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    Love in the Present Tense: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Love in the Present Tense: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Love in the Present Tense: A Novel
    Audiobook5 hours

    Love in the Present Tense: A Novel

    Written by Catherine Ryan Hyde

    Narrated by David Coburn, Jeremy Redleaf and Duana Speights

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    For five years Pearl has managed to keep the past from catching up to her and her bright, frail five-year-old son. Life has given her every reason to mistrust people, but circumstances force her to trust her neighbor Mitch with watching Leonard while she goes off to work. Then one day Pearl drops her son off…and never returns.

    They are an unlikely pair: Mitch is a young, unattached business owner, and Leonard is a precocious, five-year-old boy. But together they must find a way to move forward in the wake of Pearl's unexplained disappearance. Their bond as parent and child shifts and endures, even as Mitch must eventually surrender Leonard to a two-parent home.

    Is it possible to love the people who can't always be there for us? The answers will surprise and move you. As their lives unfold, profound questions emerge about the nature of love and family. Ultimately, this novel's richest reward is watching Mitch and Leonard grow up together, through the power and the magic of the human heart.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMay 30, 2006
    ISBN9780739332849
    Unavailable
    Love in the Present Tense: A Novel
    Author

    Catherine Ryan Hyde

    Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of twenty-five books, which include Where We Belong, When You Were Older, Walk Me Home, When I Found You, Don’t Let Me Go, The Language of Hoofbeats, and Take Me With You, among others. More than fifty of her short stories have been published in various literary magazines. Following the success of Pay It Forward, Catherine founded the Pay It Forward Foundation and served as president until 2009. She lives in California with her dog, Ella, and their cat, Jordan. To learn more about the foundation and other forthcoming books, visit CatherineRyanHyde.com.

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    Reviews for Love in the Present Tense

    4/5

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    • 3/5
      No fillers, no digressions, no long boring descriptions of irrelevant stuff . Brought tears to my eyes. Makes one believe there are good people in the world
    • 4/5
      This is a really touching, beautiful read that is definitely worth picking up. The story is told from the perspectives of three different characters at different stages in their lives, and it works brilliantly.The title really does sum up the book, it's all about love, but not in a dodgy romance way, love between family and friends, that closeness and understanding that can only be found in love, and the persistence of that emotion beyond the passing of loved ones.The book tackles some difficult subjects, and had me in tears a few times as you get so attached to the quirky characters.I wish it had been longer, more detailed in places, especially with Pearl's story. In one way the simplicity of the story adds to it's charm, in another it feels like you miss out on a lot, especially with the jumping between characters and ages.4 stars. Would definitely recommend to anyone.
    • 4/5
      About an amazing boy, and his honorary father. About love, and eternity, and intuition. Told from differing perspectives, at different times - very cleverly written. Took a while to get started, but hard to put down by about half-way through.
    • 3/5
      This book surprised me. Ignore the cover. The cover makes it look like one of those awful books on neglected/abused children, that seem so popular with certain people. This is not one of those books.

      It's an easy yet quite touching read. Reasonably well written and flits between time and narrator really effortlessly.

