The Children

A Novel

De: Ann Leary

Narrado por: Gretchen Mol

From New York Times best-selling author Ann Leary comes the captivating story of a wealthy but unconventional New England family, told from the perspective of a reclusive 29-year-old who has a secret (and famous) life on the Internet.

Charlotte Maynard rarely leaves her mother's home, the sprawling Connecticut lake house that belonged to her late stepfather, Whit Whitman, and the generations of Whitmans before him. While Charlotte and her sister, Sally, grew up at Lakeside, their stepbrothers, Spin and Perry, were welcomed as weekend guests. Now the grown boys own the estate, which Joan occupies by their grace - and a provision in the family trust.

When Spin, the youngest and favorite of all the children, brings his fiancée home for the summer, the entire family is intrigued. The beautiful and accomplished Laurel Atwood breathes new life into this often comically rarefied world. But as the wedding draws near and flaws surface in the family's polite veneer, an array of simmering resentments and unfortunate truths is exposed.

With remarkable wit and insight, Ann Leary pulls back the curtain on one blended family as they are forced to grapple with the assets and liabilities - both material and psychological - left behind by their wonderfully flawed patriarch.

©2016 Ann Leary (P)2016 Macmillan Audio

Disappointing ,

This reader of this flawed novel has a flat, almost monotone voice.
Very unappealing, and detracts from the story.
A different narrator might have helped the book to seem less simplistic than it actually was. Much of the conversation sounded like it was from a third grade reading manual, because it was rendered so stiffly. The story seemed to end midstream. Without giving the story away, the characters who had been lied to at the outset might have come together for an ingenious revenge scheme. Additional plot development would have enhanced the book.

Well Performed Story

This story is about a very quirky family on a lake in northwest Connecticut. From the beginning, you knew something is amiss with these people, (while calls their mother be her first name?), but the turns the story takes are surprising and heart-breaking. Ultimately, they are revealed to all be rather disfunctional, each in there own way. And then an outsider joins them and things unravel quickly from there.

Strange ending

I got into each of the characters in this book, enjoyed the narration but was a bit disappointed in the abrupt ending, which didn't take the same easy pace as the rest of the book and felt rushed.

made me mad make me laugh make me smile

it took me awhile to keep all the characters straight in the very beginning and sometimes that is something I find with an audible book that I don't find with a book that I'm reading. but by the second chapter or so I had a picture of all the characters and could keep them straight. I like them all really like the book didn't want the ending to be what it was but there it was. sometimes that's the best indication of a really good book!

Great characterization... not much happens

Like many reviewers I loved 'The Good House' and bought this because of that.

The characters didn't disappoint, the set up is good (though I did get a bit annoyed with everyone's lack of awareness about their weak financial situation - living in a house owned by someone else).

The story setup is believable and the day to day reasonable. but then like life... it just sort of meanders along. There are major events right at the end, and no-one seems particularly upset or distressed. There's a flatness that could have been fixed with more tension. It felt as though Ann Leary had perhaps lost interest at the end and simply tied up all the loose ends quickly.

It's still an enjoyable read and I'll read more by her. But if this is your first Ann Leary - get the Good House. it's compelling in a way this isnt'

Incredibly boring

Made it to chapter 11 and just couldn't listen to any more. I usually love this authors books but not this one.

incredible narrator, vivid characters and setting

Ann Leary really gets human behavior, and writes the most affecting character-driven stories I’ve read. The narrator gives a full performance and brings life to this fascinating cast of characters and New England lake house. Highly recommend.

not satisfying at all

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Why would I want a friend to experience this disappointment, especially the ending; and there doesn't seem to be any point, anything to learn from the characters' experiences.

Have you listened to any of Gretchen Mol’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Gretchen Mol was the best thing about this listen.

Did The Children inspire you to do anything?

Absolutely not.

Fun and suspenseful!

Enjoyed the story, the setting of the story and the narration. Part thriller , part romance . A must listen!

Brilliant family comedy/drama

Ann Leary knows what she's doing. Take a few interesting characters with amusing flaws/quirks, put them in a challenging situation, add an interloper, money, unanswered questions, resentment and humor, and then turn the whole thing upside-down. Witty at times, dark at others. Not only is this a great character study, it's got a riveting plot too.

The level of depth takes this book from good to great. A lively story that kept me engaged, entertained and which moved me deeply.

Thank you Gretchen Mol for your superb narration. Many audiobooks suffer from narration that does not serve the book as much as the performer's ego. Overacting is such a turnoff. Finally, a narrator who gives us a book rather than a self-indulgent performance. Five stars.