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The Little Friend Audiobook

The Little Friend Audiobook, by Donna Tartt Play Audiobook Sample
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Read By: Karen White Publisher: Random House Audio Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 17.33 hours at 1.5x Speed 13.00 hours at 2.0x Speed Release Date: September 2002 Format: Unabridged Audiobook ISBN: 9780736698894

Quick Stats About this Audiobook

Total Audiobook Chapters:

25

Longest Chapter Length:

77:14 minutes

Shortest Chapter Length:

11 seconds

Average Chapter Length:

62:09 minutes

Audiobooks by this Author:

4

Other Audiobooks Written by Donna Tartt: > View All...

Publisher Description

The second novel by Donna Tartt,  bestselling author of The Goldfinch (winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize),  The Little Friend  is a grandly ambitious and utterly riveting novel of childhood, innocence and evil. The setting is Alexandria, Mississippi, where one Mother’s Day a little boy named Robin Cleve Dufresnes was found hanging from a tree in his parents’ yard. Twelve years later Robin’s murder is still unsolved and his family remains devastated. So it is that Robin’s sister Harriet—unnervingly bright, insufferably determined, and unduly influenced by the fiction of Kipling and Robert Louis Stevenson--sets out to unmask his killer. Aided only by her worshipful friend Hely, Harriet crosses her town’s rigid lines of race and caste and burrows deep into her family’s history of loss. Filled with hairpin turns of plot and “a bustling, ridiculous humanity worthy of Dickens” (The New York Times Book Review), The Little Friend is a work of myriad enchantments by a writer of prodigious talent.

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"I liked this, I hadn't read anything by her before and picked it up free at a garage throwout. I liked the slow buildup of sweaty Southern atmosphere and the ever growing threat that the wonderful lead character, a girl who doesn't want to grow up, must face. Enjoyed it even though the ending which didn't necessarily provide closure, but made sense as life moves on. Which I don't usually like in a book ending, either, but it didn't feel wrong in this as well."

— J (4 out of 5 stars)

Quotes

  • This extraordinary book [has] a main character, a twelve-year-old girl named Harriet Cleve Dufresnes, who ranks up there with Huck Finn, Miss Havisham, Quentin Compson, and Philip Marlowe, fictional characters who don't seem in the least fictional . . . If To Kill a Mockingbird is the childhood that everyone wanted and no one really had, The Little Friend is childhood as it is, by turns enchanting and terrifying.

    — Malcolm Jones, Newsweek
  • Breathtaking . . . A sublime tale rich in religious overtones, moral ambiguities, and violent, poetic acts . . . From its darkly enticing opening, we are held spellbound.

    — Lisa Shea, Elle
  • Readers are easily swept up in [a] darkly comic novel that . . . broadens to examine Southern racial and social strata, religious and generational eccentricities, and the passion of youth that gives way to the ambivalence of age. At times humorous, at times heartbreaking, The Little Friend is most surprising when it is edge-of-your-seat scary.

    — Dennis Moore, USA Today
  • A sprawling story of vengeance, told in a rich, controlled voice . . . Tartt has written a grownup book that captures the dark, Lord of the Flies side of childhood and classic children's literature.

    — James Poniewozik, Time

Awards

  • One of the 2002 New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books for Fiction

The Little Friend Listener Reviews

Overall Performance: 2.96875 out of 52.96875 out of 52.96875 out of 52.96875 out of 52.96875 out of 5 (2.97)
5 Stars: 3
4 Stars: 10
3 Stars: 7
2 Stars: 7
1 Stars: 5
Narration: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Story: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Write a Review
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " Like 'The Secret History' this novel is also somewhat of a mystery, drama, pseudo-philosophical piece of work. "

    — Cat, 2/2/2014
  • Overall Performance: 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " I have never not finished a book after I was over half way through, but that is what I did with this book.... Dont watse your time, I was in the 400 page range, and just could not take reading about nothing anymore. I am not even curious about what happened (although I did read a spoiler review, which just let on about what you never find out, it didn't give away anything that actually happened).... While I was still reading it, I found that I was dreading reading it. "

    — Andrea, 1/25/2014
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " A little disappointin after The Secret History. Big yuck factor. Love the meth . . . "

    — Wesley, 1/22/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " The main character, Harriet, was fascinating and I enjoyed learning more and more about her. It wasn't as fast paced as I thought it was going to be but still enjoyable. "

    — Sydney, 1/21/2014
  • Overall Performance: 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " This book was a total disappointment following the gripping read of "The Secret History"! "

    — Dorothee, 1/16/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " Tartt does have a great talent for creating a place and putting the reader in it. I didn't like how she tends to introduce events or people and then just when you're getting interested in them, drops them. You may hear of them briefly again in the story but only marginally. Still, a pretty good read. "

    — mickiegoc, 12/30/2013
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " The ending isn't as strong as it could have and should have been after such buildup, but this book is amazing for it's characterizations and mood setting. "

    — Sherry, 12/20/2013
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " This book is a masterpiece. It is so beautifully written and funny and exciting that it makes me never want to write another word. "

    — Caitlin, 12/4/2013
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " What a shame... This is beautifully written and grabs your attention right at the beginning but it only goes downhill from there. I actually didn't manage to finish this book! Way too slow, way too much detail in setting the scenes... Only 2 stars, sorry, Donna. "

    — Karolina, 11/25/2013
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " I liked this, but found myself wanting more information at the end; it didn't tie up the loose ends, however it kinda suited the theme of the book. "

    — Kat, 11/16/2013
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " I was disappointed by Tartt's second novel. I loved Secret History, but this one was lukewarm. "

    — Paige, 9/16/2013

About Donna Tartt

Donna Tartt is the author of The Goldfinch, which was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, as well as other major awards. Her novels The Secret History and The Little Friend have been translated into thirty languages. She was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, and is a graduate of Bennington College.

About Karen White

Karen White has been narrating audiobooks of all genres since 1999. Honored to be included in AudioFile’s Best Voices, she’s also a four-time Audie Finalist and has earned multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards and Library Journal starred reviews.