Little Children

By: Tom Perrotta

Narrated by: George Wilson

Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Tom Perrotta's thirtysomething parents of young children are a varied and surprising bunch. There's Todd, the handsome stay-at-home dad dubbed "The Prom King" by the moms of the playground; Sarah, a lapsed feminist with a bisexual past, who seems to have stumbled into a traditional marriage; Richard, Sarah's husband, who has found himself more and more involved with a fantasy life on the Internet than with the flesh and blood in his own house; and Mary Ann, who thinks she has it all figured out, down to scheduling a weekly roll in the hay with her husband, every Tuesday at 9pm. They all raise their kids in the kind of sleepy American suburb where nothing ever seems to happen, at least until one eventful summer, when a convicted child molester moves back to town, and two restless parents begin an affair that goes further than either of them could have imagined. Unexpectedly suspenseful, but written with all the fluency and dark humor of Perrotta's previous novels, Little Children exposes the adult dramas unfolding amidst the swingsets and slides of an ordinary American playground.

©2004 Tom Perrotta (P)2004 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"Intelligent, absorbing tale of suburban angst....Perrotta views his characters with a funny, acute, and sympathetic eye, using the well-observed antics of preschoolers as a telling backdrop to their parents' botched transitions into adulthood. Once again, he proves himself an expert at exploring the roiling psychological depths beneath the placid surface of suburbia." (Publishers Weekly)
"Darkly comic, with a mischievous eye for absurd and intimate detail...a virtuoso set." (The Washington Post)
"Warmly humorous prose....A fast-reading, wholly engaging novel." (Booklist)

hated the ending

interesting plot but seemed to just end quickly without much ado. narrator wheezing and swallowing was slightly annoying

Narration is fine

I don’t understand the concern over the production quality of the narration. I found it to be just fine.

ehhh

definitely couldn't wait to finish this book. the movie was more interesting IMO. book was depressing & seemed to drag on. the readers dull voice probably didn't help.

Narrator was awful!

What didn’t you like about George Wilson’s performance?

The narrator was very boring and he sounded old, I could hear him wheezing at certain points. I could barely concentrate on the stroy because I was so annoyed by the narrator's voice. I will NEVER again buy an audiobook narrated by this man!

Good Story, Great Narration

What did you love best about Little Children?

Little Children manages to make you feel sorry for its characters without ever particularly rooting for any of them. Perrotta's prose somehow manages to be sympathetic and sarcastic at the same time. His words are consistently fresh, but his ensemble cast often flirts with the suburban cliches they're trying to avoid. Perhaps that's the point. I found the story entertaining from beginning to end, although the narrative arch of the romance was fairly predictable. I thought the narration by George Wilson was fantastic.

Worth reading, not suffering through awful audio r

The novel is excellent. The reading is awful. He wheezes throughout. Read the book instead.

Movie is better

Love the movie so i bought the book. Though there was sex in the movie this book had a lot of
sexual overtones. Still a good story and worth the credit.

they NEED a new audiobook for this title!

What did you love best about Little Children?

I am a huge fan of Tom Perrotta's books. I devour them. LITTLE CHILDREN was the first novel I read by Perrotta and I read it years ago, likely when it was first published. I got this audiobook since I wanted to "re-read" it. Sadly, this audiobook could be so much better. Perrotta's new book -- MRS. FLETCHER -- is beautifully recorded and so was THE LEFTOVERS. The sound quality is bad and the casting of this reader was just wrong for the book. I blame this on the fact that it was likely recorded YEARS ago for a CD/cassette tape audiobook. Before publishers got creative with narrators and better production quality. They need to make a new recording!!!!

Good story inappropriate narrator

This is a mostly compelling, intelligent story. A few very funny scenes, and a lot of empathy for characters that are quite flawed. The weakest scene involves the kiss, which I found hard to believe, and it kind of diminished my respect for the rest of the story.

Still, the biggest problem with this as an audiobook is the reader. His voice is far too deep and he is unable to handle the various women's voices in the story. The publishers should have had a woman narrate the story.

That being said, it is a decent summertime listen.

One of my favorites

I love this book and Mrs. Fletcher and the movie/series adaptations are really well done but definitely read the books they are always so much better.