Listen free for 30 days
People who bought this also bought...
-
Inside Out
- By: Demi Moore
- Narrated by: Demi Moore
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 292
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 262
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 261
For decades, Demi Moore has been synonymous with celebrity. From iconic film roles to high-profile relationships, Moore has never been far from the spotlight - or the headlines. Even as Demi was becoming the highest paid actress in Hollywood, however, she was always outrunning her past, just one step ahead of the doubts and insecurities that defined her childhood. Inside Out is a story of survival, success, and surrender - a wrenchingly honest portrayal of one woman’s at once ordinary and iconic life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
captivating
- By Amazon Customer on 24-09-19
-
The Silence of the Girls
- By: Pat Barker
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton, Michael Fox
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 570
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 515
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 512
The great city of Troy is under siege as Greek heroes Achilles and Agamemnon wage bloody war over a stolen woman. In the Greek camp, another woman is watching and waiting: Briseis. She was a queen of this land until Achilles sacked her city and murdered her husband and sons. Now she is Achilles' concubine: a prize of battle. Briseis is just one among thousands of women backstage in this war - the slaves and prostitutes, the nurses, the women who lay out the dead - all of them voiceless in history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A feminist Iliad
- By Barbie on 02-09-18
-
Warlight
- By: Michael Ondaatje
- Narrated by: George Blagden
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 165
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 155
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 155
London, 1945. The capital is still reeling from the war. Fourteen-year-old Nathaniel and his older sister Rachel are abandoned by their parents who leave the country on business, and are left in the dubious care of a mysterious figure named The Moth. Nathaniel is introduced to The Moth’s band of criminal misfits and is caught up in a series of teenage misadventures, from smuggling greyhounds for illegal dog racing to lovers’ trysts in abandoned buildings at night. But is this eccentric crew really what and who they claim to be? And most importantly, what happened to Nathaniel’s mother?
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Not one of the best listens
- By Joey Queens on 03-02-19
-
Educated
- By: Tara Westover
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,536
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,103
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,101
Tara Westover and her family grew up preparing for the End of Days but, according to the government, she didn’t exist. She hadn’t been registered for a birth certificate. She had no school records because she’d never set foot in a classroom, and no medical records because her father didn’t believe in hospitals. As she grew older, her father became more radical and her brother more violent. At 16, Tara knew she had to leave home. In doing so she discovered both the transformative power of education, and the price she had to pay for it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful, inspiring book on the value of education
- By David Bowden on 03-03-18
-
Conversations with Friends
- By: Sally Rooney
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,046
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 953
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 954
Frances is a 21-year-old college student in Dublin; she performs at spoken word events with her best friend and ex-lover, Bobbi. When they are profiled by journalist Melissa, they enter an orbit of beautiful houses and raucous dinner parties. Initially unimpressed, Frances begins an affair with Nick, Melissa's husband, which gives way to an unexpected intimacy.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Great performance of a not so great novel
- By Benry on 25-10-18
-
The Hunting Party
- By: Lucy Foley
- Narrated by: Cathleen McCarron, Laura Kirman, Clare Corbett, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 772
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 703
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 699
Everyone's invited. Everyone's a suspect. In a remote hunting lodge, deep in the Scottish wilderness, old friends gather for New Year. The beautiful one. The golden couple. The volatile one. The new parents. The quiet one. The city boy. The outsider. The victim. Not an accident - a murder among friends.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Highly recommended... a brilliant book
- By edd on 23-12-18
-
Inside Out
- By: Demi Moore
- Narrated by: Demi Moore
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 292
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 262
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 261
For decades, Demi Moore has been synonymous with celebrity. From iconic film roles to high-profile relationships, Moore has never been far from the spotlight - or the headlines. Even as Demi was becoming the highest paid actress in Hollywood, however, she was always outrunning her past, just one step ahead of the doubts and insecurities that defined her childhood. Inside Out is a story of survival, success, and surrender - a wrenchingly honest portrayal of one woman’s at once ordinary and iconic life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
captivating
- By Amazon Customer on 24-09-19
-
The Silence of the Girls
- By: Pat Barker
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton, Michael Fox
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 570
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 515
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 512
The great city of Troy is under siege as Greek heroes Achilles and Agamemnon wage bloody war over a stolen woman. In the Greek camp, another woman is watching and waiting: Briseis. She was a queen of this land until Achilles sacked her city and murdered her husband and sons. Now she is Achilles' concubine: a prize of battle. Briseis is just one among thousands of women backstage in this war - the slaves and prostitutes, the nurses, the women who lay out the dead - all of them voiceless in history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A feminist Iliad
- By Barbie on 02-09-18
-
Warlight
- By: Michael Ondaatje
- Narrated by: George Blagden
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 165
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 155
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 155
London, 1945. The capital is still reeling from the war. Fourteen-year-old Nathaniel and his older sister Rachel are abandoned by their parents who leave the country on business, and are left in the dubious care of a mysterious figure named The Moth. Nathaniel is introduced to The Moth’s band of criminal misfits and is caught up in a series of teenage misadventures, from smuggling greyhounds for illegal dog racing to lovers’ trysts in abandoned buildings at night. But is this eccentric crew really what and who they claim to be? And most importantly, what happened to Nathaniel’s mother?
