Friend of the Family

By: Lauren Grodstein

Narrated by: Rick Adamson

Pete Dizinoff has spent years working toward a life that would be, by all measures, deemed successful. A skilled internist, he's built a thriving practice in suburban New Jersey. He has a devoted wife, a network of close friends, and an impressive house. And most important, he has a son, Alec, on whom he's pinned all his hopes. Pete has afforded Alec every opportunity, bailed him out of close calls with the law, and even ensured his acceptance into a good college.

But Pete never counted on the wild card: Laura, his best friend's daughter - 10 years older than Alec, irresistibly beautiful, with a past so shocking that it's never spoken of. When Laura sets her sights on Alec, Pete sees his plans for his son not just unraveling but being destroyed completely. Believing he has only the best of intentions, he sets out to derail this romance and rescue his son. He could never have foreseen how his whole world would shatter in the process.

Lauren Grodstein delivers a riveting story in the tradition of The Ice Storm, American Beauty, and Little Children, charting a father's fall from grace as he struggles to save his family, his reputation, and himself.

©2009 Lauren Grodstein (P)2009 HighBridge

A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY

ENJOYED THIS BOOK. I HATED FOR IT TO END.

Great listen!

The narrator: solid voice/felt like it matched the main character perfectly

The story: interesting and edgy/ I enjoy stories about a male since I am a female!

This books stayed with me long after I listened to it!

Great characters, excellent narrator

This is one of the first audiobooks I've read that I couldn't stop listening to. The characters drew me in as did the writing and plot. The book was witty at times, even though there were heavy situations. The narrator was excellent. A bit disappointed to see that he mostly does nonfiction books- hope he does more fiction in the future.

Amazing

I couldn't stop listening to this book. It kept me asking "why?" and "how?" until the very end. The character development was strong and now that i'm finished, I'll miss listening to it. The narrator reads with strong emotion and does a wonderful job "characterising" the characters!

Interesting read

I enjoyed A Friend of the Family although I did not care much for the main character. But the setting and circumstances are fairly interesting. I thought it was a good novel that kept me wanting to listen.

boring and sad.

This book was well written, but it was a lot of effort for little reward. The hyper-controlling father was a little much to take, especially as there was no background given to indicate what could have made him such a freak. His own father dies, but that's it. He just dies. No relationship explored that might give the reader an indication of why he's such a bad father (because ultimately, this is a father-bashing book).
*spoiler alert*
The infanticide seemed like it was going to be explored, but it wasn't really. Discussed much amongst the characters as a great scandal, or a great mystery, but not really explored. Why does Laura kill her baby? We never find out why. Because she was 17? What made her so screwed up when the rest of her siblings turned out so 'normal'? Because she was daddy's favourite? Was there abuse? Is this why she started having sex with random strangers in an alley behind the library every weekend? The causes of her bizarre behaviour are never speculated upon, although the protagonist certainly seems obsessed with her.
It is all a baffling mystery that the author does not suffiently resolve at all.
The book and the characters just left me cold.

Disappointing

I have to agree with the other reviewer. I stuck this through to the end but I don't know why. The characters were all extremely unlikeable and the narration just didn't work.

"Second-rate" would be undeserved praise

This audio book is sub-standard in every way: It's badly written with a cookie-cutter plot and stereotypes instead of characters and the narration is awful. I struggled through a couple of hours and then gave up, if I had the choice I'd rather watch paint dry.

Man Fic

I could not make it past Part 1. Was this written in 1950? I can't believe this was written by a woman, unless "Lauren" is a man's name in this case. This book is full of guy talk, acting out, limited insight and nuance, and no speaking parts for women. What few women who do appear now and then usually defer to their husbands. And of course, there is the customary sexual tension and liaison between an older man and his son's female friend.
I'd give this a pass.

enough to keep me interested

the book was able to hold my interest, but there was no real climax or turning point that I kept waiting for. it's not as suspenseful or thrilling as it may seem.