      I don't think I'll be rushing out to read Catherine Ryan hyde's other works but I certainly wouldn't pass over them if I encountered them.
    • 5/5
      Beautifully written book about Pearl, a teen-age mother from the ghetto, and her son, Leonard, and the neighbor, Mitchell, who ends up raising him. All the characters were portrayed in a realistic way, and the converstions on love and life were very thought-provoking and wonderful. A quick read recommended for everyone who likes fiction.
    • 5/5
      i decided to read this after seeing it reviewed on richard and judy, and im so glad i did!! i couldnt put it down, at first i thought it was going to be quite a bore , but i was very wrong! i sat in the same place for around 3hours reading it , i didnt dare put it down! it is such a loving touching story about real love and friendship and i urge anybody out there who see's this book to buy it!! you will not be disapointed at all
    • 4/5
      "Love in the Present Tense" is a meditation on the many guises that love can assume. The story begins with a 13-year old child searching for love in a community that offers her only danger, and sexual predation. It continues with her unconditional love for her own child, his love for the 25-year old neighbor who takes him in and looks after him when his mother disappears and the neighbor's love for his employer's middle-aged wife. All of the characters are humanly flawed, interesting and utterly engaging. Ryan has used a shifting point of view very successfully in this book, allowing the reader to see the same set of circumstances through the eyes of several characters and to watch the characters evolve through time. It's easy to label the book "sweet" but that may do it an injustice. There is humor here, and human stupidity, cruelty, indifference. Even so, the story is is endearing, gentle, kind; even inspiring.
    • 4/5
      Love in the Present Tense is a novel about unconditional love—that special, all-embracing, all-forgiving love that goes on forever. Unconditional love is ceaseless, never possessing a past tense. If there were a world of unconditional love, you would never hear the words: “I loved you.” Pearl, a street-wise 13-year-old girl with a drug addict for a mother, has never known unconditional love. She is wise beyond her years. She knows, above all else, that forever love is what she needs. She thinks she finds it in a policeman with kind eyes. She lets him drive her home late one night, allows him to have sex with her, and then she accidentally kills him with his own gun. She is immediately on the run, but at the same time she intuitively knows that she has succeeded in her life’s goal. She is sure she’s conceived a child that same night. She yearns to envelop that new life in a forever-safety-net of unconditional love. If she does this, she is certain the child will love her back in the same way.Pearl was right. Nine months later, she gives birth to Leonard. She moves to a small city where she hopes no one will find her. Across the street lives Mitch, a 25-year-old entrepreneur running a successful Website development firm out of his home. Mitch has never given the concept of unconditional love a second thought. He’s too busy running his business and having a dangerous long-term affair with Barb, the wife of his major client. This gorgeous woman is old enough to be his mother, but he can’t help but fall under her spell. Mitch is not the type of man to analyze life. He just goes with it. He’s knows he’s fallen in lust with Barb, and imagines that he probably loves her, too. That’s enough for him. It doesn’t worry him that Barb’s husband loves him like a son. He’s blind to his own wrongdoings.When Leonard is five and being taken care of by Mitch, Pearl disappears. Leonard’s forever love is gone, but he never wavers in his absolute faith and love for his lost mother. Without his mother around, the small child turns the searing spotlight of his forever love full-bore on Mitch. The man barely understands what’s hit him…that his whole world is about to change forever.Thus the stage is set for the rest of the novel to unfold. What happens to Pearl? Will Pearl ever return? Will Leonard be able to hold on to his unconditional love for his missing mother? Will Mitch be allowed to continue caring for Leonard? Will Mitch realize the errors of his ways? Will Mitch turn his life toward a more meaningful existence? Catherine Ryan Hyde is a strong writer. She knows the art of storytelling and is completely at home dealing with the nuances of the human connections. She is deft at charting a fast-paced course through the misadventures and tragedies of everyday existence. Hyde create believable characters. They are flawed, as we all are. In this book, she shows us that even deeply flawed human beings can be redeemed through understanding, forgiveness, and unconditional love. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. But I am a sucker for a book with an important message, especially one like this one, with a message dear to my heart.
    • 5/5
      I bought this book as part of the Richard and Judy collection 2007. A lovely book. You fall in love with Leonard and your heart breaks for him as he grows older. Mitch gives so much of himself to Leonard. A wonderful book.
    • 5/5
      This was an unusual but great book. I really enjoyed all of the different relationships and how everyone related differently to each other. I would definetly reccomend this book!
    • 4/5
      A slow-moving and easy to read book, which tells the story of an unlikely relationship between an abandoned boy and the young man who inadvertantly becomes his carer. Not a challenging read, but gently enjoyable. A feel-good book.
    • 3/5
      This book started off being really good. The plot centers around a very young mother and her sickly child and the man she asks to raise him. I wish this plot had more twists, because there weren't a lot of surprises.