Shall Be Well

    3/5

    71 ratings7 reviews

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    • 1/5
      I didn't hate it, but I didn't like it either. I could give it one and a half stars, just for not being [book:The Inheritance of Loss].
    • 3/5
      I loved Part 2 of this book, when we were exploring Burt's flawed relationships with his family, the meeting and courtship of his wife, the coping with the even-then-apparent hatred and bitterness of his eventual mother-in-law, all in the context of his own foibles and obsessions. The first part had laid out those obsessions, Burt's interest in medieval re-enactment and the distancing effect on his family, but I never really felt invested in any of them. Part 2 is where Burt becomes emotionally three-dimensional, but by then, I wasn't sure I cared at all about him.

      Maybe if I'd read this at a different time I'd have loved it. For now? Eh. Good but not great.
    • 1/5
      iWeird guy wears nothing but medieval clothes for no apparent or interesting reason.
    • 3/5
      The main character is one which we are all familiar with...the person so engrossed in events that have passed or don't really exist (trekkies, etc.) that they live and care about this world more than the "real" one. The author takes us inside his mind and what is revealed as a selfish social misfit who tripped into marriage and fatherhood, and performed neither well. The writing is engaging and often humorous, but The level of sympathy you have for the main character probably depends on where you stand on the whole sub-culture of reenactment and its ilk.
    • 5/5
      Burt Hecker is a midieval re-enactor. Even in everyday life, he dresses in home-made tunics and sandals, drinks home-made mead (way too often), avoids anything OOP (out of period) and is vaguely uncomfortable whenever he has to enter the modern world. But, more than that, he is a husband and father who loves his family. Following the death of his wife Kitty, Burt's children (June and Tristan) abandon him. This leads Burt on a quest to reconnect with them.Burt is a complex character -- part quirky egghead, part downright weird and part loving and lovable hero. He is what makes this story of a family special and intriguing -- imagine living life as if you were born 700 years too late.This book made me laugh at times and nearly cry at others. It's very well written and Burt Hecker is an unforgettable character.
    • 4/5
      I found that this book was hard to read... it is sad and bothersome, yet beautifully written. At times, I found that the main character was hard to identify with and hard to understand and at other times, his bare humanity and frailty was familiar and appealing. I weigh new authors on the scale of whether or not I would consider ever reading their work again. Perhaps this is an odd statement, but I find that I will give more lattitude to an author I already like... be more forgiving of a second or third book that is not as good while still planning on reading their future work. For new authors, I tend to be more judgemental! In short, I would read the next book by Tod Wodicka. While I wasn't enamored and drawn to continue my reading of the book throughout, I found that I could not let go of it. I cared about the characters and what more can you ask for in a book?
    • 4/5
      A very well-written book about monumentally selfish, immature, and irresponsible people fighting with each other over imagined slights that suddenly became real ones. Worth reading for the gorgeous writing style, but you're going to end up wanting to punch every character repeatedly (except, possibly, for the lawyer).