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Whiskey and Charlie

Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available

A captivating debut novel about brothers who have drifted apart and the accident that will determine their future, written by an unforgettable new voice in fiction

Some twins communicate in a secret language all their own. For Whiskey and Charlie Ferns, the two-way alphabet (alpha, bravo, charlie, delta) whispered back and forth over their crackly walkie-talkies is the best they can do. But as the brothers grow up, they grow apart. Whiskey is everything Charlie is not—bold, daring, carefree—and Charlie blames his brother for always stealing the limelight, always striving ahead while seeming to push Charlie back. By the time the twins reach adulthood, they are barely even speaking to each other.

When Charlie hears that Whiskey has been in a terrible accident and has slipped into a coma, he is shocked ... although perhaps not devastated. But as days and weeks slip by, and the chances of Whiskey recovering grow ever more slim, Charlie is forced to look back on their lives and examine whether Whiskey's actions were truly as unforgivable as Charlie believed them to be.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 20, 2015
      Smith (A New Map of the Universe) constructs an engaging narrative about the complicated relationship between a pair of brothers. Charlie and Whiskey Ferns are identical twin brothers residing in England with their parents, Bill and Elaine. Whiskey is the athletic, gregarious, and ambitious twin; Charlie is the reserved, studious, and introspective one who envies Whiskey's glamorous successes. Aunt Audrey buys them walkie-talkies and they learn the NATO phonetic alphabet, which gives Whiskey his nickname. The Ferns move overseas to Melbourne where Bill takes a job as a boilermaker, and the twins acclimate to their new home. As they grow up, the already strained personal connection between the twins is completely broken after Whiskey invites Charlie to his New Year's Eve party, and Charlie falls in love with Whiskey's latest girlfriend, a sensitive model named Juliet. The family yarn takes a tragic turn when a motorist runs into Whiskey, leaving him in a coma, and the Smith sibling dynamic takes a more complex turn.Beset with guilt and rage, Charlie holds vigil at his estranged brother's bedside. The author skillfully portrays the coma patient's care, and fleshes out the minor characters, particularly Juliet, who grows exasperated by Charlie's fear of commitment. Smith's novel is well plotted and vividly depicts the permanent bond between two very different siblings.

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  • English

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