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praise for the leisure seeker
"This is a purely character-driven novel, and Ella is a remarkable creation: she’s honest, tough, strong, funny, usually in pain, cranky, and frightened. Her narration is matter-of-fact, but laced with snarky one-liners. Having braved Chicago’s chaotic Dan Ryan Expressway, she comforts readers: 'Between the two of us, we are one whole person.'...Her middle-aged children’s panicked demands that the couple return home will resonate with any adult who has feared for a parent’s well-being. Zadoorian, whose debut novel, Second Hand (2000), was widely praised, has surpassed his initial success. The Leisure Seeker is pretty much like life itself: joyous, painful, funny, moving, tragic, mysterious, and not to be missed." -BOOKLIST (Starred Review)
“I would recommend Michael Zadoorian’s “The Leisure Seeker” to almost anyone…It’s readable, frequently funny, sometimes all too realistically poignant…This is Detroit-area writer Zadoorian’s second book; watch him; he’s going places.” -DETROIT FREE PRESS
“Michael Zadoorian's bittersweet story about two runaways who are in their 80s and in failing health could be a lovely film…it avoids getting too sentimental while raising questions about memory and old age with bracing doses of humor… It’s On the Road with shorter sentences and less drugs and sex.” -USA TODAY
“An elderly couple face down death by taking one last, thoroughly unauthorized vacation...A bittersweet fable of the golden years likely to offer consolation to readers who’ve ever known anyone old, or plans to get old themselves.” -KIRKUS REVIEWS
“It’s a triumphant and moving novel, at times hilarious and also devastating.” -NEW HAMPSHIRE PUBLIC RADIO
“Zadoorian is true to these geezers. He draws them in their most honest light…I hoped for a book that would make me laugh during these tight times, and I was rewarded.” -LOS ANGELES TIMES
"The ultimate decision Ella makes might seem life affirming to some and a callous betrayal to others, but it’s impossible to deny that Ella’s wise, feisty voice turns what could be a sappy melodrama into an authentic and funny love story." -PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“This is no golden Age Thelma and Louise story…Zadoorian, like his protagonists, sticks to the slow lane, and the pace and sense of inevitability surrounding the Robinas' journey is almost reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. But there's wry humor here to balance it out, especially in Ella's narration.” -ORLANDO SENTINEL
“The humor is dark, the story poignant, and the journey so descriptive that it makes you want to take the trip yourself.”-FLINT JOURNAL
“The Leisure Seeker is one of those books that stays with you, from which deep personal conundrums spring and linger.” -BOOKREPORTER.COM
“An inevitable ending to fill your eyes with tears…a surprising amount of poignancy.” -MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL STAR TRIBUNE
“Just as he did in Second Hand, Zadoorian shows us that it's often the overlooked, the forgotten and the marginal in life where you find the most fascinating stories…an intimate, funky, road adventure where the action is tempered by a state of grace.”-DETROIT METRO TIMES
“This book actually is about what a lot of books claim to be about but aren't: ordinary people and, more than that, ordinary, decent people…the book's message is uplifting: Ordinary, dutiful lives are not necessarily boring ones.” -ST PETERSBURG TIMES
“Michael Zadoorian captures the sarcastic, wise, funny, sometimes profane, always loving voice of Ella… recalling for readers those cross-country family vacations and the normalcy of lives lived day by day, year by year; Now is the time to plan that vacation, contemplate the future and sit back and enjoy the slide show featuring Ella and John.” -GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
“Very, very funny…This story is so revolutionary.” -MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO
“I would recommend Michael Zadoorian’s “The Leisure Seeker” to almost anyone…It’s readable, frequently funny, sometimes all too realistically poignant…This is Detroit-area writer Zadoorian’s second book; watch him; he’s going places.” -DETROIT FREE PRESS
“Michael Zadoorian's bittersweet story about two runaways who are in their 80s and in failing health could be a lovely film…it avoids getting too sentimental while raising questions about memory and old age with bracing doses of humor… It’s On the Road with shorter sentences and less drugs and sex.” -USA TODAY
“An elderly couple face down death by taking one last, thoroughly unauthorized vacation...A bittersweet fable of the golden years likely to offer consolation to readers who’ve ever known anyone old, or plans to get old themselves.” -KIRKUS REVIEWS
“It’s a triumphant and moving novel, at times hilarious and also devastating.” -NEW HAMPSHIRE PUBLIC RADIO
“Zadoorian is true to these geezers. He draws them in their most honest light…I hoped for a book that would make me laugh during these tight times, and I was rewarded.” -LOS ANGELES TIMES
"The ultimate decision Ella makes might seem life affirming to some and a callous betrayal to others, but it’s impossible to deny that Ella’s wise, feisty voice turns what could be a sappy melodrama into an authentic and funny love story." -PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“This is no golden Age Thelma and Louise story…Zadoorian, like his protagonists, sticks to the slow lane, and the pace and sense of inevitability surrounding the Robinas' journey is almost reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. But there's wry humor here to balance it out, especially in Ella's narration.” -ORLANDO SENTINEL
“The humor is dark, the story poignant, and the journey so descriptive that it makes you want to take the trip yourself.”-FLINT JOURNAL
“The Leisure Seeker is one of those books that stays with you, from which deep personal conundrums spring and linger.” -BOOKREPORTER.COM
“An inevitable ending to fill your eyes with tears…a surprising amount of poignancy.” -MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL STAR TRIBUNE
“Just as he did in Second Hand, Zadoorian shows us that it's often the overlooked, the forgotten and the marginal in life where you find the most fascinating stories…an intimate, funky, road adventure where the action is tempered by a state of grace.”-DETROIT METRO TIMES
“This book actually is about what a lot of books claim to be about but aren't: ordinary people and, more than that, ordinary, decent people…the book's message is uplifting: Ordinary, dutiful lives are not necessarily boring ones.” -ST PETERSBURG TIMES
“Michael Zadoorian captures the sarcastic, wise, funny, sometimes profane, always loving voice of Ella… recalling for readers those cross-country family vacations and the normalcy of lives lived day by day, year by year; Now is the time to plan that vacation, contemplate the future and sit back and enjoy the slide show featuring Ella and John.” -GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
“Very, very funny…This story is so revolutionary.” -MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO