Indiscretion

A Novel

By: Charles Dubow

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

"Every story has a narrator. Someone who writes it down after it's all over. Why am I the narrator of this story? I am because it is the story of my life - and of the people I love most...."

Harry and Madeleine Winslow have been blessed with talent, money, and charm. Harry is a National Book Award-winning author on the cusp of greatness. Madeleine is a woman of sublime beauty and grace whose elemental goodness and serenity belie a privileged upbringing. Bonded by deep devotion, they share a love that is both envied and admired. The Winslows play host to a coterie of close friends and acolytes eager to bask in their golden radiance, whether they are in their bucolic East Hampton cottage, abroad in Rome thanks to Harry's writing grant, or in their comfortable Manhattan brownstone.

One weekend at the start of the summer season, Harry and Maddy, who are in their early 40s, meet Claire and cannot help but be enchanted by her winsome youth, quiet intelligence, and disarming naivete. Drawn by the Winslows' inscrutable magnetism, Claire eagerly falls into their welcoming orbit. But over the course of the summer, her reverence transforms into a dangerous desire. By Labor Day, it is no longer enough to remain one of their hangers-on.

A story of love, lust, deception, and betrayal as seen through the omniscient eyes of Maddy's childhood friend Walter, a narrator akin to Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby, Indiscretion is a juicy, richly textured novel filled with fascinating, true-to-life characters - an irresistibly sensual page-turner that explores having it all and the consequences of wanting more.

Indiscretion also marks the debut of a remarkably gifted writer and storyteller whose unique voice bears all the hallmarks of an exciting new literary talent.

©2013 Charles Dubow (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

Not as Advertised-Buyer Beware!

What would have made Indiscretion better?

More fully developed characters, especially in Claire, would have made the book better.

What about Robert Petkoff’s performance did you like?

The narrator was excellent with great intonation, appropriate emphasis and pronunciation.

Any additional comments?

Was unable to get past "the dinner in Paris" section. The writing, although descriptive, was too obvious, as were the characters. Cannot recommend this book to a friend!

Henry James is probably not even bothering to roll

Ugh. I read this book because from the reviews it seemed like a modern attempt at a Henry James/Edith Wharton examination of love, adultery and the Hamptons. Plus, supposedly this guy worked with Christopher Buckley. How bad could it all be?

OK, so I finished it and can say with authority that the only thing worse than Dubow's Lucasesque dialogue was the book's predictable plot and the cliche after horrible cliche Dubow employed. Henry James is probably not even bothering to roll in his literary grave because this book is barely worth that amount of effort.

As a freshman effort, I seriously recommend the author go back to whatever Bloomberg or BusinessWeek hole he crawled out of. Seriously, and I'm not trying to be mean here, the number of positive reviews given to this book is clear evidence of exactly how LOW our expectations have fallen.

So yes, I should have abandoned it 1/4 of the way through. Some mistakes (like syphilis) you just have to live with, I guess.

Dreary, depressing, and basic

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Chosen a different book.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Indiscretion?

The entire final act. It had nothing unexpected, and degenerated into a pit of unpleasant cliche.

Any additional comments?

How this book got high ratings is beyond my comprehension. The story is nothing more than a glorified Lifetime or Hallmark network movie of the week. The characters are weakly developed and almost cartoons except there is no humor in the book at all. Not one thing happens that isn't telegraphed, and listening is like some sort of water torture where we're just waiting for the next painful drip. There are some small vignettes of good writing in terms of observing and documenting some of life's little conundrums but beyond that this story has nothing to offer but an unpleasant, dour, finger wagging moralistic lesson on infidelity that we've heard a million times before.

Romance from a “nice guy” perspective

I bought this book because I absolutely love the narrator and have several other books he’s narrated. I was very disappointed in this story however. The book is written from the point of view of a third wheel friend. It has subtle sexist undertones and little of it was actual romance. It was mostly the writer describing all of the different ways he’s rich as if to say he didn’t deserve to be friend zoned.

I do not recommend this book if you are looking for a true romance novel. I do suggest you look into other novels Robert Petkoff has narrated, however!