Songs of the Humpback Whale

By: Jodi Picoult

Narrated by: Jim Colby, Elizabeth Morton, Jonathan Davis, Carol Monda, Chris Sorensen

The powerful debut novel from New York Times best-selling author Jodi Picoult, Songs of the Humpback Whale is a moving story of love and family told through the eyes of five people: Jane Jones, her daughter Rebecca, and three very different men in their lives. After a watershed moment in their marriage, Jane leaves Oliver, her renowned marine biologist husband, and begins a journey across the country with Rebecca in search of understanding about her troubled past.©1992 Jodi Picoult (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"This powerful and affecting novel demonstrates that there are as many truths to a story as there are people to tell it." ( Publishers Weekly)

Slow & Challenging

J.Picoult has done herself No Favors w this book. Generally
S L O W - kept Hoping for it to get better but for a rare scene once in awhile dully drug to the end. I'm displeased Most with the Mother/Jane - Main character who settles for less rather than grab for Best Self ..... Generally disappointing.

Meh from a great author

I usually love Jodi’s books but this one just wasn’t there for me. It felt like the whole story was for nothing because of the ending. I didn’t dislike the experience or listening to it - I’m glad I didn’t read it that’s for sure. Definitely not one I would revisit but I love Jodi’s other books!

Enjoyed it

I’m a Piccoult fan and decided to go back to her early books. I enjoyed this story. As with most Piccoult, it takes a little bit to grasp the characters, but once I had them in my head, I like the way the story played out.

Not her best

This story of a dysfunctional family is, in my opinion, not Picolt's best. The characters did not ring true and so, their lives were not interesting enough to hold my interest.

Not her best

I usually love her books. This one was very disappointing. What was the point of going through this ordeal with these not so interesting characters?

Difficult to follow storyline

I have listened to several of her books and this is the only one that i have found difficult to really understand to meaning behind the story.

speed it up?

yes, I've also been having a problem with the Rebecca narrator...it helps if you speed her up, but then you haveto go back to normal with the rest of the characters. but that takes the fun out of listening! this is a great book, one of my favorite Jodi Picoult's, hope they fix it, I cant listen anymore

Disappointing

NOT one of Jodi Picoult’s best books. Weak story. I couldn’t stand the main character, Jane. In fact, many of the characters were dumb. And the narrator for Rebecca was so annoying!

Good character development

Liked the whole story—- less the ending. Story moved back and forth. The excellent narration performances helped keep me on track.

Not her best by any means

The story jumped around too much, retelling much of it several times. Would not recommend. she’s written much better ones since her debut novel.