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The World

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The World

Written by: Bill Gaston
Narrated by: Jeremy Sachedina
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About this listen

Weaving together five heartbreaking stories, Bill Gaston transforms the cruelty of life into something not only beautiful but heartwarming. A recently divorced early retiree accidentally burns down his house on the day he pays off the mortgage, only to discover that for the first time in his life he's forgotten to pay a bill: his insurance premium. An old friend of his, a middle-aged musician, prepares for her suicide to end the pain of esophageal cancer. Her father, who left his family to study Buddhism in Tibet, ends his days in a Toronto facility for Alzheimer's patients. The three are tied together not only by their bonds of affection, but by a book called The World, written by the old man in his youth. The book, possibly biographical, tells the story of a historian who unearths a cache of letters, written in Chinese, in an abandoned leper colony off the coast of Victoria. He and the young Chinese translator fall in love, only to betray each other in the cruelest way possible, each violating what the other reveres most.

©2012 Bill Gaston (P)2017 Audible, Inc. Anthologies & Short Stories Fiction Literary Fiction Short Story Heartfelt
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Profile Image for Nancy G.

love this book

Everything about this story engaged me. it is one of my favorite books. Quirky, funny, sad with some mystery in the mix. On the whole there are many good people in The World. I have read it a few times and registered with pleasure.

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