NOVEMBER 2021 - AudioFile
Cassandra Campbell's haunting narration of Oates's latest novel amplifies the sad urgency that infuses the story. It is told from the point of view of Michaela, a writer who is facing the death of her husband from cancer. As the story progresses, that point of view becomes increasingly unreliable. Listeners may sometimes find themselves scratching their heads at the plot turns as Michaela’s mind becomes ravaged by grief, then distracted by other possibilities open to her. While the novel itself is sad and draining to get through, Campbell perseveres, imbuing Michaela with a humanity that words alone do not convey. Oates’s many fans will find much to enjoy in this novel, and Campbell’s performance brings her unique voice to life. D.G.P. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
Breathe is a fever dream of a novel, and it’s as an allegory of grief that it most sparkles. . . . Breathe is also a moving meditation on grief time, where there is no beginning, no end, and ‘each hour, each day, passes with excruciating slowness yet it is all happening very quickly.’. . . Oates lands the book’s wonderful ending. . . . Surprising and inevitable.” — New York Times Book Review
"Breathe is the highly affecting story of a woman facing the unimaginable loss of her spouse. . . . It’s hard to know what is real and what is imagined as the novel rushes toward its shocking and ambiguous ending." — Associated Press
"Effective and harrowing." — Santa Fe New Mexican
“Powerful. . . . Fecund with fear and anguish, and driven by raw, breathless narration, this hallucinatory tale will not disappoint. Oates is on a roll.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Gut-wrenching and devoid of sentimentality. . . . Recommended." — Library Journal
Santa Fe New Mexican
"Effective and harrowing."
Associated Press
"Breathe is the highly affecting story of a woman facing the unimaginable loss of her spouse. . . . It’s hard to know what is real and what is imagined as the novel rushes toward its shocking and ambiguous ending."
New York Times Book Review
Breathe is a fever dream of a novel, and it’s as an allegory of grief that it most sparkles. . . . Breathe is also a moving meditation on grief time, where there is no beginning, no end, and ‘each hour, each day, passes with excruciating slowness yet it is all happening very quickly.’. . . Oates lands the book’s wonderful ending. . . . Surprising and inevitable.”
