Innocents and Others

A Novel

By: Dana Spiotta

Narrated by: January LaVoy

From Dana Spiotta, the author of Wayward, Eat the Document, and Stone Arabia, “a brilliant novel…about female friendship, the limits of love and work, and costs of claiming your right to celebrate your triumphs and own your mistakes” (Elle).

Innocents and Others is about two women who grow up in LA in the 80s and become filmmakers. Meadow and Carrie have everything in common—except their views on sex, power, movie-making, and morality. Their friendship is complicated, but their devotion to each other trumps their wildly different approaches to film and to life. Meadow was always the more idealistic and brainy of the two; Carrie was more pragmatic. Into their lives comes Jelly, a master of seduction who calls powerful men and seduces them not with sex, but by being a superior listener. All of these women grapple with the question of how to be good: a good lover, a good friend, a good mother, a good artist.

A startlingly acute observer of the way we live now, Dana Spiotta “has created a new kind of great American novel” (The New York Times Magazine). “Impossible to put down” (Marie Claire), Innocents and Others is “a sexy, painfully insightful, and strangely redemptive novel about the ways we misread one another—with an ending that comes at you like a truck around a blind curve and stays with you for much, much longer” (Esquire).

fully immersive once again!

I read this novel and listen to it :-) after having done the same with Wayward her previous novel these are wonders to me I am pulled into characters and people in a way that few authors can create atmospherics and want me want us to be a part of these worlds that all sounds terribly trite I wish I could better describe how much I love the world that's biota creates for us but they are wonderful and these characters that are such a mix of Good and Evil disinterest passion self-centeredness and just muddling through she was able to create a moral World from people that are stumbling through their morality none of it is preaching and yet they provide these characters are sermon upon sermon I really love these stories....

Likable story and a wonderful reader

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

So far in life, I have not met in person any other Dana Spiotta fans though I know she has many. In the main, the people I know choose books with plots and aren't particularly charmed by Dana Spiotta type characters or obsessive film buffs.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Innocents and Others?

What was memorable to me was January LaVoy's read of it. Compared to her performance, the written text might have felt limp.

What does January LaVoy bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her talent. Plus her voice is a lovely one.

Beautifully written profile of the artist's psyche

Any additional comments?

A beautifully written novel about art, friendship, feminism, love, and human nature. Dark, quirky and eccentric this story is an intricately interwoven tale of a unique cast of characters. A far cry from your typical pop fiction, an interesting and worthwhile listen.

Bored me to tears

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I don't know why I didn't like this book I listened to maybe 3 hours on various car rides, then I had to stop. It was boring me to tears, and I listen to audiobooks to help me stay awake while driving.

What could Dana Spiotta have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I didn't see the purpose of the story.

What three words best describe January LaVoy’s performance?

Mildly annoying (sorry...that's only 2 words).

Any additional comments?

Some magazine (Marie Claire maybe?) gave it a good review, so I thought I'd give it a try. I should've waited for other Audible listeners to weigh in before purchasing the audiobook.