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Susan Jane Gilman
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Donna Has Left the Building Kindle Edition

by Susan Jane Gilman (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 144 ratings
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From the beloved New York Times bestselling author of Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress comes a hilarious, timely, and big-hearted novel about rebuilding life in the face of disaster.
Forty-five-year-old Donna Koczynski is an ex-punk rocker, a recovering alcoholic, and the mother of two teenagers whose suburban existence detonates when she comes home early from a sales conference in Las Vegas to the surprise of a lifetime. As her world implodes, she sets off on an epic road trip to reclaim everything she believes she's sacrificed since her wild youth: Great friendship, passionate love, and her art. But as she careens across the U.S. from Detroit to New York to Memphis to Nashville, nothing turns out as she imagines. Ultimately, she finds herself resurrected on the other side of the globe, on a remote island embroiled in a crisis far bigger than her own.
Irresistibly funny, whip-smart, and surprisingly moving, Donna Has Left the Building spins an unforgettable tale about what it means to be brave -- and to truly love -- in a tumultuous world.
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  1. Print length
    417 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Grand Central Publishing
  5. Publication date
    June 4, 2019
  6. File size
    983 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Gilman rises to a new level of urgency, empathy, pathos, and, simply, beauty, in her storytelling."

-- "Boris Fishman, author of Don't Let My Baby Do Rodeo"

About the Author

Susan Jane Gilman is the bestselling author of Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress, Kiss My Tiara, Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven, and the novel, The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street. She has provided commentary for NPR and written for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Ms. Magazine, among others. Visit her at SusanJaneGilman.com.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07J4W6J42
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grand Central Publishing (June 4, 2019)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 4, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 983 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 417 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1538762412
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 144 ratings

About the author

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Susan Jane Gilman

Susan Jane Gilman

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Known for her unique combination of humor and depth, Susan Jane Gilman is the New York Times bestselling author of five books – the nonfiction “Kiss My Tiara,” the memoirs “Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress,” and “Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven,” plus the novels “The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street” and her latest, “Donna Has Left the Building.”

Gilman has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Daily Beast, Salon, The Guardian, Real Simple, and Ms. magazine, among others. She been a commentator for National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered," and she has given a TEDx talk on the creative process, “There Is No Lightning Bolt.” Her books have been published in a dozen languages.

She won literary awards for her journalism and short fiction. She was also the recipient of a "Golden Earphones" Award for her Audiobook recording of "The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street."

She once told an interviewer: "I never set out to write books that made people laugh. My main love has always been literary fiction. However, even with my darkest work, people always tell me that parts of it are funny. This used to annoy me because I aspired to be an American Dostoevsky with Breasts.

Yet when I was living in Washington DC, I took a writers’ workshop at the Bethesda Writers’ Center. The first story I submitted was a heartbreaking tale of a man’s addiction, which impressed the class. The second was an absurd story about mistaken identity full of Jews, Rastafarians, lesbians, and dental hygienists. To my great irritation, the class liked this one infinitely more. After class, a man pulled me aside. 'I have to tell you,' he said. 'My wife has been battling breast cancer. I read her your story last night, and it was the first time in two years she really laughed. You’ve got a gift. Please don’t ignore it. Not everyone can make a sick woman laugh in her hospital bed.' That’s when I finally saw the merit in my own, lurking smart-ass and stopped fighting it."

Although she currently resides primarily in Switzerland, her heart and her feet are never far from her hometown of New York City.

Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5 stars
3.7 out of 5
144 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Carlos Allende
5.0 out of 5 stars MAGNIFICENT! LOVED IT!
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2019
Verified Purchase
LOVED IT! LOVED IT! LOVED IT! LOVED IT! Donna Has Left The Building is the perfect novel. You will laugh, you will cringe, you will cry, you will worry, you will want to hug Donna and tell her that everything will be fine because you’re going to be best friends forever.

Donna Has Left the Building is a great book to read if you’re angry about what’s going on the world, you’re tired of being angry and want to escape without really escaping: It makes you care more, and it gives you hope. Gilman’s writing is grounded in reality, and precisely because the story is so realistic, it is quite easy to jump into Donna’s Subaru and accompany her and Aggie on their trip.

I fell in love with Gilman’s writing after reading The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street. Donna’s story starts much lighter but soon progresses to a fast-paced, wild adventure that nevertheless remains plausible and therefore relatable. Lots of twists and turns that will keep you excited but no impossible coincidences here. Gilman knows that the best surprises are the ones that could have been predicted but weren’t. The ending is a gentle masterpiece. Bravo!
15 people found this helpful
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Suzanne White
4.0 out of 5 stars Fun read
Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2024
Verified Purchase
Im not finished yet, but so far finding it a delightful, crazy journey. Recommended by a friend and I have passed along the recommendation.
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Joan Gengler
3.0 out of 5 stars This book makes you think how just one thing can change your life
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2019
Verified Purchase
I choose this rating because, this book is all over the place. I feel alot happened to Donna in a short period of time. A nervous break down (somewhat) finding herself.
It was good that in the end she rekindled with her daughter, husband and son.
I think people get so involved in their life. Same thing day after day, Then when one thing takes places how you pulled it together or completely let everything go.
I really wanted the book to end different, maybe going back to her home or something.
But it ended with her being the good person helping others. Book left you feeling like what's next without Donna. How is her family going to survive. I'm glad she got away from x boyfriend. Would want it to end that way.
This book will make you think about life.
3 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
2.0 out of 5 stars Transphobia, kink-shaming, domestic abuse
Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2021
Verified Purchase
I lasted 62 pages before giving up in disgust. A huge disappointment for me as I have always been a fan of Gilman's writing, but this is not serving me.
One person found this helpful
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Matty B
5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't put it down
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2019
Verified Purchase
I loved it. I had the book for a couple of month before I picked it up. my wife enjoyed it too. It turned out to be a funny, sarcastic, quick paced view into the mid life crisis so many of us face as we confront could have been's versus our realities. Donna's life comes apart and in the collapse she finds herself anew. a great read and surprisingly thought provoking.
6 people found this helpful
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Thomas Conrad
4.0 out of 5 stars You have got to love Donna or maybe not
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2019
Verified Purchase
This novel is like a bag of potato chips. It is hard to leave it before it is finished. Donna is a throw back to Kerouac and Steinbeck. It is a compelling journey that ends in a most surprising locale. But I am a Gilman groupee and now I will wait for her next book. Her capacity for funny lines is truly comedic. Donna is not a lovable figure. Her dark side is dark indeed. I will say that I grew weary of the "f" word. Surely there are alternatives if only for the sake of variety.
6 people found this helpful
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P. J. May
1.0 out of 5 stars Total waste of time
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2020
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Can't believe I read the whole thing. Stupid from start to finish.
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David Rogers
5.0 out of 5 stars What an amazing book
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2019
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This book starts off so innocent and fun and then effortlessly takes you into a deep dive that helps you better empathize with the great wrongs that are going on in our modern world. The story is engaging, can’t be put down, and you feel so similar to the protagonist that you are opened up to thinking about your world in a way you never have before. The writing is sometimes so profound that I had to stop to copy it over so that I can read it again later when I need to really feel a topic better. Absolutely amazing work, and I can’t wait to read more by her.
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