My Absolute Darling: A Novel Audiobook

Quotes

• "My Absolute Darling is a novel that readers will gulp down, gasping…Tallent [is a] prodigiously talented new writer.

  — The Washington Post

• "A searing story of abuse and damaged people, but also about resilience, strength and survival. Much recommended.

  — Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times

• With its unconventional heroine and unflinching portrayal of an abused girl’s fight to save herself, My Absolute Darling seems poised to become the breakout debut of the year.

  — The New York Times

• “My Absolute Darling is Gabriel Tallent's first novel, and no less than Stephen King has called it a "masterpiece" to rank with To Kill A Mockingbird and Catch-22.

  — NPR

• Our generation’s next beloved literary heroine....this is one of the most important books you'll pick up this decade.

  — Harper's Bazaar

• A gripping introduction to a seriously brave little girl... My Absolute Darling is an affecting read but also an important one.

  — USA Today

• “Impressively, this is…a novel of great beauty, filled with lush evocations of the woods.

  — Wall Street Journal

• Make some time to read Gabriel Tallent’s My Absolute Darling…The sentences are beautiful, the language spare and tough.

  — Sam Sifton in The New York Times

• “A gripping read, written in beautiful, brutal prose ... My Absolute Darling is a Great American Novel for the increasingly isolationist, fractionalised and disenchanted contemporary era.

  — Financial Times 

• “A stunningly poetic psychological thriller.

  — O, The Oprah Magazine

• "There's no shortage of things to admire in My Absolute Darling —it's a devastating and powerful debut from a writer who's almost certain to have a wonderful career ahead of him.

  — NPR.org

• “An unputdownable coming-of-age novel.

  — Entertainment Weekly

• “The best drop-everything debut…if you loved To Kill A Mockingbird’s Scout Finch, you’ll be into Turtle Alveston.

  — Glamour 

• “A brilliant and haunting debut.

  — People

• “Lush and vivid. You’ll read it with your stomach in your shoes, rooting for [Turtle] the whole time.

  —  Marie Claire“[An] engrossing read.

• “Captures a compelling young heroine.

  — Vanity Fair

• “A major American debut that incorporates psychological realism of the highest order, juxtaposed with nature writing that at times is so lyrical, you might as well be reading poetry.

  — The Houston Chronicle

• “Stunning … contemplative and heart-wrenching.

  — Los Angeles Review of Books

• “Extraordinarily unsettling and ambitious…an amazing debut.

  — The San Francisco Chronicle

• “Brilliant and terrifying, told in expansive, wild and bold prose…Reading this book is like watching an electrical storm, both beautiful and dangerous.

  — The Minneapolis Star-Tribune

• “[A] glaring, gorgeous book… My Absolute Darling sounds primal alarms with an urgent contemporary voice.

  — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 

• "Beautifully written and emotionally gripping… My Absolute Darling is a strange hybrid of a book, part gorgeous nature writing, part psychologically astute family drama.

  — Tampa Bay Times

• “Explosive…There are many elements of this story we would rather not believe — all so convincingly rendered that we can’t help but believe them.

  —  The Boston Globe“With its excellent prose and fast-paced plot, it is a spirited debut.

• “My Absolute Darling is an absolute triumph.

  — The National “Loved every minute.

• “The year’s must-read novel...Tallent in this debut makes an old story — the drama of coming of age — feel original and full of youthful power.

  — The Times (London)

• “An incandescent novel with an extraordinary, unforgettable heroine, both deeply contemplative and utterly thrilling.

  — The Guardian

• “Ferocious, heart-breaking …Tallent combines gorgeous passages about the wilderness Turtle knows well and a steady beat of dramatic tension in this smashing debut.

  — BBC

• “[A] gripping, vivid debut…Readers will root for Turtle as she sets out to escape and be absorbed by Tallent’s stunning descriptions of nature.

  — RealSimple

• “The cinematic pace of My Absolute Darling will have you physically reacting...as you barrel to the end of this incredibly redemptive, satisfying book.

  — goop

• Easily one of my favorite debut novels of the past decade.

  — LitHub

• “Gabriel Tallent showcases incredible emotional empathy and nature writing in this novel about a young woman named Turtle, who’s my new favorite character in all of fiction.

  — Outside Online

• “To read [My Absolute Darling] is to become an evangelist for it.

  — The Millions

• "Philosophical but without pretense, the novel proves a fascinating examination of personal strength… by allowing Turtle to define her own reality.

  — Paste

• "Cathartic and spine-tingling as hell.

  — Vox

• "Turtle is the strong, resilient heroine we didn’t know we needed, and you’ll fall head over heels in love with My Absolute Darling.

  — HelloGiggles

• A fearless adventure tale that's as savvy about internal emotional storms as it is about wrangling with family and nature… A powerful, well-turned story about abuse, its consequences, and what it takes to survive it.

  — Kirkus, starred review

• Lucidly written, both heartbreaking and heartfelt, this book is ultimately affirmative without the slightest sentimentality, and it’s remarkable.

  — Library Journal, starred review

• Emotionally fraught… Turtle’s story is harrowingly visceral.

  — Publishers Weekly

• There are books we like well enough to recommend, but there are a very few... that we remember forever. To my own shortlist I can now add My Absolute Darling, by Gabriel Tallent...This book is ugly, beautiful, horrifying, and uplifting.

  — Stephen King

• Every scene in this astonishing novel packs so much tension, so much insight, such beautiful prose and such masterful handling of detail, I simply could not stop reading.

  — Phil Klay, National Book Award-winning author of Redeployment 

• “Narrator Alex McKenna’s voice could be Turtle’s: young, slightly husky and reflective of the mess of love, self-flagellation, and rationalization that makes up this girl’s inner life.”

  — Washington Post (audio review)

• “Our generation’s next beloved literary heroine.

  — Harper’s Bazaar

• “A novel of great beauty, filled with lush evocations of the woods.”

  — Wall Street Journal

• “One of EW’s favorite books of the year so far…an unputdownable coming-of-age novel.”

  — Entertainment Weekly

• “With its unconventional heroine and unflinching portrayal of an abused girl’s fight to save herself, My Absolute Darling seems poised to become the breakout debut of the year.”

  — New York Times

• “A gripping introduction to a seriously brave little girl.”

  — USA Today