Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

By: Matthew Quick

Narrated by: Noah Galvin

Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Finalist, Teens, 2014

In addition to the P-38, there are four gifts, one for each of my friends. I want to say good-bye to them properly. I want to give them each something to remember me by. To let them know I really cared about them and I'm sorry I couldn't be more than I was - that I couldn't stick around - and that what's going to happen today isn't their fault.

Today is Leonard Peacock's birthday. It is also the day he hides a gun in his backpack. Because today is the day he will kill his former best friend, and then himself, with his grandfather's P-38 pistol.

But first he must say good-bye to the four people who matter most to him: his Humphrey Bogart-obsessed next-door neighbor, Walt; his classmate Baback, a violin virtuoso; Lauren, the Christian homeschooler he has a crush on; and Herr Silverman, who teaches the high school's class on the Holocaust. Speaking to each in turn, Leonard slowly reveals his secrets as the hours tick by and the moment of truth approaches.

In this riveting audiobook, acclaimed author Matthew Quick unflinchingly examines the impossible choices that must be made - and the light in us all that never goes out.

©2013 Matthew Quick (P)2013 Hachette Audio

An Exceptional (Audio) Book

Honestly I was hesitant about reading this book given the subject matter. But I was pleasantly surprised when I was halfway done with it without even realizing how much time has passed. It's a story that resonates deeply with me. And I enjoyed it so much I actually bought the physical copy.

And a special Kudos to Galvin's performance. There was a lot of things that came through in his narration that enhanced the story greatly. He added inflection, as-libs, emotion, pitched change, and more, all of which gave the story that much more of a punch.

LOVED the narrator

Noah Galvin made a good really story GREAT. Loved his voice which made me laugh and cry.

A Very Strong Story

This book hit home for me. It was beautiful and it kept my attention. ..I generally have a hard time reading or listening because is hard to focus. Nothing was boring in this book and I could not turn away, whatever the reader has experienced, no matter the religion, you can identify with the protagonist of the story. overall, it was intense.

The End is the Thing

Leonard Peacock tells us he plans to murder a classmate then off himself. So, naturally any listener goes in to such a story hoping that the end, well, pays off. If he does it, let me understand and feel some kind of resolve and not come out on the other end of these six hours with a bleaker, more cynical view of the world. 'Cause I don't need help with that, thank you. Or, okay, if he doesn't go through with it, let me not feel cheated by the premise of this story or feel the author side-stepped the seriousness of the material.

I will tell you that I had to stop my world for that last two hours to listen to the ending. I will also tell you, without giving anything away, the ending truly is the thing here. As the tale spooled out I had a fairly good idea of where the author would finally wrap the story up. After all, the whole novel's premise is this idea that we are building up to the murder and the suicide, but Matthew Quick seemed to have more to tell. It is because of the last few chapters that I feel especially privileged to have experienced this book.

Matthew Quick treats the subject and his characters with gravity and affection and does not compromise reality to deliver a neat and tidy ending, and I did find my eyes welling up in the end.

What a wonderfully complex and fascinating character is Mr. Peacock.

Finally, I must once again sing the praises of Noah Galvin, who I Googled after thoroughly enjoying his narration of 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower.' They young man is a theater actor which explains why both readings are so engaging. He really performs the book- almost like a monologue, fully inhabiting the character. With some material that kind of reading would be unwelcome and maybe even limiting to the listener's imagination. But here again, in a first person narrative, Galvin's conversational style is totally enthralling and 100% convincing. I would even go so far as put his performance up there with the likes of Jim Dale who expertly gave- in a different way- a new experience to millions of Harry Potter fans.

I will be listening to more from both Quick and Galvin.

Made me care

One of this author's gifts is his ability to make us care about Leonard, to wonder with him and hope for him. The narrator brought Leonard to life vividly, and helped make me genuinely fear for and value that life. A lot of things impressed me about this book, but to reveal them would give away the story. Really well - done.

Beautiful

Beautiful, insightful, funny, moving. Could not stop listening. Good narration. Looking forward to more books by this author.

What a great novel!

Beautifully read. A sincere novel that adresses some hard problems in a very natural way.

For adults too

If you could sum up Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock in three words, what would they be?

poignant, well-written, gripping

What was one of the most memorable moments of Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock?

so many but I particularly enjoyed his time with Walt

Which scene was your favorite?

pancake breakfast with his mother

Any additional comments?

I would give this 4.5 stars if I could. Leonard is a wonderful, interesting character. His view of life and people is touching and, at times, comical. I'm a 60+ attorney, grandma and avid reader. I don't have much free time so I am pretty particular about books I bother to write reviews about but this one was really hard to put this down. beautifully written. If you liked Goldfinch, you'll enjoy this.

Pretty enjoyable read until...

I really loved The Reason You're Alive by Matthew Quick so I thought I'd give this one a try. Overall it wasn't bad and the narrator rocked it. I thought the storyline was pretty good and enjoyed the characters. However, I have to say that unless you're into books or movies that leave you hanging at the end, you definitely should think twice about getting this one. I was hanging so bad I wanted to throw my phone. Come on Matt, seriously? You could have at least given us a good ending or even an ending at all. So: good solid story, excellent narration, no ending.

Required reading for humans

This is a beautiful, gut-wrenching book. It's wonderfully written and very well performed. It's a first person narrative, and so successfully performed that I have no trouble believing that I've been listening to Leonard Peacock himself reading his story, backed up by the other characters who speak through him.

First, the story: I've never read anything by Matthew Quick before. In fact, I wouldn't normally even try a story about a suicidal (and possibly homicidal) teenager. But Quick's writing is full of honesty, clarity, poetry and humanity, and the character of Leonard is so well drawn and interesting that I found myself not wanting him to kill himself because the world needs people like Leonard Peacock in it; and I want to meet Leonard and know him.

And now I'm wondering if the paragraph I just wrote will look good in my college application. (Read the book and you'll know why I said that.)

Because just for the record ... and for my college application ... I wouldn't have wanted him to commit suicide even if he was a spectacularly unlikeable person.

Everything in the story is emotionally real, for good and ill. Quick is obviously an insightful and empathetic observer of people. His writing is full of compassion, but never glides over the messy bits, even when part of me wanted him to.

Second, the narration: Just absolutely perfect. The different voices are distinguished nicely, with each character (male and female) given distinctiveness and believability but without sounding forced or like caricatures. But mostly, the voice is Leonard's, and it's completely believable and good to listen to. Even if Noah Galvin is a middle-aged, cigar-chomping rodeo announcer in real life, to me he will forever be a teenage boy from New Jersey.

Finally, the recommendation: Read the book (well, listen to the book). You'll laugh. You'll cry. You may have to stop to write down a few words and phrases (I did), or to look up a few historical facts (Walt Disney was a Nazi sympathizer, who knew?) And if you're paying any attention at all to what's going on in Leonard's head, you'll be a better person when you're done.

Oh, and you may feel the urge to watch Casablanca a few times as well.