Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

This Beautiful Life

A Novel

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

When the Bergamots move from comfortable suburban Ithaca to New York City, they're not sure how well they will adapt—or what to make of the strange new world of the well-to-do Upper West Side. But soon Richard is consumed by his executive role at a large New York university, and Liz, who has traded in her academic career to oversee the lives of their children, is hectically ferrying six-year-old Coco around town. Fifteen-year-old Jake is graciously taken in by a group of friends at Wildwood, an elite private day school.

But the upper-class cocoon in which they have enveloped themselves is ripped apart when Jake wakes up one morning after an unchaperoned party and finds an e-mail waiting in his inbox from an eighth-grade admirer. Attached is a sexually explicit video she has made for him. Shocked, stunned, maybe a little proud, scared—a jumble of adolescent emotion—he forwards the video to a friend, who then forwards it to a friend, and the video goes viral. Within hours, it's not only all over the school but all over the city—and all over the Internet.

In the aftermath, Jake is suspended from school, Liz's social standing among the Wildwood moms is challenged, and Richard's job is at risk. Good people faced with bad choices, they decide to fight back. But how? Do they use the very weapons wielded against them—the media and the law? And at what moral and professional cost? How they choose to react, individually and at one another's behest, places everything they hold dear in jeopardy; they are completely caught off guard by the ramifications of their actions, not only to their marriage, their daughter, their place in the community, but to Jake—the very one they have set out to protect.

This Beautiful Life is a powerful exploration of the blurring boundaries of privacy and the fragility of self, a tour de force of modern life that will have listeners debating their assumptions about family, morality, and the sacrifices and choices we make in the name of love.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      The Bergamots are upwardly mobile, supremely well educated, and hyper-socially conscious, so when scandal strikes their family, they have far to fall. Hillary Huber's excellent narration makes the listener care about their descent. Huber's voice has a soft hoarseness that adds an element of humanity to characters who might otherwise remain flat and unsympathetic. The point of view shifts between parents Liz and Richard and to their teenage son, Jake, whose role in the spread of a classmate's X-rated Internet video brings the family to the brink of implosion. With the exception of kindergartner Coco, who sounds a bit too precious, Huber moves skillfully among the characters, providing food for thought about the modern family and the role of technology in everyday life. L.B.F. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 11, 2011
      In this sobering tale of how adolescent stupidity can have criminal and social repercussions, Schulman (A Day at the Beach) explores what happens when a privileged teen boy forwards to friends a sexually explicit video made for him by a classmate. Jake Bergamot, 15, has recently moved to New York City from Ithaca, N.Y., with his parents, Richard and Liz, and his kindergarten-aged sister, Coco. Life in Ithaca was easy and idyllic, but after Richard takes a job in the city, that all changes. Jake is enrolled at Wildwood, a New York City prep school where he makes a new circle of friends and attends wild parties, one of which leads to the videoâlater made by a girl at the party who Jake refuses to sleep with because, among other reasons, she's too youngâthat could determine the direction his young life will take. Jake is a good student and a nice kid, and his parents are rocked to their foundations by their son being snared in a child pornography scandal. The plot is ripe for salacious tabloid treatment, but Schulman sidesteps easy shock and hyperbole to turn out a provocative story of ethics and responsibilities in the ever-shifting digital age.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from November 28, 2011
      An upper-class family is rocked by scandal when teenage son Jake receives an e-mail containing an amateur pornographic video from a female admirer. Not knowing how to react, he forwards the e-mail to a friend. When the video goes viral and becomes a prominent news story, Jake is suspended from school and the family becomes the focus of local gossip. Hillary Huber narrates with tremendous empathy for all the characters, conveying their emotions and point of view, and making listeners sympathize with the entire cast. Huber does not create voices per se, instead she simply changes the inflection of her voice to bring out the personality of each character: Jake has a slangy, insecure, whiny sound to his voice; mom Liz’s voice is warm and maternal, but also introspective and conflicted; father Richard is always strong and commanding—even when he feels inside that his world is falling apart. All the complexities and insecurities of the characters are present in Huber’s nuanced performance, making this a compelling and thought-provoking audio. A Harper hardcover.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading