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The Ramblers
For fans of J. Courtney Sullivan, Meg Wolitzer, Claire Messud, and Emma Straub, a gorgeous and absorbing novel of a trio of confused souls struggling to find themselves and the way forward in their lives, set against the spectacular backdrop of contemporary New York City.
Set in the most magical parts of Manhattan—the Upper West Side, Central Park, Greenwich Village—The Ramblers explores the lives of three lost souls, bound together by friendship and family. During the course of one fateful Thanksgiving week, a time when emotions run high and being with family can be a mixed blessing, Rowley’s sharply defined characters explore the moments when decisions are deliberately made, choices accepted, and pasts reconciled.
Clio Marsh, whose bird-watching walks through Central Park are mentioned in New York Magazine, is taking her first tentative steps towards a relationship while also looking back to the secrets of her broken childhood. Her best friend, Smith Anderson, the seemingly-perfect daughter of one of New York’s wealthiest families, organizes the lives of others as her own has fallen apart. And Tate Pennington has returned to the city, heartbroken but determined to move ahead with his artistic dreams.
Rambling through the emotional chaos of their lives, this trio learns to let go of the past, to make room for the future and the uncertainty and promise that it holds. The Ramblers is a love letter to New York City—an accomplished, sumptuous novel about fate, loss, hope, birds, friendship, love, the wonders of the natural world and the mysteries of the human spirit.
Set in the most magical parts of Manhattan—the Upper West Side, Central Park, Greenwich Village—The Ramblers explores the lives of three lost souls, bound together by friendship and family. During the course of one fateful Thanksgiving week, a time when emotions run high and being with family can be a mixed blessing, Rowley’s sharply defined characters explore the moments when decisions are deliberately made, choices accepted, and pasts reconciled.
Clio Marsh, whose bird-watching walks through Central Park are mentioned in New York Magazine, is taking her first tentative steps towards a relationship while also looking back to the secrets of her broken childhood. Her best friend, Smith Anderson, the seemingly-perfect daughter of one of New York’s wealthiest families, organizes the lives of others as her own has fallen apart. And Tate Pennington has returned to the city, heartbroken but determined to move ahead with his artistic dreams.
Rambling through the emotional chaos of their lives, this trio learns to let go of the past, to make room for the future and the uncertainty and promise that it holds. The Ramblers is a love letter to New York City—an accomplished, sumptuous novel about fate, loss, hope, birds, friendship, love, the wonders of the natural world and the mysteries of the human spirit.
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First published February 9, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 419 reviews
February 23, 2016
3.75 Beautiful, beautiful cover, they do attract and the title I found fascinating as well. Probably a lighter book than my usual reads but there are deeper subjects at play all ably handled under this authors deft touch. Yet, what I loved the most were the characters, such wonderful characters, all thirty somethings at a personal crossroads, Clio, Smith and Tate. Different walks of life, different successes so far in their lives, but all with important decisions to make. Mental illness, marriage, divorce, breaking away from parental control, all issues that give this novel depth. Best of all the story is interspersed with ornithological facts, architectural details, literary quotes and facts about famous people in the past.
The Ramble itself it 36 acres in Central park, designed by Olmstead and loved by bird watchers. This location plays a significant role in this book. I enjoyed this book immensely, the pages flew by and at the end I was not ready to let these characters go. Although it bordered on the sentimental at times even this seemed fitting in the character of the story. Sometimes beautiful covers do contain wonderful stories.
ARC from publisher.
The Ramble itself it 36 acres in Central park, designed by Olmstead and loved by bird watchers. This location plays a significant role in this book. I enjoyed this book immensely, the pages flew by and at the end I was not ready to let these characters go. Although it bordered on the sentimental at times even this seemed fitting in the character of the story. Sometimes beautiful covers do contain wonderful stories.
ARC from publisher.
February 23, 2016
I am frankly a bit shocked at the glowing reviews for this book. I won a free copy, so admittedly outside the sphere of what I normally read. But the sheer volume of #FirstWorldProblems in this book almost motivated me to set up a global relief fund. I pictured starving Syrians air dropping almond cookies and artisan pots of mint tea onto the Upper West Side, Red Cross Life Coaches rushing in with Champagne IV-drips and buckets of Xanax to soothe the nerves of these 35-year-old Yale graduates with unlimited wealth who literally pay people to tell them they deserve to be happy. What are the problems we’re expected to care about? Does the billion-heiress have the guts to move out of the $10 million apartment her parents bought for her, and support herself… by running the company that her parents bought for her? Does the guy who sold his company for $40 million have the courage to pursue his hobby of taking photos? Will the adjunct professor who has been living rent free for fifteen years in her friend’s $10 million apartment overcome her past to live rent free in the penthouse apartment built for her by her hotelier boyfriend? Most of us know (I think) that great wealth does not necessarily produce great happiness. But I am genuinely not sure whether The Ramblers knows that. To be honest, I think the narrative might be predicated on the thesis that money should make you happy. And I realize this is the cranky, un-hip lefty mom in me talking, but I just couldn't get past that.
Shorter review: go ahead and buy it, but please try to buy all the better books first.
Shorter review: go ahead and buy it, but please try to buy all the better books first.
April 18, 2016
I'd rate this 4.5 stars.
Many books depend on dramatic events to advance their plots, as the chaos these incidents wreck can leave indelible marks on a book's characters. However, there is often equal, if not greater, power in those books which focus on the more mundane crises and their effect on people. It doesn't take a catastrophe to cause emotional upheaval and eventual renewalsometimes these happen in the midst of everyday life.
Aidan Donnelley Rowley's beautiful book, The Ramblers , falls more into the latter category for me, but that doesn't lessen its appeal or its power one iota. The story of three people at emotional crossroads, who need to move on from dwelling on the problems which hold them back, this is a moving examination of finding strength within ourselves, learning to trust when every fiber of our being tells us we shouldn't, and coming to terms with our fears.
Clio Marsh is an ornithologist whose bird-watching walks through Central Park have become noteworthy and have started to earn her a following. The daughter of an emotionally unstable mother, she's always kept most people at arm's length in an attempt to protect herself and the legacy she is so fearful of inheriting. Yet when she meets Henry, an older hotelier who charms her and protects her as no one else ever has, she wants to let herself fall completely but she is worried he may abandon her if he knows the truth about her family.
Clio's best friend, Smith Anderson, is living proof that being raised by one of New York's most prominent and wealthy families doesn't guarantee happiness. While she's happy with her success as a professional organizer (despite the vociferous objections of her father), she's having trouble decluttering her own crisis-laden life, between pining for her ex-fiancée, who ended their engagement abruptly, dreading her younger sister's wedding and the speech she needs to write as maid of honor, and wondering where a recent flirtation might go.
Tate Pennington knew Smith peripherally when she and Clio were fellow students at Yale. He thought he had it all—a successful career and a great marriage, but even as he abandoned life in the financial sector to create a wildly successful startup, he discovered that everything wasn't quite what he expected. Heartbroken and unsure of his next move, he returns to New York and tries to decide whether forging ahead with a new life is right for him, or if there's still a chance to salvage what was lost.
Even thought I couldn't really identify with these characters much, Rowley made them tremendously appealing, even though they were flawed. I found myself fully invested in their stories, emotionally and otherwise, and while there wasn't necessarily anything shocking about the way the plot unfolded, I savored everything about this book. Rowley is a terrific writer with a very engaging style and a strong storytelling ability, and I just enjoyed everything about this book. Emotional without being melodramatic, wry without being quirky, this is a definite winner.
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
Many books depend on dramatic events to advance their plots, as the chaos these incidents wreck can leave indelible marks on a book's characters. However, there is often equal, if not greater, power in those books which focus on the more mundane crises and their effect on people. It doesn't take a catastrophe to cause emotional upheaval and eventual renewalsometimes these happen in the midst of everyday life.
Aidan Donnelley Rowley's beautiful book, The Ramblers , falls more into the latter category for me, but that doesn't lessen its appeal or its power one iota. The story of three people at emotional crossroads, who need to move on from dwelling on the problems which hold them back, this is a moving examination of finding strength within ourselves, learning to trust when every fiber of our being tells us we shouldn't, and coming to terms with our fears.
Clio Marsh is an ornithologist whose bird-watching walks through Central Park have become noteworthy and have started to earn her a following. The daughter of an emotionally unstable mother, she's always kept most people at arm's length in an attempt to protect herself and the legacy she is so fearful of inheriting. Yet when she meets Henry, an older hotelier who charms her and protects her as no one else ever has, she wants to let herself fall completely but she is worried he may abandon her if he knows the truth about her family.
Clio's best friend, Smith Anderson, is living proof that being raised by one of New York's most prominent and wealthy families doesn't guarantee happiness. While she's happy with her success as a professional organizer (despite the vociferous objections of her father), she's having trouble decluttering her own crisis-laden life, between pining for her ex-fiancée, who ended their engagement abruptly, dreading her younger sister's wedding and the speech she needs to write as maid of honor, and wondering where a recent flirtation might go.
Tate Pennington knew Smith peripherally when she and Clio were fellow students at Yale. He thought he had it all—a successful career and a great marriage, but even as he abandoned life in the financial sector to create a wildly successful startup, he discovered that everything wasn't quite what he expected. Heartbroken and unsure of his next move, he returns to New York and tries to decide whether forging ahead with a new life is right for him, or if there's still a chance to salvage what was lost.
Even thought I couldn't really identify with these characters much, Rowley made them tremendously appealing, even though they were flawed. I found myself fully invested in their stories, emotionally and otherwise, and while there wasn't necessarily anything shocking about the way the plot unfolded, I savored everything about this book. Rowley is a terrific writer with a very engaging style and a strong storytelling ability, and I just enjoyed everything about this book. Emotional without being melodramatic, wry without being quirky, this is a definite winner.
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
March 22, 2016
I stopped 1/3 of the way through (audiobook). The publisher's blurb tricked me:
"For fans of Meg Wolitzer, Claire Messud, and Emma Straub"
Nope, more like for fans of Emily Giffin and other stars of chick-lit.
"...a gorgeous and absorbing novel of a trio of confused souls struggling to find themselves and the way forward in their lives, set against the spectacular backdrop of contemporary New York City. "
The only struggle in this book is trying to get through it without rolling your eyes.
First-world problems abound. A 32 y.o. who lost her mom to mental illness (a shred of integrity ruined by melodrama) decides whether or not to marry her uber-rich hotelier boyfriend; a hot guy from college returns from San Fran all divorced and ready to be someone's hot new boyfriend; an uber-rich girl struggling to establish her independence as an uber-rich person free from her family's coattails. her biggest emotional crisis is that her younger sister is getting married before she is: HORRORS!
Gag.
"For fans of Meg Wolitzer, Claire Messud, and Emma Straub"
Nope, more like for fans of Emily Giffin and other stars of chick-lit.
"...a gorgeous and absorbing novel of a trio of confused souls struggling to find themselves and the way forward in their lives, set against the spectacular backdrop of contemporary New York City. "
The only struggle in this book is trying to get through it without rolling your eyes.
First-world problems abound. A 32 y.o. who lost her mom to mental illness (a shred of integrity ruined by melodrama) decides whether or not to marry her uber-rich hotelier boyfriend; a hot guy from college returns from San Fran all divorced and ready to be someone's hot new boyfriend; an uber-rich girl struggling to establish her independence as an uber-rich person free from her family's coattails. her biggest emotional crisis is that her younger sister is getting married before she is: HORRORS!
Gag.
couldnt-finish
February 14, 2017Notes I took while I was listening to this book:
We’ve got Cleo who has anxiety, can’t believe anyone would like her, she won’t talk about her past, not even in her thoughts. She’s an ornithologist and professor and tour guide. Her first-ever real boyfriend (of 6 months), a rich Irish Silver Fox, loves her and she can’t deal. She has no idea how hot she is. I hate these characters.
Smith Anderson, Cleo’s BFF, is a poor little rich girl who isn’t getting married first among her peers and she’s upset about it. Her selfish sister is getting married, Cleo got a marriage proposal, and it’s just not fair. She doesn’t understand why her ex let her go and is now married with a kid on the way while she’s single and not having babies.
Side note: Really, I don’t really care that people eat so much organic food.
Tate. Going through a sad divorce because his wife wasn’t happy and moved on to someone else. Tate was just too much of a nice guy. He can’t even hook up with a willing bar fly.
This story is so baby-centric. Smith and Tate want babies. Cleo ran because she’s afraid of commitment and babies. OMG.
Alright. When Tate and Smith find they both loved Goodnight Moon as children, I gave up. (Disc 5)
We’ve got Cleo who has anxiety, can’t believe anyone would like her, she won’t talk about her past, not even in her thoughts. She’s an ornithologist and professor and tour guide. Her first-ever real boyfriend (of 6 months), a rich Irish Silver Fox, loves her and she can’t deal. She has no idea how hot she is. I hate these characters.
Smith Anderson, Cleo’s BFF, is a poor little rich girl who isn’t getting married first among her peers and she’s upset about it. Her selfish sister is getting married, Cleo got a marriage proposal, and it’s just not fair. She doesn’t understand why her ex let her go and is now married with a kid on the way while she’s single and not having babies.
Side note: Really, I don’t really care that people eat so much organic food.
Tate. Going through a sad divorce because his wife wasn’t happy and moved on to someone else. Tate was just too much of a nice guy. He can’t even hook up with a willing bar fly.
This story is so baby-centric. Smith and Tate want babies. Cleo ran because she’s afraid of commitment and babies. OMG.
Alright. When Tate and Smith find they both loved Goodnight Moon as children, I gave up. (Disc 5)
February 20, 2016
Favorite Quotes:
“For a sublime second, a sentence floats through her head unsolicited, an impossible thought. I am happy. Can this even be?”
“An airplane dots the sky, and she finds herself thinking of all the people inside it, strapped to their seats, surrendering to what will be, floating between here and there.”
“That’s what happens when you skip family dinner, love. Practically written into boilerplate of the Anderson Contract. We all talk about each other, always lovingly – well, mostly lovingly – and particularly behind backs.”
“Don’t worry? Ha. That’s what mothers do. Day and night. Night and day. We worry and then we worry some more and then we worry about our worrying. You’ll see one day.”
“She walks through the empty house, empty room by empty room. Memories flicker like fireflies.”
“Friends. A dance of moments and memories, a tumble of years and tears and talks and walks, of sameness and difference, closeness and distance, words and silence, secrets and survivals big and small, a swirl of I’m okay and I’m a mess and It is what it is. And it is.”
My Review:
The Ramblers was not what I had anticipated, it surpassed all expectations I had when I picked it up. Given the title, I was expecting a story about travelers, when in actuality, The Ramble, is a woodland area in the heart of New York City’s Central Park, known to be an excellent area for birdwatching, which is the specialty of one of the central characters, Clio. The book was written from the multiple POV of a small group of individuals who had initially met in college and find themselves reconnecting 13 years later. While each has found professional success, each one is currently struggling with a major life challenge or hardship, as well as long-standing family issues – and are finding themselves at a crossroads and fearful of “unraveling.” The writing was superb – it was intelligent, insightful, and emotive. The characters’ turmoil was almost tangible, and it often squeezed my cold heart. The story was well paced, well plotted, eloquently detailed, and had my rapt attention. I felt I knew these people and their environments intimately, yet I have never been to New York City or known anyone remotely like them. When forced to put my beloved kindle down and attend to my own life, I found myself pondering the characters, unable or unwilling to let them go while I went about my day, and was more than eager to return to them as soon as I possibly could. I enjoyed their stories, which did not actually conclude, and while I am more than a bit sad to bid them farewell, I know I will remain ever hopeful they each achieve their much deserved HEA.
“For a sublime second, a sentence floats through her head unsolicited, an impossible thought. I am happy. Can this even be?”
“An airplane dots the sky, and she finds herself thinking of all the people inside it, strapped to their seats, surrendering to what will be, floating between here and there.”
“That’s what happens when you skip family dinner, love. Practically written into boilerplate of the Anderson Contract. We all talk about each other, always lovingly – well, mostly lovingly – and particularly behind backs.”
“Don’t worry? Ha. That’s what mothers do. Day and night. Night and day. We worry and then we worry some more and then we worry about our worrying. You’ll see one day.”
“She walks through the empty house, empty room by empty room. Memories flicker like fireflies.”
“Friends. A dance of moments and memories, a tumble of years and tears and talks and walks, of sameness and difference, closeness and distance, words and silence, secrets and survivals big and small, a swirl of I’m okay and I’m a mess and It is what it is. And it is.”
My Review:
The Ramblers was not what I had anticipated, it surpassed all expectations I had when I picked it up. Given the title, I was expecting a story about travelers, when in actuality, The Ramble, is a woodland area in the heart of New York City’s Central Park, known to be an excellent area for birdwatching, which is the specialty of one of the central characters, Clio. The book was written from the multiple POV of a small group of individuals who had initially met in college and find themselves reconnecting 13 years later. While each has found professional success, each one is currently struggling with a major life challenge or hardship, as well as long-standing family issues – and are finding themselves at a crossroads and fearful of “unraveling.” The writing was superb – it was intelligent, insightful, and emotive. The characters’ turmoil was almost tangible, and it often squeezed my cold heart. The story was well paced, well plotted, eloquently detailed, and had my rapt attention. I felt I knew these people and their environments intimately, yet I have never been to New York City or known anyone remotely like them. When forced to put my beloved kindle down and attend to my own life, I found myself pondering the characters, unable or unwilling to let them go while I went about my day, and was more than eager to return to them as soon as I possibly could. I enjoyed their stories, which did not actually conclude, and while I am more than a bit sad to bid them farewell, I know I will remain ever hopeful they each achieve their much deserved HEA.
September 11, 2020
So many books with New York as the star, but this is on the bottom of the heap. It doesn't take much time for so much navel gazing among the privileged to become a bore.
May 21, 2016
The three of them have a history, and now they represent a kind of New Yorker that is facing challenges, struggling against the past, and hoping for a future. They are college graduates pursuing their professions while also finding what they need in their personal lives.
Clio Eloise Marsh is an Ornithologist, a bird watcher, and a professor. She has a past that includes a mentally ill mother who sucked up all the air in the world around her, and then, took away any kind of hope for a future. Can Clio’s new beau Henry, a hotelier who is somewhat older than she, help her face her emotional past and give her hope for the future?
Smith Mae Anderson came from wealth and privilege, and she is Clio’s best friend from college and current roommate. But Smith’s past also tugs at her confidence, since the parental expectations are high and she is struggling to create a niche for herself, doing what she loves with her business called The Order of Things, a way of helping people to declutter their lives. She sees the process as a way of being in control of her inner and outer life.
Tate Pennington, also a student with Clio and Smith, created a software company that sold for a lot of money. Now he is pursuing his passion of photography, and may pursue an MFA to enhance his technical skills. Tate is still struggling to get past the dearth of his marriage to Olivia, while also finding himself drawn to Smith.
The Ramblers is all about what happens to these friends, and each of them alternately narrates the story. As we follow along with them individually, from their past to their present, we also get to visualize the world they see every day, from the oasis of The Ramble in Central Park to the world inside some gorgeous apartments and hotels.
I must admit that I loved when each of the characters’ narratives revealed their interior thoughts, from what they feared to what they loved and dreamed about. Watching how each of them moved slowly beyond what they most feared in their past lives to the hopeful futures kept me turning the pages. The story had a slow pace, which did not engage me quite as much as a faster paced book does…but the meandering story did offer the opportunity to feel a depth of understanding for the characters. 4 stars.
Clio Eloise Marsh is an Ornithologist, a bird watcher, and a professor. She has a past that includes a mentally ill mother who sucked up all the air in the world around her, and then, took away any kind of hope for a future. Can Clio’s new beau Henry, a hotelier who is somewhat older than she, help her face her emotional past and give her hope for the future?
Smith Mae Anderson came from wealth and privilege, and she is Clio’s best friend from college and current roommate. But Smith’s past also tugs at her confidence, since the parental expectations are high and she is struggling to create a niche for herself, doing what she loves with her business called The Order of Things, a way of helping people to declutter their lives. She sees the process as a way of being in control of her inner and outer life.
Tate Pennington, also a student with Clio and Smith, created a software company that sold for a lot of money. Now he is pursuing his passion of photography, and may pursue an MFA to enhance his technical skills. Tate is still struggling to get past the dearth of his marriage to Olivia, while also finding himself drawn to Smith.
The Ramblers is all about what happens to these friends, and each of them alternately narrates the story. As we follow along with them individually, from their past to their present, we also get to visualize the world they see every day, from the oasis of The Ramble in Central Park to the world inside some gorgeous apartments and hotels.
I must admit that I loved when each of the characters’ narratives revealed their interior thoughts, from what they feared to what they loved and dreamed about. Watching how each of them moved slowly beyond what they most feared in their past lives to the hopeful futures kept me turning the pages. The story had a slow pace, which did not engage me quite as much as a faster paced book does…but the meandering story did offer the opportunity to feel a depth of understanding for the characters. 4 stars.
February 10, 2016
I received an ERC from the publisher to review for New York Journal of Books.
Each character in The Ramblers is “at least a tiny bit broken.” Their vulnerably and flaws will resonate with readers, reminding them that everyone is carrying burdens we don’t see, that “no one emerges from childhood totally unscathed.”
Here's the link to my full review for New York Journal of Books, http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-...
Each character in The Ramblers is “at least a tiny bit broken.” Their vulnerably and flaws will resonate with readers, reminding them that everyone is carrying burdens we don’t see, that “no one emerges from childhood totally unscathed.”
Here's the link to my full review for New York Journal of Books, http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-...
December 3, 2025
Wrote a whole review and the app ate it. Maybe I will redo tomorrow.
February 24, 2016
4.5 stars. I began reading this book with a little trepidation. Would I like it? There is always a little anxiety for me when I begin reading an author that is new to me, and a book that I did not necessarily seek out.
However as I settled into this novel, spaced over little more than a week around Thanksgiving, I knew it was going to work for me. It is set in New York, and while I am not familiar with the city, never having been there, it was an interesting exploration of the city itself. Lots of landmarks and interesting little snippets of facts about them.
It is the story of three main characters and their families. We are first introduced to Clio, a gifted ornithologist, but a rather brittle, fragile woman. She is prone to anxiety attacks and she has this gnawing feeling that she will not be able to commit to a relationship like marriage. She is with Henry a wonderful man somewhat older than her, and he seems right for her. However Clio has never shared with him what really is at the very heart of her. And we need to go back to childhood for that.
Smith is a good friend of Clios, she is wealthy, lives near parents, outwardly an organiser of others lives. Inside her being she is a mess. She was about to marry a man she loved when he backed out and she has been severely affected by it. Her sister Sally is about to marry and while she loves her sister and has a very good relationship with her, it hurts her to see Sally so happy and herself so lost.
Tate is a young man who was at college at the same time as Clio and Smith and has made a fortune in an app he and another friend designed. He too is stalled in life, his wife has been unfaithful to him and divorce proceedings are about to be wrapped up. He loves to photograph New York city and perhaps that is the way his life will journey on. He and Smith seem to hit it off on meeting up again and their is promise in it.
I enjoyed the strong friendships, the difficulties in parent/child relationships, the exploration of illness and its effects on all involved. I loved how the story was told and changed to each of the three characters in turn. I loved learning little facts about birds I never knew, for example the humble pigeon. And while I have never had the pleasure of seeing a humming bird, I feel they must be one of the best birds going.
However as I settled into this novel, spaced over little more than a week around Thanksgiving, I knew it was going to work for me. It is set in New York, and while I am not familiar with the city, never having been there, it was an interesting exploration of the city itself. Lots of landmarks and interesting little snippets of facts about them.
It is the story of three main characters and their families. We are first introduced to Clio, a gifted ornithologist, but a rather brittle, fragile woman. She is prone to anxiety attacks and she has this gnawing feeling that she will not be able to commit to a relationship like marriage. She is with Henry a wonderful man somewhat older than her, and he seems right for her. However Clio has never shared with him what really is at the very heart of her. And we need to go back to childhood for that.
Smith is a good friend of Clios, she is wealthy, lives near parents, outwardly an organiser of others lives. Inside her being she is a mess. She was about to marry a man she loved when he backed out and she has been severely affected by it. Her sister Sally is about to marry and while she loves her sister and has a very good relationship with her, it hurts her to see Sally so happy and herself so lost.
Tate is a young man who was at college at the same time as Clio and Smith and has made a fortune in an app he and another friend designed. He too is stalled in life, his wife has been unfaithful to him and divorce proceedings are about to be wrapped up. He loves to photograph New York city and perhaps that is the way his life will journey on. He and Smith seem to hit it off on meeting up again and their is promise in it.
I enjoyed the strong friendships, the difficulties in parent/child relationships, the exploration of illness and its effects on all involved. I loved how the story was told and changed to each of the three characters in turn. I loved learning little facts about birds I never knew, for example the humble pigeon. And while I have never had the pleasure of seeing a humming bird, I feel they must be one of the best birds going.
June 15, 2017
I enjoyed this book....wasn't overly deep & that's just what I needed. Some reviews found the over the top wealth & privilege to be too much, but I liked that part!!
Book covers 3 main characters in rotating chapters. Clio, Smith & Tate- we learn something about each of them & how they are all connected.
Don't read this if you have a hard time reading a book for entertainment value, some reviewers were not very nice & maybe need to lighten up a bit!
I loved the NYC setting!!
Book covers 3 main characters in rotating chapters. Clio, Smith & Tate- we learn something about each of them & how they are all connected.
Don't read this if you have a hard time reading a book for entertainment value, some reviewers were not very nice & maybe need to lighten up a bit!
I loved the NYC setting!!
June 26, 2016
The comparison to Meg Wolitzer and Claire Messud made me pick this up, but if there are any similarities, they are superficial. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's chick lit, not literary fiction. Privileged people in Manhattan try to figure out their "messy" lives, but since their problems are of the "my sister is getting married before me" variety, it's hard to take them seriously. It reads as if a really straight-laced, well-adjusted rich person imagined what problems might look like. Oddly old-fashioned (marriage & babies=happiness) and strangely marketed. For fans of Lauren Weisberger, I'd say.
December 31, 2017
Ugh-- in these uncertain times, if you have the burning desire to pick up a book about narcissistic, privileged Yale alumni whining about their problems despite living off their parents and rich friends in glamorous Upper West Side digs and bottomless tabs at the Central Park Boathouse, here you go.
March 5, 2016
While I did expect to be fully engrossed in this story, I did not plan on taking notes of the many quotes that explain and inspire. "Passion begets passion." "Loving as inducement for self-actualization." Thank you Aidan for #theramblersbook !
November 12, 2018
The Ramblers surpassed all of the expectations that I had held for this book. Lately I have been mostly reading crime, mystery, and thriller novels but as I was browsing the shelves of my local bookstore, the cover caught my eye and the summary on the back confirmed it for me. I was hesitant to start the book at first; afraid I would not be able to become interested or invested in the story since there was no mystery or horror. However, this totally was not the case. You first settle down and get to know Clio, an ornithologist who spends a lot of her time in New York City’s Central Park bird watching. Smith and Tate also become introduced, making this book a multiple POV, all whom have known each other in their past and are reconnecting in the present day. What I loved most about this book was that it was so real. While everyone has their own successes, professionally or financially, each character seems to struggle with some type of major life challenge. I felt that I could relate to the characters and clearly visualize their environment, the restaurant in which Clio, Smith, and Tate met again for the first time in years. The writing that Aidan Donnelley Rowley used brought out emotion in me and as I was reading I was silently rooting for Clio and her new love interest and empathizing with Smith while her sister was going to be having the wedding she lost the chance of having. Like the synopsis says, each of the characters are “rambling through the emotional chaos of their lives” and “striving to find their own way in the world”. Overall, this book was a 4/5 for me.
October 28, 2022
DNF - I'm 20% in and it has been a struggle so after reading other's reviews I decided to give up on this one.
January 12, 2020
Fun, light read. Standard northeast Ivy League girls in their late 20s in NYC navigating/battling angst
February 5, 2016
The Ramblers
Aidan Donnelley Rowley
4.5 stars
The Ramblers is touted as a “love letter to New York city”, and it is, it’s also a tribute to The Central Park Ramble. As a tried and true Midwesterner I can tell you that the New York she unwraps for readers is exciting and intimidating, feral and sophisticated and I personally love how she in vivid detail reveals the hidden jewels as well as the well-known touristy parts. As a lover of literary fiction I can tell you it's a fantastic, quirky, intelligent, serious and at times humorous look at life in the 21st century be it NYC, St. Louis or Tallahassee. It centers round a trio of protagonists trying to come to grips with life in the big city after each has experienced some personal life trauma. But it's the way the author deals with the aftermath of those traumas that keeps pages turning, how intimate she makes her characters how she bares them good and bad, body and soul to her audience and how life-like and genuine they seem. I also love that these are not teen or twenty something’s but true adults with true adult uncensored problems.
I suggest any literary lover will relish this and take it out for a re-read often. This is my first experience with Aidan Donnelley Rowley but it won’t be my last.
NYC ornithologist Clio Marsh carries big time baggage from her childhood leaving her unable to commit to a forever relationship. When she started dating older, handsome, workaholic, hotelier Henry Kildare she thought she was safe seeing he was married to his work. But then he went and changed the rules and she doesn't know if she should go running from or to him, or if after he learns all her secrets he’ll even still want her.
Smith Mae Anderson is living the perfect NYC, Central Park West, Ivory Towered dysfunctional life. Still trying to move on from her devastating break up with her fiancée, owning an apartment merely feet from her parents where she grew up and owning a business that she loves but that her parents are convinced is “a whim of disobedience” against what they’d ultimately planned for her. Then she reconnects Tate, a Yale classmate and suddenly she’s looking forward to something again.
Tate Robert Pennington is back in NYC to start over and climb out of the downward spiral his life has become since the split with his wife. He’s wealthy, single and lonely but he wants more than the empty NY single scene. When he crosses paths with a girl from his college days whose become a beautiful, interesting woman he thinks maybe he’s found his way out of his doldrums dilemma.
Aidan Donnelley Rowley
4.5 stars
The Ramblers is touted as a “love letter to New York city”, and it is, it’s also a tribute to The Central Park Ramble. As a tried and true Midwesterner I can tell you that the New York she unwraps for readers is exciting and intimidating, feral and sophisticated and I personally love how she in vivid detail reveals the hidden jewels as well as the well-known touristy parts. As a lover of literary fiction I can tell you it's a fantastic, quirky, intelligent, serious and at times humorous look at life in the 21st century be it NYC, St. Louis or Tallahassee. It centers round a trio of protagonists trying to come to grips with life in the big city after each has experienced some personal life trauma. But it's the way the author deals with the aftermath of those traumas that keeps pages turning, how intimate she makes her characters how she bares them good and bad, body and soul to her audience and how life-like and genuine they seem. I also love that these are not teen or twenty something’s but true adults with true adult uncensored problems.
I suggest any literary lover will relish this and take it out for a re-read often. This is my first experience with Aidan Donnelley Rowley but it won’t be my last.
NYC ornithologist Clio Marsh carries big time baggage from her childhood leaving her unable to commit to a forever relationship. When she started dating older, handsome, workaholic, hotelier Henry Kildare she thought she was safe seeing he was married to his work. But then he went and changed the rules and she doesn't know if she should go running from or to him, or if after he learns all her secrets he’ll even still want her.
Smith Mae Anderson is living the perfect NYC, Central Park West, Ivory Towered dysfunctional life. Still trying to move on from her devastating break up with her fiancée, owning an apartment merely feet from her parents where she grew up and owning a business that she loves but that her parents are convinced is “a whim of disobedience” against what they’d ultimately planned for her. Then she reconnects Tate, a Yale classmate and suddenly she’s looking forward to something again.
Tate Robert Pennington is back in NYC to start over and climb out of the downward spiral his life has become since the split with his wife. He’s wealthy, single and lonely but he wants more than the empty NY single scene. When he crosses paths with a girl from his college days whose become a beautiful, interesting woman he thinks maybe he’s found his way out of his doldrums dilemma.
February 9, 2016
This is one of the few novels I've read that is written in first-person-present tense. The style fascinated me. The Ramblers is intelligent, humorous and heartwarming. It's also a love letter to New York City—and I adored the little-known pieces of history the author added to my life.
One hectic Thanksgiving week, three lost souls bound together by friendship learn to let go of their pasts and make room for hope and their futures.
I loved every moment of the book. I discovered places I never knew about in New York City. I was absorbed into Clio and Smith and Tate's lives. This beautifully written novel engaged all my senses and led me into a world I'd only experienced peripherally. I can't wait to go back to New York and visit the Ramble. I have a whole list of places I need to see.
More about the characters:
Clio Marsh, an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History, has found solace from her broken childhood by studying the ways in which hummingbirds adapt to harsh environments. The Ramble in Central Park is the only place in Manhattan that has truly ever felt like home in the city, and she’s dedicated to introducing other New Yorkers to the beauties of the natural world on her popular bird-watching walks there. But then Clio meets someone and the solitary world she’s carefully constructed threatens to crumble as she struggles to come to terms with her past.
Smith Anderson has been Clio’s best friend since their first days as undergraduates at Yale, when a painful secret bound them together. As a professional organizer to wealthy Manhattanites, Smith’s career is centered on order and peace for her clients, but her own life has been falling apart ever since her fiancé mysteriously called off their engagement and quickly married another woman. Now, with her younger sister’s wedding just days away, Smith is spiraling out of control, grasping for answers from her family and from herself.
Tate Pennington, an aspiring photographer, is going through a bitter divorce. The iPhone app he created on a whim made him a millionaire nearly overnight, but his failed marriage has left him reeling and he’s returned to New York for a fresh start. Tate finds himself desperate for a real connection and wonders if he’ll have a sense of truly belonging somewhere, with someone, again.
That interest you? I was hooked. Try it.
One hectic Thanksgiving week, three lost souls bound together by friendship learn to let go of their pasts and make room for hope and their futures.
I loved every moment of the book. I discovered places I never knew about in New York City. I was absorbed into Clio and Smith and Tate's lives. This beautifully written novel engaged all my senses and led me into a world I'd only experienced peripherally. I can't wait to go back to New York and visit the Ramble. I have a whole list of places I need to see.
More about the characters:
Clio Marsh, an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History, has found solace from her broken childhood by studying the ways in which hummingbirds adapt to harsh environments. The Ramble in Central Park is the only place in Manhattan that has truly ever felt like home in the city, and she’s dedicated to introducing other New Yorkers to the beauties of the natural world on her popular bird-watching walks there. But then Clio meets someone and the solitary world she’s carefully constructed threatens to crumble as she struggles to come to terms with her past.
Smith Anderson has been Clio’s best friend since their first days as undergraduates at Yale, when a painful secret bound them together. As a professional organizer to wealthy Manhattanites, Smith’s career is centered on order and peace for her clients, but her own life has been falling apart ever since her fiancé mysteriously called off their engagement and quickly married another woman. Now, with her younger sister’s wedding just days away, Smith is spiraling out of control, grasping for answers from her family and from herself.
Tate Pennington, an aspiring photographer, is going through a bitter divorce. The iPhone app he created on a whim made him a millionaire nearly overnight, but his failed marriage has left him reeling and he’s returned to New York for a fresh start. Tate finds himself desperate for a real connection and wonders if he’ll have a sense of truly belonging somewhere, with someone, again.
That interest you? I was hooked. Try it.
February 25, 2016
I grew up on Long Island, New York, but I love New York City! I lived there through most of the 80s while attending college and I can tell you, after reading Aidan Donnelley Rowley's new novel, THE RAMBLERS (William Morrow), she loves New York City with all of her heart, too! Her novel is a love letter to the city she grew up in, the way Woody Allen's early movies are visual homages to Manhattan. (Put the other stuff aside.)
THE RAMBLERS is about a group of three young Manhattanites who struggle to find themselves over the course of one life changing Thanksgiving weekend. In an interview with Shelf-Awareness, Rowley says E.B. White's, HERE IS NEW YORK, was the primary inspiration for THE RAMBLERS, "No other author captures this magical place like White did."
In THE RAMBLERS, Clio Marsh is dealing with the suicide of her mother. Smith Anderson in the wake of heartbreak, is in the midst of planning her sister's wedding. Their friend, Tate Pennington, newly separated, moves from San Francisco to New York, after just hitting big money with an app.
I found it interesting reading Rowley's interview with Shelf-Awareness after finishing the novel, because it gave me some insight as to how, reading between the lines, she approached writing the book. She shared her favorite line she's read is from Joan Didion's, THE YEAR of MAGICAL THINKING. "Life changes fast. Life changes in an instant. You can sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends."
It's interesting to note, Rowley says E.B. White's, CHARLOTTE'S WEB changed her life. She remembers reading it with her father as a young girl and learning about human nature, life and death. She says she read it to her three young daughters.
THE RAMBLERS alternates between the three main characters point-of-view. There is family tension, love and romance, self-revelation, hope and forgiveness. Rowley loves showing off her city taking readers to Greenwich Village, the Upper West Side, the Waldorf, Central Park and The Ramble - the lake section of New York's Central Park. It's 36-acres of wild gardens where over 230 species of birds come in the Spring and Fall, 40 species are residents year-round.
THE RAMBLERS is a wonderful novel brimming with all kinds of surprises you don't want to miss.
THE RAMBLERS is about a group of three young Manhattanites who struggle to find themselves over the course of one life changing Thanksgiving weekend. In an interview with Shelf-Awareness, Rowley says E.B. White's, HERE IS NEW YORK, was the primary inspiration for THE RAMBLERS, "No other author captures this magical place like White did."
In THE RAMBLERS, Clio Marsh is dealing with the suicide of her mother. Smith Anderson in the wake of heartbreak, is in the midst of planning her sister's wedding. Their friend, Tate Pennington, newly separated, moves from San Francisco to New York, after just hitting big money with an app.
I found it interesting reading Rowley's interview with Shelf-Awareness after finishing the novel, because it gave me some insight as to how, reading between the lines, she approached writing the book. She shared her favorite line she's read is from Joan Didion's, THE YEAR of MAGICAL THINKING. "Life changes fast. Life changes in an instant. You can sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends."
It's interesting to note, Rowley says E.B. White's, CHARLOTTE'S WEB changed her life. She remembers reading it with her father as a young girl and learning about human nature, life and death. She says she read it to her three young daughters.
THE RAMBLERS alternates between the three main characters point-of-view. There is family tension, love and romance, self-revelation, hope and forgiveness. Rowley loves showing off her city taking readers to Greenwich Village, the Upper West Side, the Waldorf, Central Park and The Ramble - the lake section of New York's Central Park. It's 36-acres of wild gardens where over 230 species of birds come in the Spring and Fall, 40 species are residents year-round.
THE RAMBLERS is a wonderful novel brimming with all kinds of surprises you don't want to miss.
February 8, 2016
Just finished The Rambler's, A story about 3 New Yorker's making their way through life after emotional and tragic set backs.
The story is told through 3 points of view spanning over the course of about two weeks. Clio, an ornithologist (Bird watcher & specialist) starts the book off. Clio is dating an older man named Henry who happens to be a very accomplish Irish hotel mogul. Clio is taken by surprise when the amazing Henry asks her to move in with him. The only issue is that Clio has very real and serious panic attacks stemming from family trauma. Clio struggles through her fear of commitment and panic attacks to try to make her relationship with Henry work. But will Henry want her once he knows everything about her?
Smith, Clio's best friend, who was left just weeks before she was supposed to get married buy her swoon worthy boyfriend, Asad. Smith has to get through her abandonment issues as she gets through the two weeks before her younger sisters wedding. Smith is through a curve ball when she gets some unwelcome info about her ex beau. But is new love on the horizon? When a new man comes into play will she get over her hurt from Asad?
Tate, Clio and Smith's former classmate, has just returned to New York after his separation from his wife. Tate is a newly rich man who has to work though his divorce while trying to learn how to be on his own. But will he be alone for long? Will he reunite with his former love Olivia?
The Rambler's isn't a type of book I usually read. I'm more of a YA, Sci-Fi Fantasy person, But I found myself truly invested in the lives of Cleo, Smith and Tate right away. The characters were all very relatable because they weren't your average kids. They are in their 30's with real life problems and I found myself seeing thing in my own life within them.
Rowley's writing was crisp and clear in her motive of the book. The Ramblers is both complex and in depth but also light enough that I didn't feel dragged down by it. The tone made it an enjoyable read that i breezed through.
4 stars!
The story is told through 3 points of view spanning over the course of about two weeks. Clio, an ornithologist (Bird watcher & specialist) starts the book off. Clio is dating an older man named Henry who happens to be a very accomplish Irish hotel mogul. Clio is taken by surprise when the amazing Henry asks her to move in with him. The only issue is that Clio has very real and serious panic attacks stemming from family trauma. Clio struggles through her fear of commitment and panic attacks to try to make her relationship with Henry work. But will Henry want her once he knows everything about her?
Smith, Clio's best friend, who was left just weeks before she was supposed to get married buy her swoon worthy boyfriend, Asad. Smith has to get through her abandonment issues as she gets through the two weeks before her younger sisters wedding. Smith is through a curve ball when she gets some unwelcome info about her ex beau. But is new love on the horizon? When a new man comes into play will she get over her hurt from Asad?
Tate, Clio and Smith's former classmate, has just returned to New York after his separation from his wife. Tate is a newly rich man who has to work though his divorce while trying to learn how to be on his own. But will he be alone for long? Will he reunite with his former love Olivia?
The Rambler's isn't a type of book I usually read. I'm more of a YA, Sci-Fi Fantasy person, But I found myself truly invested in the lives of Cleo, Smith and Tate right away. The characters were all very relatable because they weren't your average kids. They are in their 30's with real life problems and I found myself seeing thing in my own life within them.
Rowley's writing was crisp and clear in her motive of the book. The Ramblers is both complex and in depth but also light enough that I didn't feel dragged down by it. The tone made it an enjoyable read that i breezed through.
4 stars!
May 16, 2016
This was a new to me author and narrator although I liked the authors writing, this book just wasn't for me, I can't put my finger on it but I felt like this wasn't a modern story there was something old fashioned about the language and the interactions, it seemed every time a year was mentioned it jarred me, oh, right this is set in present day. Also the sexting and graphic sexual descriptions kind of took me out of the story because I liked the writing; the flow of it, then one of these scenes would come up and disrupt the flow.
This is one of those Lit. Fic. books that I just don’t really get, this was just kind of a day in life book or a couple days in a life of three people, Clio is an anxiety prone woman whose mother killed herself and was manic all Clio’s life and it still affects her today, my problem with Clio is at some point in life you need to stop blaming your parents for all your problems, then we have Smith who is a rich girl recently heartbroken and quite jealous of her little sisters happiness ( she does finally get over that somewhat), then we have Tate who they say went to Yale with the other two but now Smith and Tate have just started dating. But I feel like Henry should have gotten better billing in the book description he is Clio’s boyfriend and is a pretty great guy who accepts Clio even with her anxiety attacks and somewhat manic behavior, I think he was my favorite character in this book.
Erica Sullivan’s narration was well done she didn’t try too hard for the male voices, and Henry’s slight Irish accent was good and all the characters were well defined and it was easy to differentiate. I would listen to this narrator again.
I am honestly not sure what the point of the story was or what I was supposed to get out of it.
So for me this book was just meh, however I would try something else by this author just because I liked the flow of her writing even though I didn’t get the story.
2 ½ Stars
This is one of those Lit. Fic. books that I just don’t really get, this was just kind of a day in life book or a couple days in a life of three people, Clio is an anxiety prone woman whose mother killed herself and was manic all Clio’s life and it still affects her today, my problem with Clio is at some point in life you need to stop blaming your parents for all your problems, then we have Smith who is a rich girl recently heartbroken and quite jealous of her little sisters happiness ( she does finally get over that somewhat), then we have Tate who they say went to Yale with the other two but now Smith and Tate have just started dating. But I feel like Henry should have gotten better billing in the book description he is Clio’s boyfriend and is a pretty great guy who accepts Clio even with her anxiety attacks and somewhat manic behavior, I think he was my favorite character in this book.
Erica Sullivan’s narration was well done she didn’t try too hard for the male voices, and Henry’s slight Irish accent was good and all the characters were well defined and it was easy to differentiate. I would listen to this narrator again.
I am honestly not sure what the point of the story was or what I was supposed to get out of it.
So for me this book was just meh, however I would try something else by this author just because I liked the flow of her writing even though I didn’t get the story.
2 ½ Stars
August 7, 2016
I loved this book. It takes place in Manhattan during the week of Thanksgiving. It brought back a lot of memories because my family and I spent the week of Thanksgiving in NYC, and our hotel was in Manhattan. I wish I had known about the Ramble when I went to Central Park, I would have loved to have checked it out. It sounds like a great place to take a walk, birdwatch, or just sit and read or people watch.
I really enjoyed the three main characters, and Tate also. I loved how even though they all should have been confident in their lives, no one is immune to self doubt and confusion. I loved the relationship between Clio and Smith. Both could depend on the other unconditionally.
The book was full of emotions, the characters had real life problems and struggles and that made them seem “real”. I absolutely loved it. I’m sure I’ll pick it up in the future to give it a re-read.
I highly recommend this book!
I really enjoyed the three main characters, and Tate also. I loved how even though they all should have been confident in their lives, no one is immune to self doubt and confusion. I loved the relationship between Clio and Smith. Both could depend on the other unconditionally.
The book was full of emotions, the characters had real life problems and struggles and that made them seem “real”. I absolutely loved it. I’m sure I’ll pick it up in the future to give it a re-read.
I highly recommend this book!
May 31, 2017
Ugh, people. Please, for the love of everything, stop writing stories set in NYC that are so f*#&ing cliche as this. Twenty-somethings with the first-est world problems EVER.
If Smith and Clio are BFFs, why are they so separated throughout most of the story? It was like reading two short stories, one about Clio and one about Smith. But both characters happen to know each other. And it was strange to occasionally position Tate as a central character but not Henry. I'm assuming the only reason is because Tate went to Yale when Smith was there but that's barely a reason to make him a tertiary central character.
If you need something superficial and selfish, this would check both boxes.
If Smith and Clio are BFFs, why are they so separated throughout most of the story? It was like reading two short stories, one about Clio and one about Smith. But both characters happen to know each other. And it was strange to occasionally position Tate as a central character but not Henry. I'm assuming the only reason is because Tate went to Yale when Smith was there but that's barely a reason to make him a tertiary central character.
If you need something superficial and selfish, this would check both boxes.
August 12, 2016
Two in a row...first The Nest and now The Ramblers...stories that study the privileged class under a microscope. Thirty- or forty-somethings contemplating their navels while dining in trendy bistros, shopping in "bespoke boutiques" ( I kid you not) and bearing names like Tate, Clio, and Smith. Sigh. Life is tough. While some of their issues were serious and would rightly affect the future, it was hard to truly sympathize with such precious people. The writing is good, voices sound authentic but the characters left me lukewarm.
April 6, 2016
What could have been a predictable and cliched story instead is a heart-warming one of friendship, love, secrets and imperfect families.
Read my review http://pennyformythoughts-nona.blogsp...
Read my review http://pennyformythoughts-nona.blogsp...
June 24, 2016
I enjoyed this story of three young professionals and friends in Manhattan who are at turning points in their relationships and careers. This book is about moving beyond heartbreak and sadness and embracing possibility.
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