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Not one of the best listens
- By Joey Queens on 03-02-19
-
Educated
- By: Tara Westover
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,536
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,103
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,101
Tara Westover and her family grew up preparing for the End of Days but, according to the government, she didn’t exist. She hadn’t been registered for a birth certificate. She had no school records because she’d never set foot in a classroom, and no medical records because her father didn’t believe in hospitals. As she grew older, her father became more radical and her brother more violent. At 16, Tara knew she had to leave home. In doing so she discovered both the transformative power of education, and the price she had to pay for it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful, inspiring book on the value of education
- By David Bowden on 03-03-18
-
Conversations with Friends
- By: Sally Rooney
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,046
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 953
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 954
Frances is a 21-year-old college student in Dublin; she performs at spoken word events with her best friend and ex-lover, Bobbi. When they are profiled by journalist Melissa, they enter an orbit of beautiful houses and raucous dinner parties. Initially unimpressed, Frances begins an affair with Nick, Melissa's husband, which gives way to an unexpected intimacy.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Great performance of a not so great novel
- By Benry on 25-10-18
-
The Hunting Party
- By: Lucy Foley
- Narrated by: Cathleen McCarron, Laura Kirman, Clare Corbett, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 772
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 703
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 699
Everyone's invited. Everyone's a suspect. In a remote hunting lodge, deep in the Scottish wilderness, old friends gather for New Year. The beautiful one. The golden couple. The volatile one. The new parents. The quiet one. The city boy. The outsider. The victim. Not an accident - a murder among friends.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Highly recommended... a brilliant book
- By edd on 23-12-18
-
Arabian Nights: Volume 1
- An Audible Original Drama
- By: Marty Ross
- Narrated by: Zahra Ahmadi, Raghad Chaar, Omid Djalili, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 482
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 449
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 448
This multicast dramatisation of Arabian Nights: Volume 1 is an Audible Original reenvisioning of three iconic tales - with a twist. Adapted by the great Marty Ross, whose previous audio dramas include Romeo and Jude, Dark Shadows, Doctor Who and Blood and Stone, listeners can expect to hear Sheherezade, Ali Baba & 40 Thieves and Julnar the Sea Born as they've never done before.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fiery, comedic and bursting with life.
- By Elizabeth Ann Duffy on 19-05-18
-
Milkman
- By: Anna Burns
- Narrated by: Bríd Brennan
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,546
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,308
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2,299
In this unnamed city, to be interesting is dangerous. Middle sister, our protagonist, is busy attempting to keep her mother from discovering her maybe-boyfriend and to keep everyone in the dark about her encounter with Milkman. But when first brother-in-law sniffs out her struggle, and rumours start to swell, middle sister becomes 'interesting'. The last thing she ever wanted to be. To be interesting is to be noticed and to be noticed is dangerous. Milkman is a tale of gossip and hearsay, silence and deliberate deafness. It is the story of inaction with enormous consequences.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Very, Very Good
- By David M on 20-10-18
-
Machines Like Me
- By: Ian McEwan
- Narrated by: Billy Howle
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 622
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 567
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 566
Machines Like Me occurs in an alternative 1980s London. Charlie, drifting through life and dodging full-time employment, is in love with Miranda, a bright student who lives with a terrible secret. When Charlie comes into money, he buys Adam, one of the first batch of synthetic humans. With Miranda’s assistance, he co-designs Adam’s personality. This near-perfect human is beautiful, strong and clever - a love triangle soon forms. These three beings will confront a profound moral dilemma.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Ian McEwan at his best. Thought provoking.
