Length6h 46m
About this audiobook
In the fading industrial suburbs of West Michigan, former professor Martin Vale becomes obsessed with what he calls “regenerative mediocrity”—the way poor decisions, weak discipline, consumer addiction, and broken families seem to reproduce themselves generation after generation. His observations lead him to Second Blessings, a crowded thrift store where exhausted mothers, absent fathers, and unruly children provide endless evidence for his theory. But when Martin becomes entangled in the lives of Darla Keene, a sharp-tongued single mother; Tucker, her brilliant but troubled son; and a cast of struggling neighbors, his certainty begins to crack. Martin discovers that the people he once judged are not simply problems to analyze but flawed human beings fighting to survive. Darkly funny, compassionate, and provocative, Silly Women and Rugrats is a novel about responsibility, class, family, and the dangerous comfort of believing we stand above the lives we criticize.
Audiobook details
GenreGeneral Fiction
Length6 hrs 46 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateMay 20, 2026
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Chapter 1
26Saturday at the Laundromat
2The Kingdom of Used Things
27Chapter 14
3Chapter 2
28The Snow Day Economy
4Women with Carts
29Chapter 15
5Chapter 3
30Friday Night at Applebee’s
Show all chaptersShow less
6The Rugrats in Aisle Six
31Chapter 16
7Chapter 4
32The Parent-Teacher Conference
8Half-Off Yellow Tags
33Chapter 17
9Chapter 5
34Tax Refund Season
10Men Who Wait in Cars
35Chapter 18
11Chapter 6
36The Boyfriend Economy
12The Charity Industrial Complex
37Chapter 19
13Chapter 7
38Tucker’s Suspension
14Darla’s Arithmetic
39Chapter 20
15Chapter 8
40Second Blessings After Dark
16The Theory of Regenerative Mediocrity
41Chapter 21
17Chapter 9
42The Notebook
18Misty Buys a Blazer
43Chapter 22
19Chapter 10
44The Power Shutoff
20The Interview Clothes
45Chapter 23
21Chapter 11
46Shane’s Fight
22The Corporate Visit
47Chapter 24
23Chapter 12
48Regenerative Mediocrity
24Men Like Shane
49Chapter 25
25Chapter 13
50Spring Thaw
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