An honest, insightful, and ruefully funny look at the fate of one American family vis-à-vis the rise of modern psychopharmacology, Pharmakon, or The Story of a Happy Family is nothing less than a contemporary epic. The novel follows William Friedrich, an ambitious professor of psychology at Yale in the early 1950s, who has stumbled upon a drug that promises happiness to those who ingest it and fame and fortune to the man who can synthesize it. But when a brilliant and troubled research subject commits murder, the consequences will haunt Friedrich and his family for years to come.
Download and start listening now!
"In the sensibility of John Irving, this book develops a family whose dysfunction is one of the main characters. This is a beautifully written book with the story driven as much by the language as by the plot. " — Asproreps (4 out of 5 stars)
"In the sensibility of John Irving, this book develops a family whose dysfunction is one of the main characters. This is a beautifully written book with the story driven as much by the language as by the plot. "
" Like so many of the other reviewers of this book, I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of this book, and was dismayed to find that the subsequent parts were not nearly as compelling. "
" Yale professor blah blah blah.... enjoyable read while in my car.It was quite good. "
" Really intriguing concept, but the author really couldn't seem to decide what type of narrative worked best. I think if the book were tighter and more succinct, it could have given more of an impact. "
" A total disappointment. The third person center section was great, kept me interested and telling others to read the book. But the third section is first person and just another coming-of-age druggy story with way too much telling and over shrinking. "
" Coming of age novel with a lot of symbolism that can be interpreted many different ways. Slow at times, but interesting look at the early pharmacology craze in the 1950s through 1960s in middle class america. "
" If the book had ended after Section 1, I would have rated it 5 stars. However, I felt that the rest of the book was boring and seemed to ramble on and on. I stopped reading with about 50 pages left. "
" Struggled a bit in the beginning of the book but about half-way through it gets better. Felt like the ending could have been much better/cleared up more of the status of the relationships. "
Dirk Wittenborn is a novelist (Fierce People, Pharmakon), screenwriter and the Emmy-nominated producer of the HBO documentary, Born Rich. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughter and summers on the wrong side of the tracks in East Hampton, NY.
Cassandra Campbell has won multiple Audie Awards, Earphones Awards, and the prestigious Odyssey Award for narration. She was been named a “Best Voice” by AudioFile magazine and in 2018 was inducted in Audible’s inaugural Narrator Hall of Fame.
Lincoln Hoppe is an accomplished actor of stage and screen with several films, plays, television shows, and numerous audiobooks to his credit. His audiobook narrations have earned him nine AudioFile Earphones Awards. His diverse voice characterizations can be heard on animated films, video games, and commercials across the globe. He is a member of the Lost Angeles Comedy Sportz Improv Company.
Audiobooks Were Restored to Your Cart
[ShoppingCartItemsAddedOnMerge] audiobook(s) were left in your cart from a previous visit, and saved to your account for your convenience. You may view or remove these audiobooks on the shopping cart page.