The Paperboy

By: Pete Dexter

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

The sun was rising over Moat County, Florida, when Sheriff Thurmond Call was found on the highway, gutted like an alligator. A local redneck was tried, sentenced, and set to fry.

Then Ward James, a hotshot investigative reporter for the Miami Times, returns to his rural hometown with a death row femme fatale who promises him the story of the decade. She’s armed with explosive evidence and aims to free - and meet - her convicted “fiancé.”

With Ward’s disillusioned younger brother Jack as their driver, they barrel down Florida’s back roads and seamy places in search of the story, racing flat out into a shocking head-on collision between character and fate as truth takes a backseat to headline news.

Pete Dexter is the author of the National Book Award–winning novel Paris Trout, among others. He has been a columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News and the Sacramento Bee and has contributed to many magazines, including Esquire, Sports Illustrated, and Playboy. His screenplays include Rush and Mulholland Falls.

©1995 Pete Dexter (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“An eerie and beautiful novel. Its secrets continue to reveal themselves long after the book has been finished.” ( New York Times)

“[Dexter] has written as sparsely here as in any of his previous books, and most of what carries the reader along so irresistibly lies beneath the surface of his prose.”—New York Times

“With clarity and an amazing capacity for simplicity of language and down-home metaphor, Dexter weaves a tale that exposes the extremes of goodness and nastiness that exist in newspaper life.”—Washington Post

Wonderful story.. just keep listening…

It starts a bit slow and mundane…I almost stop listening but but found myself hooked.. It’s like sitting around the table after a wonderful dinner enjoying a dessert, a cup of coffee and listening to someone telling a delightful story… in this case it’s about the news paper business however it could be about anything if you enjoy being read to…just keep listening…

Better then the movie

If you could sum up The Paperboy in three words, what would they be?

Sad, bittersweet, amazing.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Better that the movie and so sad. I read it after I saw and loved the movie with John Cusack. It's so good as, almost better.I recommend the audible version.

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

No

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

No

loved it

what a great read! worth the credit for sure!! would definitely recommend.give it a try.

A story that runs deep.

No one writes a story like Pete Dexter and the narrator brought it to life. I couldn't have used the listening time any better. Liked the book much better than the movie although that version wasn't a waste of time either.

VERY, VERY GOOD!!

A great story! Starts out slow, and I did not like the narrator at all at first. However, the narrator began to grow on me as the story develops and deepens, evolving into quite a tale indeed. If you don’t like it at first, I would really encourage you to stay with it. It is more than well worth the listen!

This audiobook is not at all what I was expecting when I added it to my library. I chose it because I was intrigued by the cover (!! Yup, I’m one of those!!), so, okay, I guess you could say I came for the cover, and stayed for the story 🤣.

BTW, folks, this is a very serious book. Nothing funny about it at all. Just a very serious, true to life, gut wrenching story.

Another fine offering through Audible Plus.

Movie was better

Would you try another book from Pete Dexter and/or Sean Runnette?

I might try anther book by Pete Dexter but not the narrator. He was monotone and boring.

What was most disappointing about Pete Dexter’s story?

It was a toss between how bad the narrator was and how slow the book moved.

How could the performance have been better?

Get someone who reads aloud with expression.

Did The Paperboy inspire you to do anything?

Only to stop reading before the book was done.

Marvelous!

A story that could change your way of thinking about things in general. And fifteen...

wow

A great story will keep you captivated all the way through, Well reread, Is loveday

Enjoyed

This story well entertaining, but incredibly well-written. I am strict third person reader. I don't like first person. Yet somehow, I truly enjoyed it. And while the writing was impressive, sharp, and clean, it was (in my opinion), the narration that sold it all. A great, even, perfect performance that captured the tone and pace of the story. Well done, all.