This Audible Original, perfectly narrated by John Lithgow, is both entertaining and touching. Lithgow gives us a fabulous performance as the character of Percival Skinner, a retired art appraiser trying to make a profit once again as his retirement funds are diminishing. It isn’t just his character who comes alive. He wonderfully voices the conversations with the people he interacts with. Whether it’s New York City as in this short work and in Rules of Civility or to Moscow in A Gentleman in Mos...

A little gem by Mr Towles, wonderfully narrated by John Lithgow.

John Lithgow was the perfect narrator for his witty story about the attempt of a retired Renaissance art expert to broker the sale of a valuable work of art. It was also a glimpse into how a once-wealthy segment of the population gets by in the Upper East Side. The ending of the short story reminded me of “A Christmas Carol”. This was a free Audible Plus selection.

I’m a huge fan of Amor Towles. But he’s not a prolific writer, so I was thrilled to see this short story available as an Audible original. It’s a gem, with several laugh out loud moments. John Lithgow is the perfect narrator. Highly recommend!

Delightful story, perfectly narrated by John Lithgow.

Thoughts soon.

Amor Towles again displays his splendid talent as a writer in this short, delightful contemporary story. We meet Percival Skinner, a retired art expert, attempting to live his Upper East Side life style on ever reducing funds. When a chance arises to broker a deal on a valuable piece of art owned by a family member of course he goes ahead. In his attempts to encourage the sale he befriends the son. A trip to the Met by an elderly, rather self opinionated man and a ten year old boy turns out as w...

Any subscribed fan of either Amor Towles (author),or John Lithgow (Tony award winning actor), will enjoy this high quality 1 hr. and 47 minutes entertaining treasured bargain....audible original, included with Audible membership. ...Witty bubbling humor.......a little cynicism......Informative art history intrigue...[step into the Metropolitan Museum of Art]......family, tradition, engaging dialogue, characters, story and performance......even a little surprise enchanting twist. Short & Sweet!

Free for Audible Plus members.This short piece, call it a novella, convinced me to remain an Audible Plus subscriber. The yearly subscription fee at Audible. com, which gives free access to the large and ever increasing number of Audible Plus books, is significantly more expensive than the yearly Audible.co.uk subscription fee.Towles is an ace at capturing life in New York City! I have lived there—memories tumbled back on me. The vernacular and mannerisms of its inhabitants are captured to a T.

Absolutely loved this! Amor Towels has a way of writing that makes you feel it's true, a none fiction story that you're sat (usually with a fine wine or Martini) listening to.The former elite of Park Avenue are not as rich nor glamorous as we think and when the opportunity to make some money comes along, it's time for Percival to re-engage with his family.....

An Amor Towles fix, delivered by John Lithgow. Fabulous.

This was absolutely charming and engaging. John Lithgow was the perfect narrator.

4 ✚ 🎨Excellent short by the very talented Towles. John Lithgow narrating (5★) sweetens the listen.The chapter on the traditional Thanksgiving meal just priceless.

An enjoyable little story. Not sure how much of my enjoyment was the story and how much was John Lithgow’s narration, but together they made for a very pleasing experience.

Available as a two-hour download from Audible, available free to subscribers.Excellently read by John Lithgow and very enjoyable from start to finish -- starting out like the more accessible young Henry James but then ending up like O. Henry. A lovely diversion in difficult times.

I won't soon forget this fun little story. Amor Towles has a way with words and can bring life to his characters so that you can know them well enough to read how they feel. I love that! John Lithgow narrates this with ease. The twist at the end was priceless and left me with a smile. I really loved little Lucas, the 10 year old little boy, wise beyond his years. ♡

3.5 stars rounded up. I couldn't wait to get this audible freebie (a quick listen at just under 2 hours), as I love both Amor Towles and John Lithgow. The story about a man on a mission to find a missing fragment of a masterpiece did not disappoint, except that I wanted more. John Lithgow's narration is PERFECTION and I really enjoyed the art history, humor and charming characters in the story.If you can get this for free, do so!

This little gem of a novella is bound to please fans of Amor Towles. A snapshot of events in the life of an aging, urbane Upper East Side gentlemen whose circumstances have been reduced by the stock market "correction" of 2008, it's witty and sly and lots of fun. The mini-lectures on Italian Renaissance paintings of the Annunciation and on studioli of that era may have been plot devices, but they managed to be educational and entertaining as well. And I can't imagine a better narrator for this b...

A gem of a story performed with nuance by John Lithgow! I felt as if I was hearing this tale over dinner in the company of an old friend. Snarky social commentary served with a side of art history. Feel-good without being sappy. Undeniably absorbing despite it’s short length. For me, the contemporary Manhattan setting was the cherry on top. We lunched at La Maison, played backgammon at the Yale Club, and toured the Met... I’m more of a downtown gal but had a great time on the Upper East Side in

This is a jewel of a short story and the narration by John Lithgow is fabulous. It’s surely a sign of a good writer that I felt I knew the main character well in less than two hours! As is true with other stories by Amor Towles, the setting comes alive and is a character unto itself. It’s funny, sweet, poignant, quirky, and unexpected. Well worth a listen!