- By Anonymous User on 12-05-19
-
The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock
- By: Imogen Hermes Gowar
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,060
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 991
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 990
Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar, read by Juliet Stevenson. This voyage is special. It will change everything.... One September evening in 1785, the merchant Jonah Hancock hears urgent knocking on his front door. One of his captains is waiting eagerly on the step. He has sold Jonah's ship for what appears to be a mermaid.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Utterly beguiling and brilliantly believable.
- By ms.t.s.hutchings on 20-02-18
-
Normal People
- By: Sally Rooney
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
- Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 3,082
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,789
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2,781
Connell and Marianne grow up in the same small town in rural Ireland. The similarities end there; they are from very different worlds. When they both earn places at Trinity College in Dublin, a connection that has grown between them lasts long into the following years. This is an exquisite love story about how a person can change another person's life - a simple yet profound realisation that unfolds beautifully over the course of the novel. It tells us how difficult it is to talk about how we feel and it tells us - blazingly - about cycles of domination, legitimacy and privilege.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
It plunges under your skin and invades you.
- By Wras on 18-10-18
-
The Stranger's Child
- By: Alan Hollinghurst
- Narrated by: James Daniel Wilson
- Length: 19 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars 143
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 52
In the late summer of 1913 the aristocratic young poet Cecil Valance comes to stay at ‘Two Acres’, the home of his close Cambridge friend George Sawle. The weekend will be one of excitements and confusions for all the Sawles, but it is on George’s sixteen-year-old sister Daphne that it will have the most lasting impact, when Cecil writes her a poem which will become a touchstone for a generation, an evocation of an England about to change for ever.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Murder by Narrator
- By Christina on 28-07-11
-
The Idiot
- By: Elif Batuman
- Narrated by: Elif Batuman
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 25
It is September 1995. Selin, a Turkish-American college freshman from New Jersey, is about to embark on her first year at Harvard University, where she is determined to decipher the mysteries of language and to become a writer. In between studying psycholinguistics and the philosophy of language, teaching ESL to a Costa Rican plumber, and befriending her classmate Svetlana (a Serbian refugee from Connecticut), Selin falls in love with a Hungarian maths student in her Russian class.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
A rather juvenile romp
- By Suswati on 03-01-18
-
Little Fires Everywhere
- By: Celeste Ng
- Narrated by: Jennifer Lim
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,867
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,668
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,666
The brilliant new novel from the author of the New York Times best seller Everything I Never Told You. Everyone in Shaker Heights was talking about it that summer: how Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around the bend and burned the house down. In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is meticulously planned - from the layout of the winding roads to the colours of the houses to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
An evocative and complex portrait of suburbia
- By Suswati on 11-11-17
-
Annie Dunne
- By: Sebastian Barry
- Narrated by: Caroline Lennon
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 5
Annie Dunne and her cousin Sarah live and work on a small farm in a remote and beautiful part of Wicklow in late 1950s Ireland. All about them, a way of life is about to disappear. Like two old rooks, they hold to their life, cherishing everything. When Annie's nephew and his wife are set to go to London, their two small children are brought down to spend the summer with them. A summer of adventure, pain, delight and ultimately epiphany unfolds for both the children and their elderly caretakers.
-
Memento Mori
- By: Muriel Spark
- Narrated by: Eve Karpf
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 53
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 50
"Remember you must die" says the telephone caller.This the voice, and message communicated in a series of anonymous calls made to many elderly people. Including; Dame Lettie, a blue-blooded reformer, Godfrey - her rather irritating brother, and his once fabulous novelist wife Charmian. But who is the caller? And why are they reminding them of this final truth? It's unsettling and mysterious. The activity increases and soon a witch-hunt is in full force, with nobody beyond suspicion.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing story, one performance.
- By Alice on 09-09-15
-
Blue Nights
- By: Joan Didion
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 17
From one of America’s greatest and most iconic writers: an honest and courageous portrait of age and motherhood. Several days before Christmas 2003, Joan Didion’s only daughter, Quintana, fell seriously ill. In 2010, Didion marked the sixth anniversary of her daughter’s death. Blue Nights is a shatteringly honest examination of Joan Didion’s life as a mother, a woman and a writer.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Sorry - gave up
- By polly on 09-07-16
-
The Master
- By: Colm Tóibín
- Narrated by: William Hope
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 27
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 22
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 23
Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of The Master by Colm Toibin, read by Geoffrey Howard.In January 1895 Henry James anticipates the opening of his first play, Guy Domville, in London. The production fails, and he returns, chastened and humiliated, to his writing desk. The result is a string of masterpieces, but they are produced at a high personal cost.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Very interesting, historic novel, of
- By Anonymous User on 28-01-19
Summary
In her most ambitious work to date, Joyce Carol Oates, one of America's most distinguished writers, reimagines the inner, poetic, and spiritual life of Norma Jeane Baker, the child, the woman, the fated celebrity, and tells the story in Norma Jeane's own voice: startling, rich, and shattering.
Drawing on biographical and historical sources, Joyce Carol Oates evokes the distinct consciousness of the woman and the unsparing reflection of the myth, writing as she has never written before, ecstatic, completely absorbed, inhabited as if by the spirit of her extraordinary subject. Rich with psychological insight and disturbing irony, this mesmerizing narrative illumines Norma Jeane's lonely childhood, wrenching adolescence, and the creation of Marilyn Monroe.
With fresh insights into the heart of a celebrity culture hypnotized by its own myths, Blonde is a sweeping novel about the elusive magic of a woman, the lasting legacy of a star, and the heartbreak behind the creation of the most evocative icon of the 20th century.
Critic reviews
More from the same
Narrator
What members say
Average customer ratings
Overall
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars16
-
4 Stars5
-
3 Stars4
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars2
Performance
-
4.5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars11
-
4 Stars5
-
3 Stars2
-
2 Stars1
-
1 Stars0
Story
-
4.5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars13
-
4 Stars2
-
3 Stars2
-
2 Stars1
-
1 Stars1
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mark
- 08-09-14
Brilliant performance of an astonishing narrative.
Truly gripping performance of a great work of imaginative literature. Brings alive the period and the extraordinary unsung genius of Marilyn Monroe. If an audio book can be unputdownable this was it. Bravo Jayne Atkinson!
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 11-05-18
Sensational novel
Great listen. Joyce Carol Oates never fails to please I was hooked from first page!
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- J. Wood
- uk
- 27-11-17
Poor book
Not a book that I enjoyed. I returned it after 1.5 hours of listening. The narrative style didn't suit me.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Ms. Nicola J. Booth
- Guildford, UK
- 04-02-13
Liked it
Extremely well told, the husky voice of the narrator really added character and back bone to the book and opened my eyes. Wasn't sure at first about the book in the first 30 minutes but glad i stuck with it.
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story1 out of 5 stars
- Hoop
- 08-10-18
COMPLETE RUBBISH
A fictionalised account of Marilyn Munroe's life - why? Why leave the reader/listener wondering how much is true and how much is made up. It is also reads like a cheap pot-boiler most of the time. I gave up half way through and regretted getting even that far.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Tia
- 10-06-15
Why not "unabridged"
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
I hate when publishers only support a summary of the book or an "abridged" version. It's offensive to people with reading disorders who will not receive the full benefit of the book.
19 of 19 people found this review helpful
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- C. Boatenreiter
- 07-02-13
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? NO UNABRIDGED VERSION?
What would have made Blonde better?
If I could have listened to the entire darned thing, instead of quitting 1/10 of the way through to read the REAL book. The narration was fantastic, and this is an incredible work of literature. WHY it had to be ruined...I have no idea.
What did you like best about this story?
I loved everything about it...too bad I was missing a HUGE part of the point.
Which scene was your favorite?
The one that I read afterwards when I had to RE READ THE BOOK to get the whole story. Possibly the one with Norma in the car, since THAT WAS COMPLETELY LEFT OUT AND CHANGED THE MEANING OF EVERYTHING.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
I absolutely adore this book. It's just too bad that it has been decided for us that we aren't intelligent or patient or deep enough to listen to the entire thing. JCO, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING????
Any additional comments?
I am so disappointed. I'd love a refund since I had to stop listening and buy the book anyway, once I realized all that I was missing out on.
