Bittersweet first love romance

This is love on a school bus filled with comic books and the joy of hearing Joy Division for the very first time. The cynic in me says that the author cleverly set this in the 1980s to draw in an audience from a bigger age demographic. Cynicism aside, the two main protagonists are great eccentric characters and their romance is beautifully written. This is further injected with some gritty realism as is Eleanor suffering a ghastly home life under the tyranny of her brutish stepfather.
In summary I would say that this is an excellent book for people with more recent memories of their school life and and the helplessness of living under the rule of monstrous adults. You only have to look at the internet to see how much this has touched the hearts of young adults around the world.

5 people found this helpful

Awesome and tragic and wonderful

Would you listen to Eleanor & Park again? Why?

No, once was enough. It's a brilliant book but I don't reread books that are, quite frankly, depressing.

What other book might you compare Eleanor & Park to, and why?

I can't think of any to directly compare to this, I do t usually read teenage angst books so I suppose the closest thing I can think of is Tess of the durbervilles . That was another book that left me feeling morose despite it being a bloody good book.

Have you listened to any of Rebecca Lowman and Sunil Malhotra ’s other performances? How does this one compare?

This was my first time listening to these guys. I thought Sunil was just brilliant and I think rebecca low mans performance was just a bit to depressingly emotive but none the less good. I think I would have preferred to hear Eleanor being a little more upbeat on a few occasions those occasions when she was with park, I imagine she would have at least not sounded so miserable then.

4 people found this helpful

6 months later, still thinking about Eleanor

Rowell creates two thoughtful and touching characters in Eleanor and Park. You feel sympathy and joy for both throughout the story.
A lovely lovely kind book, a bright yellow beacon in the sometimes dark and moody YA genre. Of course there is angst and sadness but this doesn’t take away from the over arching warmth and gentleness of this love story.

1 person found this helpful

Really wonderful, keep thinking about it

What made the experience of listening to Eleanor & Park the most enjoyable?

Both voice actors were great and brought a great sense of character to the story. They were also adept at voicing other characters as well as Eleanor and Park in a distinctive and believable way. Also, Eleanor and Park were each voiced well by the alternate actor (if that makes sense). The female voice actor in particular has a very dreamy, thoughtful voice that fit the character really well.

What did you like best about this story?

It's funny because while I was listening to this book, I really liked it, but I probably wouldn't have said I loved it. But since finishing it 2 weeks ago, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. The characters and story keep popping back into my head. I have gone and binge-read Rainbow Rowell's other books and am wondering if it's too soon to re-read Eleanor and Park again! It was just a very gentle yet moving, real portrayal of a teenage relationship. I felt like, for 9 hours, I knew those characters as though they were real people.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Any scenes with Park's mum! The scene where Eleanor is in her gym suit has stuck in my mind. Also the scene near the end where Park talks to his Dad about what he is going to do (don't want to give anything away). Lots of the scenes towards the end were really moving. And also just the whole slow buildup of their courtship on the bus. Courtship is a super old-fashioned word to use but it seems like the right one: the slow-burn of their relationship made it feel really real and it was oddly beautiful, made me yearn a little bit for pre-social media days before everything was so instantaneous all the time. (Being a 90s kid myself, I also found lots of the 80s things like walkmen and mixtapes felt really familiar and nostalgic.)

Any additional comments?

Highly recommended. I hope Audible gets more Rainbow Rowell books soon. Go out and read everything of hers!!

1 person found this helpful

Excellent performances, characters and story

Loved both narrators, especially the one who played Eleanor. They really brought to life the vivid characters and relationships created by the author. Heart-warming but not sickly or unrealistic. Great story.

1 person found this helpful

The greatest book I've listened to.

I adored this book BUT PLEASE WHAT WERE THE 3 WORDS!? I miss you or I love you!?!?

1 person found this helpful

A must

Amazing listen a must for anyone
It was great start to finish and even after caps of leave you fell straight back into it

1 person found this helpful

A Dream

Loved the whole thing and I fell in love with the characters. I found it realy cool how the narrators changed there voices to represent each person while having the male or female voice. Overall an amazing story that I will never forget!!!

1 person found this helpful

Amazing rollercoaster story

So heartbreaking but so sweet. It is a very emotional storyline and the narrators played it very well! Made me very happy but also very sad at some parts. Such a gripping tale.

1 person found this helpful

Intriguing and Enjoyable

If you could sum up Eleanor & Park in three words, what would they be?

different, intriguing, enjoyable

What did you like best about this story?

I love the way that this is presented from each of the main teenage characters perspective. The music references are great as it is of my generation. It was tense in places and intriguing a modern day Romeo & Juliet. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I will listen again.

What does Rebecca Lowman and Sunil Malhotra bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Characterisation. It is so well read it was like listening to a mini drama, although it isn't mini

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

20th Century Romeo & Juliet

Any additional comments?

I was a tad disappointed by the abrupt ending - I just didn't see it coming! - hence 4 stars for the story.

1 person found this helpful