The Stolen Child

By: Keith Donohue

Narrated by: Andy Paris, Jeff Woodman

Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

This critically acclaimed debut by breakout author Keith Donohue flawlessly blends fantasy and realism into an utterly unique fable, inspired by a W.B. Yeats poem, that has been described as a bedtime story for adults.

Seven-year-old Henry Day is kidnapped and renamed "Aniday" by changelings, ageless beings who inhabit the woods near his home. The changelings also leave behind one of their own, who flawlessly impersonates Henry except for one noteworthy detail: the new Henry is a prodigiously talented pianist. Both Aniday and Henry settle comfortably enough into their new existences, but both are haunted by vague memories of their former lives.

A fresh take on the search for identity that will appeal to fans of J.R.R. Tolkien and J.M. Barrie, The Stolen Child triumphantly announces Donohue as a fresh voice in contemporary fiction.

©2006 Keith Donohue (P)2006 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

• Winner of Audio Publishers Association 2007 Audie Award, Science Fiction

"An impressive novel of outsiders whose feelings of alienation are more natural than supernatural." (Publishers Weekly)

Boring and unimaginative

I have had this book for a while to read and was excited to finally get to listen to it. I listened to this on audiobook, I pretty much finish every audiobook I get because I am driving anyway while I listen to them. This is one I almost didn't finish as an audiobook. It was boring and pointless.

As mentioned above I listened to this on audiobook. The audiobook was well done; there are two different narrators...one for each character. They both do a decent job of narrating. It wasn’t fantastic but it was decent.

The book is about a boy named Henry Day who is stolen by changelings. He ends up being called Aniday by the other changelings and ekes out a living with them; an endless existence that is a struggle for survival. Meanwhile the changeling that takes his place takes on the name of Henry Day and takes over Henry's life.

The book basically alternates between Aniday's struggle to survive both an eternal existence as a child and everyday life. Meanwhile the new Henry Day is struggling to fit in and also struggling with his guilt over having taken over Henry Day's life.

Mostly the story is just boring; like put me to sleep while driving boring. This is just a story about these two characters living their lives. The characters are not likable or even all that interesting. The most interesting part to the story is the new Henry Day's search for information about his family before he became a changeling.

All of the characters are angsty and discontent throughout, mostly causing trouble and bringing down the characters around them. I just didn't enjoy it.

This is supposed to be based on a Yeats poem about changelings and I wish we had seen more of the mythology around changelings rather than all this day to day life drama. This book reads more like a soap opera in which the two main characters happen to be changelings than anything.

Overall I didn't enjoy the book and don't recommend it. I am not sure what all the hype around this book is about; I personally would skip it.

Could have been so much better...

I thought this was a great idea for a story. When I listened to it, I had a very tough time getting into the story because of the lack of drama in the narrators voice, and the matter-of-fact way the story was laid out. I wore through it, thinking it would pick up, but it did not. What I found was that the author was trying, underneath it all, to set up a very classic tragedy type of story. However, the pacing of the book, coupled with the frustrating narration (the viewpoint jumps back and forth from the antagonist to the protagonist), kept me distanced from both characters and not really caring how it ended. It was a grand idea that lacked the grandiose and the drama. I would advise against buying this one, and go with something that packs more punch.

But do I care for them?

I can't say I do. I tried to listen - to involve myself in the story, but it was slow... and plodding... and ultimately, I really didnt care about either character.

I suppose if you really like character studies this would work for you, but if you really want a story... with a plot and some feeling, I would find something else. This seems to be a book you either love or really dont have the stomach to finish.

Out of all the audio books I have ever listened to, this one was only one of two I just couldn''t bring myself to complete.

Good Listen

It was an entertaining story

Not Anything Close to the Hype

Boo! This book was bad. I listened to it in a straight shot during a 14-hour drive across 4 states. My biggest problem was the main story-telling device of the book -- one story would plod along in one person's perspective and then, we'd have to hear essentially the same story told again from a different person's perspective. This would be interesting if there were more going on and there were perspectives being told by more than two people. But it felt so redundant and in turn I just didn't care at all for these characters. The writer clearly understands description, but really fell apart in his interactions between people. These people felt more like caricatures more than characters. As a result, the book REALLY didn't work for me. There's a better book out there that uses a very similar story-telling device, but is much more successful in its iteration. It's called "The History of Love", by Nicole Krauss. I'd urge you to read that book instead. Sorry, Mr. Donohue. Two stars from me.

Dreary

I found this listen to be dark and dreary. I don't mind the dark part. It was the dreary part that got to me. I was very depressed listening to it. Nothing about it had me on the edge of my seat, excited to find out what would happen next. There wasn't much goodness in this book's world. And it was hard to find someone to like. I thought the story might help me escape the pressures of the real world, but when I finished it only confirmed that the real world is much better.

My Stolen Minutes

Maybe this worked better as a book, but I didn't like the readers slow delivery, as if to give the story more creedence. Better left - unheard.

Not what I was expecting

Despite being inspired by Yeats's poem, this book really doesn't have that much to do with fairies. I suppose the idea is that it's a search for identity and belonging...and a LONG one. I didn't find it charming or enchanting, this is not a "Fairy Tale". It was long and slow and boring. What's more, the ending doesn't really resolve much of anything. I think this is an example of an over-hyped book that just leaves you feeling flat in the end. Don't bother with this one.