The Wanting Life, Mark Rader
The Wanting Life, Mark Rader
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The Wanting Life
A Novel

Author: Mark Rader

Narrator: Donald Corren

Unabridged: 9 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/25/2020

Synopsis

Father Paul, a gay priest, reflects on his life while his sister and niece grapple with the life choices they’ve made.Set in Rome, Cape Cod, and Wisconsin over the course of the summer of 2009 and in Rome during the spring of 1970, The Wanting Life tells the intertwined story of three members of the Novak family: Father Paul, a closeted gay Catholic priest who’s dying of cancer and has secrets he desperately wants to share; Britta, his self-destructive sister and caretaker, who’s struggling to find meaning in a world without her beloved husband; and Maura, Britta’s daughter—a thirty-nine-year-old artist who’s facing a choice between her husband and two children or the man she believes is her one, true love.Featuring one of most unconventional love stories you’ll read this year, The Wanting Life is both a compulsively readable family drama about the toll that secrets and loyalty can take on us and a gorgeous meditation on the comforts (and limits) of faith and intimacy that calls to mind novels like Marilynne Robinson’s Home, Alice McDermott’s Charming Billy, and Julian Barnes’ The Sense of an Ending.

About Mark Rader

Mark Rader has had stories published in Glimmer Train, Epoch, and The Southern Review. He has been short-listed for an O. Henry Award, the Best American Non-Required Reading anthology, and a Pushcart Prize. He has an MFA in creative writing from Cornell University.

About Donald Corren

Donald Corren is an audiobook narrator and a New York actor with leading credits on and Off-Broadway, as well as numerous television appearances. On Broadway, he costarred with Judy Kaye in the critically acclaimed production of Souvenir, and replaced Harvey Fierstein in the seminal production of Torch Song Trilogy. His Off-Broadway appearances include The Soap Myth, Dietrich & Chevalier, The Last Sunday in June, Stephen Sondheim’s Saturday Night, and the original New York production of Tomfoolery. His television credits include eight seasons as forensic tech Medill on NBC’s Law & Order, as well as his current role as Dr. Kurian on Syfy’s Z Nation.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jill on November 28, 2020

In reading The Wanting Life – a revelatory debut that touched me deeply — I couldn't help but think it is also a quintessentially American story that focuses on being faithful to one’s commitments versus pursuing one’s most passionate desire. Mark Rader tackles his theme from three angles. Father Pau......more

Goodreads review by Bonnie on December 14, 2020

Father Paul has been the presiding priest in a small Wisconsin parish. He felt his calling when he was young and has been serving his congregation with love, education, generosity of spirit and hope for decades. He now has terminal and inoperable liver cancer that has metastasized to stage 4. His si......more

Goodreads review by Stoic on July 09, 2024

A moving and touching read, The Wanting Life asks one of life's most profound questions: What are we supposed to do when what we want isn't possible unless we hurt others? This question captures the essence of this novel in a wistful, melancholic, sad, nostalgic, and ultimately liberating way. In li......more

Goodreads review by Yusuf on March 16, 2020

Exquisitely rendered, and a beautiful piece on repressed desire and regret - the character of the dying Priest looking lovingly at his memories of meeting Luca is at the heart of this gorgeous book!......more

Goodreads review by Carla on April 15, 2020

A slow moving book, with heartwarming endearing and beautifully crafted characters. The central character is Fr. Paul Kovak, a gay priest that is now dying and having many regrets. It's written beautifully. His sister, and niece also figure prominently, as they examine the trajectory of their lives......more

Quotes

“Both quiet and deeply unsettling. A profound meditation on what we owe others and also ourselves, it balances the pleasure of getting to know a handful of vivid characters with the disconcerting awareness that their moral choices are, seeming by design, as impossible as our own.” Richard Russo, Pulitzer-Prize winning author

“With indelible images, exquisite emotional nuance, and genuine wisdom, Rader explores faith, regret, shame, fear, and, most of all, love.” Booklist (starred review)

“A cross-generational novel focused on happiness, fulfillment, and love…a novel whose leads are unafraid to explore the complicated territory of human desire.” Foreword Reviews

“Readers will be touched by the portrait of Paul’s rich interior life. Fans of The Great Believers will appreciate this story of heartfelt empathy.” Publishers Weekly

“Rader’s poignant debut novel explores the emotional costs of seeking and sacrificing romantic love…An insightful and compassionate family drama about desire, love, and the courage it takes to live a full life.” Kirkus Reviews

“Deeply complex and compulsively readable, this multi-generational story interrogates desire, truth, and what it means to lead a full life, in ways that are eternally urgent.” Gina Frangello, author of A Life in Men and Every Kind of Wanting

“Beautiful, suspenseful, and ultimately hopeful.” Siobhan Adcock, author of The Barter and The Completionist

“Every life is a love story, this book reminds us, and at every stage there’s a chance for a different future. I loved it.” Hannah Pittard, author of The Fates Will Find Their Way and Visible Empire

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