The Little Friend

By: Donna Tartt

Narrated by: Karen White

Length: 25 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Goldfinch comes an utterly riveting novel set in Mississippi of childhood, innocence, and evil. • “Destined to become a special kind of classic.” —The New York Times Book Review

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.

©2002 Donna Tartt (P)2002 Books On Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

2003, Orange Prize for Fiction, Nominated

"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.... To Kill a Mockingbird If 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)

"Languidly atmospheric...psychologically acute...A rich novel that takes you somewhere worth going." (The New Yorker)

"It is an exceptionally suspenseful, flawlessly written story." (Booklist)

a long winded good story.

the story was good, however way more detail than needed. Every little thing is described in excruciating detail.

One of the Best and Worst Books Ever

Would you consider the audio edition of The Little Friend to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version, so I wouldn't know. But I'm glad I listened to the audio edition. The narrator does a fantastic job.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would have included a somewhat conclusive ending

Have you listened to any of Karen White’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I haven't.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The confrontation between the main character Harriett and the antagonist Donny in the water tower was gripping and suspenseful--even if a bit unbelievable.

Any additional comments?

I loved The Secret History and especially The Goldfinch. So I approached The Little Friend with anticipation and was not disappointed. It's a great story well written and well narrated. By the midpoint I was completely absorbed in the story and its characters. Then came the ending...a huge disappointment. If you're good at making up your own endings to stories, you'll enjoy this book. The ending leaves everything hanging in midair. It's almost like the author suddenly felt tired of writing the book and just quit. Every end is left loose.

Very disappointed in the ending

What did you like best about The Little Friend? What did you like least?

This book kept me intrigued and kept me guessing to the very end. However, the ending was such a big let-down. I guess I just expected more and didn't get what I expected. As I've heard it said in the south, "that just didn't end right!"

Would you ever listen to anything by Donna Tartt again?

not sure

Do you think The Little Friend needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

it needs something...if not just a little elaboration to finish-up and not leave you hanging.

You can never fail with Donna Tartt!

A beautifully detailed book about a time, a place, and the people who live there.

Narrator voice is a distraction

Unfortunately I couldn’t get past the narration of Karen White to get into the story. There is a strange sing song cadence in her voice that is really distracting to me. I might give it a go another time but for now I can’t seem to past it so I’m going to give up on the story. I might end up bypassing the audible version and read the print version instead.

Great performance bringing characters to life

This was a fun read and the performance was stellar. So many twists and turns. Very entertaining

What the he**?!?

This is like the start of 4 different stories that she just jammed together. The story drags on FOREVER and then there is no real ending. Are we supposed to think all of this was not real? Or how does the ending even apply to this book?!

Did not like it at all. And will not read another book by this author. She drones on forever about trivial things that do not move the story forward.

Very enjoyable

Interesting and unique story. Harriet would be a very interesting adult. Some parts went on longer than necessary and a few characters were introduced who seemed to have no point. But most characters were incredibly interesting. Overall I enjoyed the many hours I spent listening.

Compelling listen

Southern Gothic with memorable characters. Fabulous voice talent reading the book. I thought this was more compelling than her first novel, although less so than the Goldfinch, which is one of my favorite books.

The Little Friend

I loved this book. I did not want it to end. I felt very immersed in the characters and their environs, almost as if I literally dwelled among them. More from Donna Tartt I hope!!