Peyton Place

By: Grace Metalious

Narrated by: Tim O'Connor

Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1956, when this novel was first published, communities all over New England snapped up copies to see if they were the town portrayed in the book. Peyton Place is the story of a repressive New England town known for its high standards of public morality, and the steamy sexual activities that take place behind its bedroom doors. While the town's rigid mores lead to hypocrisy and repression, the earthy characters have an unbelievably high level of sexual functioning, especially the playboy Rodney Harrington and the profoundly round-heeled Betty Anderson. In this environment, Allison McKenzie, a dreamy girl coming to womanhood, must make her way without a father, living with her frigid mother, Constance McKenzie.

©1956 Grace Metalious (P)2001 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Metalious was a competent writer with some flair whose punchy workmanlike prose efficiently captured her little inland New England hamlet's earthy (if somewhat unbelievably sexually functional) populace." (Kirkus Reviews)

Amazing!

I honestly couldn't decide which was better, the story or the narrator. Simply amazing!

A Must, A Classic

Talk about telling it like it is! This book is an absolute must-read, especially because of the controversy it caused when first published. A true lesson on "social intercourse."

It is fascinating to consider that the narration of the book (both on paper and in voice) is from a man. Women are considered to be the gossipers, yet this is presented as from a male perspective (even though I truly think it is a woman's perspective). The narration was superb!!

The movie, of course, made slight changes but none that were too harmful. And then there was the Soap Opera series on TV. But this book, as usual, is the best of all. Even with knowing most of the twists and turns, I wanted it to go on forever.

Peyton Place a wonderful guilty pleasure!

Where does Peyton Place rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This was one of my favorite listens of all time. I would rank it very high on my book list. In the top 5 at least. It's amazing how topical it still is today.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the openness of the writing and the depth of the characters.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene was when Dr. Swain decided to save Selena Cross by telling the court what Lucas Cross did to her and why she was justified in killing him. It's times like that when you realize that small towns may not be forgiving, but they do cut through the crap and come through when you need them to.

Who was the most memorable character of Peyton Place and why?

I loved Selena Cross the best. Here is a girl who had to grow up fast and never gave up. She was the strongest character in the whole story and I really rooted for her to survive her awful life.

Any additional comments?

Tim O'Conner did a wonderful job on his narration. He played a character (Elliot Carson) on the TV Peyton Place, but his character was not in the book. Selena Cross also was not in the tv show. So if you are a fan of the television show, this book is better than that. Selena was based on a real person who killed her father who had abused her for many years and buried him in the pig pen. When the publisher insisted on making Lucas Cross her step father, Grace Metalious was afraid they had ruined her book. This version of the book also includes an essay on how this book affected the nation in the 1950's when the country was going through another conservative book banning time. The essay is a good listen.

Didn't want it to end

Would you listen to Peyton Place again? Why?

Probably in a few years. It's such a complete rendering of small town doings. I think I would probably pick up nuances I missed on the first listen.

What other book might you compare Peyton Place to and why?

I have no real comparable reading experience - except perhaps "The Help". I love small town undercurrents and events.

Have you listened to any of Tim O'Connor’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. But I will definitely look for his other performances.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It did both.

Any additional comments?

How unfortunate this author died so young. She probably had lots of books left in her.

Peyton Place - you know the story, lol

Story holds up surprisingly well over all this time. The narrator was perfect, has a real gift for reading dialogue. Recommended

Fantastic! Not A Soap

I don’t know what I was expecting, but definitely not anything just this side of classic!

There are so many themes and events in this story that are relevant to today that I probably can’t count them all: race discrimination, class conflict, bias and prejudice, abortion, adultery, incest, illegitimacy, religion, alcoholism, poverty, growing up, honesty. That’s just what I can come up with right away. These subjects are handled with blunt realism and also with a certain sensitivity or wisdom. The characters are extremely well developed

The book was published in 1956 and depicts New England of the late 1930s and early 1940s. It probably does this accurately and will be of interest to anyone casually curious about that period.

Yes, there are steamy sex scenes too. For the 1950s, this is the quintessential banned book. Shocking!

A great narrator added to my enjoyment. At first I thought I couldn’t handle his voice tone. It was a bit too paternal. As the story developed I quickly got accustomed to it and now I can’t imagine it narrated any other way.

I was expecting entertainment. Instead this book had me completely immersed and constantly thinking about the action and how the characters responded internally. Do not pass this book by!

Extraordinarily well-written and superbly read

Grace Metalious’s novel is an extraordinarily well-written expose of small-town America during the late thirties and early forties, but is really relevant to all times. Considered shocking when released in 1956, what’s shocking today is how such a beautifully written novel filled with eloquently descriptive passages of life and emotion and the passage of time is virtually forgotten. It deserves to be remembered. Tim O’Connor’s reading of PEYTON PLACE is remarkable, perhaps the best reading of a book I’ve yet heard.

No plot, and not as shocking as it once was

Peyton place and I’ll be present view of how people live their life in the yesteryears of a small town southern America which gradually opens up to show the monstrous ideas and actions of certain individuals. There is no plot in this narrative, this is just a slice of life account of a group of people over the course of a couple decades who happen to be in the same place. In the day it was written, it may have been found shocking and offensive, but no more. Today these events and worse can be found on any Lifetime TV show.

slow, Slow, SLOW!

It was just too slow. Period Always ’sad’ when I use an Audible point for something I don’t like. But I’ll read what my Book Club says!

should be a female narration

This guy's voice - Bleah. I love this story, I love the movie. I was really disappointed this way being read by a man. I listened to it - but it sounds like he's got a wad of cotton in his mouth which doesn't help. A story of a girl coming of age in a town full of scandals read by a dude. It's too weird. Feel like I wasted my time and download space.