33 of 35 people found this review helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story1 out of 5 stars
- Jesse
- 28-12-15
Seriously need to redo the audio!!!
The narrations jumps all over the fucking place, skips some chapters and hundreds of paragraphs!? This seriously annoying and horrible, the book is great though the audible narration is a hot fucking mess omg!!!
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Celina
- 21-04-14
This bombshell keeps making her way into my heart!
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Absolutely! the author of this book and narrator really brought you close to Marilyn. It was a pleasure to listen to. I couldn't put it down.
What did you like best about this story?
The intimacy you got to share with marilyn from her fist moments to her last.
If you could rename Blonde, what would you call it?
i Wouldn't i think this title was perfectly chosen. it really is a metaphor for the story.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- cocopuff
- 27-09-12
Couldn't stop listening
Rarely write a review, but the melding of prose and reader was so perfect. I don't care about the historical accuracy ... it was psychologically convincing and mesmerizing.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Lesley
- 18-09-12
Interesting take on Marilyn
Overall, this book was a good listen. It was for my book club and was my first time to listen instead of read a fiction book. I definitely had a different take on the story compared to the ladies who read the book. I liked it a lot more than they did, but I think it's because the audio version is abridged. The narrator's imitation of Marilyn was annoying at times, but the story was great to listen to and kept me interested.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kyle
- 18-03-17
5 stars
The narrator's smoky, Peggy Lee voice pairs perfectly with JCO's emotional, sinister, always real take on Marilyn's life. A must read.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Maya A.
- 07-07-16
Amazing writing and narration, what a treat!
I've never read a real biography written this way before. Blew me away, so fun. Loved the narrator making the story come to life In a whole new way with her changes in tones and voices.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- TiffanyD
- 17-03-19
Always Beware the Abridged Version
I assiduously avoid abridged versions but somehow I accidentally bought this one, which meant I had to get the text and read it to get the full story.
As a novel: I think JCO's novel is way too long and could definitely have used some cutting. But one thing that wasn't included were any of MM's female friendships after the age of 17. The author freely admits she takes liberty with the real life of MM but why cut out female relationships and give us another story about Marilyn that makes her entire existence all about the men in her life? Haven't we seen Monroe through that lens often enough? Some parts of it are very well done--MM's insecurity, her attempts to fit in with others, her struggles to live up to her public image. But I don't really "get" why JCO wrote this fiction-not-fiction novel and in some ways it feels like yet another person trying to imprint their own narrative on this human being, facts be damned and that human being's consent be damned.
As an audio book: like I said, I think the regular book was too long and could have used cutting. On the other hand, I didn't care for what they cut to make the audio book more manageable. There were pieces I listened to in the audio book where I thought "why on earth didn't they take this out?" and pieces I read where I thought "how could they possibly take this out?" The last section of the book, in which Marilyn is involved with JFK, was so abridged in the audio version that it felt like it didn't belong to the narrative at all. Which is extra weird considering the end of the book, which entertains a JFK/CIA conspiracy theory (I have quibbles with that too).
All in all, I was mildly entertained and I learned an important lesson about checking for the words "UNABRIDGED" under everything I buy.
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Reggie
- 16-03-19
My Own Fault for Not Noticing
I finished this audiobook thinking, "man, that book could have been awesome, but it felt like the skeleton of an amazing book." It was only then that I saw the word, "abridged," on the file. Curse me for being stupid and curse the monster who invented abridgments and curse the punk who thought this book should abridged.
As it stands, this abridgement was fine. JCO makes a few speculative leaps about the inner workings of Norma Jean cum Marilyn, that feel spot-on. It was the first book I've read where someone really tried to understand the mechanisms of Marilyn's genius. ...and she as a genius at what she did, unquestionably. She was just so good; so talented; so funny.
When JCO comes to Marilyn's sing-song at JFK's birthday I stopped listening and watched the footage on Youtube. She's clearly a little tipsy, and perhaps out of her league in that den of Ivy League privilege, but they were only more educated than Marilyn. They were not smarter, and they might scorn her, but they absolutely bowed to her genius too. All she does is take off a coat and take a breath, and the room is hers. It's incredible.
Anyway, I don't know if I'll go back and read the unabridged version now. Marilyn had a hard life, and this is an equally hard book. It's brilliant, but not pretty.