There Are Flowers in Ohio

by Rumaan Alam, Michael Crouch (Narrator), Allison Hiroto (Narrator)

Alice Comstock has always been a dutiful wife and an attentive mother, a perfectionist presiding over a flawless home. She’s reliably been her family’s center, the caretaker and problem-solver, until an illness requires her children to assume responsibility for their mother. For Adam, Alice’s youngest, a return home to California sparks a memory of his younger self. Alternating between the present and flashbacks to Adam’s college years, There Are Flowers in Ohio explores how the paths not taken shape all of our lives.

Genres: Audiobook, Fiction, Short Stories, Queer

2 pages, Audible Audio

First published February 24, 2022

About the author

I'm the author of the novels Rich and Pretty, That Kind of Mother, Leave the World Behind, and Entitlement.

My short fiction has appeared in StoryQuarterly, Crazyhorse, Meridian, and elsewhere. I've also written for the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, and the New Republic. I studied writing at Oberlin College. Now I live in New York with my husband and two kids.

Reviews

[Brandice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled with the inconclusiveness of Leave the World Behind the book Rumaan Alam is best known for. It took me awhile to figure out where There Are Flowers in Ohio was going — It’s a short story about Adam, an adult son returning home to visit his ailing mom, who has flashbacks to his earlier days as a young adult. While much shorter and not related to LTWB, it does carry a similar style of writing.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good short story. I did prefer the storyline set in the past, but the present had a lot of value too. There was a reveal about the fate of my favourite character that was particularly emotional.

[Lanie J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn’t get over the disgusting baby bird thing that went on. I also couldn’t follow what was going on well.

[Steph Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty naff. Very little actually happened and it was boring throughout.

[Aurora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like stories that present moments in time from many points of view. This was short and revealing.

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

yeah okay i teared up. i wish this was a physical book that i could hold

[Kai Van · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't argue that Alam isn't a good writer because he absolutely is, but his descriptions feel a bit too wordy for my personal taste and this one felt like it ended too suddenly. I know its just a short story, but it feels like it could've used just a bit more. still hits a bit in the heart, though.

[BookishVegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this author.💙
This is my favorite type of short story.

Ambiguous but not pretentious

Bleak but still emotional

I’m excited to read his new book!

And rabbit hole down the rest of his stories and podcasts

[Aries · Rating 1 out of 5]

I do not think I like this author.

I find that they are too wordy for my taste, and I just think it is really unnecessary and almost daunting to have to read their wordy descriptions.

I also found the story to be slightly pointless. What was it about? There must have been some bigger picture that I was missing, and I just didn't have a good time.

[Melrose's · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story is tragic and sad

[Zoe (didyoumeanbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 of 5 Stars

A concise short story that flip-flops between the past and the present. I enjoyed the interplay between the two storylines separated by time, and I think this story was both well-written and well-narrated. I think there could've been a bit more to it; it brought up important themes of class, queer relationships, family expectations, and more, but, unfortunately, it didn't feel super rewarding or memorable in the grand scheme of everything I have and will read.

I know this is meant as a short story, but I wish it had a bit more to it -- I think I could have really loved it if it were a bit longer or continued further in its exploration of this family, past and present.

P.S. Alice's thoughts about how she loved her son's roommate/partner that he had brought home but she never wanted to see him again reminded me vaguely of Daisy from the Great Gatsby talking about wanting her daughter to be a beautiful fool. I think it's the parallel of wishing for their child to cut off beautiful and important parts of themselves to have "easier" lives within the societies and roles they've been placed into.

[Kry Tiger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alice is the epitome of women: the glue of the family. She’s always taken care of everything. Until one day, an illness requires her kids to finally take responsibility and make the necessary arrangements for her healthcare and safety. In doing so, the youngest child is triggered of a childhood memory and is pulled into the past. With the story jumping back and forth between the past and present, and being told from each characters POV, we learn how what we consider the “simple things in life” shape us into who we are and how our family sometimes see us.

I wouldn’t say this was an terrible book, but I wouldn’t recommended it. It was slow and nothing really happened.
However, I did like how the story was told by all the characters from their own POV. It was different and not entirely a bad thing. With that being said, the book was a bit dull. But if you need to kill and hour and a half, this book would get the job done.

[Ashley Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a deeply moving short audiobook. I saw a future that is a reality for so many people in the queer community and the ending was shattering. My heart breaks for the all of the Adam’s of the world who are not given the privilege to be themselves due to the judgement of their families and strangers alike.

[Amaz0n · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spare and poignant. Vignettes of a first love, a family and finding ones place, a coming of age and aging, transitions and lives book-ended. Lovely language. Some will wish for more closure, but it invites one to fill in blanks with personal comparisons and revelation.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a 3.5 - I found it hard to follow at times (in regards to the two timelines we were following), but I found Adam’s story in particular to be moving and sad. I wasn’t super compelled by Alice’s story tbh

[Cory Hawksbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical mundane real life short story telling that I learned in College. I still like this type of story, butI have had a little too much life to really seek out stories about fake people going through the same things. I still intend to write lots, though.

[Laura Samborsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars this was absolutely so enthralling and heartbreaking and gut-wrenching and I felt like I lived the lives of the people in the story I was sucked right in immediately and that is my definition of a good book!

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for a short story. I would have loved it to have more content so the author could delve more and expound into the lives of her characters.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Storyline is nothing special and I didn't enjoy the narrator.

[Shane Hart · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing read.

[Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfectly respectable short story that was well-constructed but didn't wow me.

[Khulud Khamis]

I liked how unexpected this narrative was and how Alam made connections between seemingly unconnected threads.

[Brad Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-written, but as an Ohio gay, I found it a bit of a bummer.

[Vanessa Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decently written. Audio performance was ok. Overall I just think I was kind of bored by the end. But it was quick. So thank goodness for that.

[Mary]

Not what I expected 🤷🏾‍♀️.

[Alison Melancon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was a bit confusing keeping the two timelines straight at the beginning but overall was a great story. Heartbreaking but good

[JoAnne Cattanach · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tale of mothers ultimate power in their family.

[Ericka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, cute audible plus listen. Quite intriguing left me wanting to know more

[Marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is like semi-sweet chocolate chips: a little bitter, a little sweet, and a lot nostalgic.

[Regis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written, and unexpectedly emotional, with good performances.