Land of July: A Real Life Scandal of Sex & Social Media at a Connecticut High School

By: Robert M. Marchese

Narrated by: Doug Greene

Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

On an ordinary January afternoon, a disturbing revelation about his wife hurls one man into a maelstrom of public humiliation and heartbreak, and eventually on a spree of run-ins with lawyers, judges, therapists, and law enforcement.

Land of July tells the true story of a teacher/student sex scandal that not only shocked an entire school and small suburban community, but made national news. It’s a story filled with countless anecdotes about marriage, trust, infidelity, grief, and the desperate search for hope and family in the face of ruin.

Practically ripped from the daily headlines, Land of July is as salacious as it is sobering. At its best, it’s a cautionary tale that might just inspire an awakening of morality; at its worst, it’s one man’s tumultuous journey to hell...and possibly back.

©2018 Black Rose Writing (P)2018 Beacon Audiobooks

Narrated by Troy McClure

This was a difficult book to finish. The narrator conveys little emotion and sounds like Troy McClure from the Simpsons. The author seemed to love trying to make everyone around him look and sound bad (especially the women he dated). The author comes off as extremely entitled, arrogant and generally unlikeable to the point where a lot of the time I forgot this book was about his wife being a bad person and just focused on how awful he was. There are many instances where the book goes on long tangents, like the letter to his mouth and lots of song lyrics he wrote that are just uncomfortable to listen to and don't add anything to the story. I do not reccomend

I can't tell if I liked this book or not.

So, the story itself was interesting enough, even if so what indulgent at times from the author's point. The reason I can't decide on my overall feeling is due to the narrator. I get the feeling that he might be more comfortable narrating community events calendars or public television fundraisers. Not the right narrator for this book.

The narrator’s voice destroys this story

The story is not that bad. In fact I would say it could be a decent story however the story cribbed by the narrators monotone voice. I even selected a faster speed (1.5) to give a bit more life to the deadpan voice telling the story. The one complaint on the actual story is that the main character seems to come off as a teenager with angst and a bit of a whiner. Other than that I would give it 2 1/2 stars out of 5.

Thorough Recounting of a Marriage Dissolution Involving Scandal

I wanted to write this review partly because the two earlier ones I read were rather negative on the narrator’s voice. I was able to overlook his passionless tone however because some high school teachers I had (and college professors) were not necessarily warm, in fact some did speak with little emotion. The words expressed much inner pain on the part of the husband though so I did not need to hear added anguish in the performance artist’s voice as well. // Why I chose to listen to this story is because I am a public school teacher by profession so the true story of another teacher can often pique my interest. In this audiobook, one hears the tale unfold from the mid-class call for the husband to report immediately to the principal‘s office (husband and wife both teach in the same high school). I could imagine all the bewilderment he experienced waiting for the door to open for his sudden appointment and then finally realizing his wife had broken the law...and their marriage vows. The ensuing months include these parents living together with their two young children; a non-event which results in an arrest; unfair lies from one parent (according to the other), acquaintances taking sides...in fact, this is not unlike what occurs in many marital breakdowns although there is the added scandal of sex abuse towards two teen students here. The book was well-written from one person’s point of view and might be illuminating to others needing comfort if they are undergoing painful breakups too. It is not a book for everyone of course but it held my interest and eventually, I was able to discover what the court decided and how the writer fared after a few years.

Good story, terrible narrator

The story is good. But the narrator sounds like Troy McClure from the Simpsons and it is very irritating and distracting.

I really am sickened by the author.

Like... oh my lord... This is actually one of my first reviews I've written but I could Not sit quietly and listen anymore. I'm about half way though this book and the writer is so arrogant, belittling, cruel and selfish that it's totally igniting deep emotional PTSD of childhood verbal abuse; so much so you forget this book is NOT about him but about his Wife doing terribly inappropriate and unacceptable things with kids. His selfishness and petty mean-spiritedness ends up overshadowing the actual terrible crime the book is written about! Attitudes like this are deep at the core of emotional damage and mental abuse. Please if you know someone who acts like this, talks to you in this way or treats you or anyone you know this way, Please Reach Out For Help! What his wife did was terrible and unacceptable to the deepest degree, but having to listen to a story about not one but Two abusive people is just terrible. Also I agree with the other reviews, the narrator is not a good fit.

Boring

It was sad of course but narrator made a fairly cut and dry story worse. Then it was disappointing to hear he wasn’t that surprised at the end. These types of things are always scandalous but don’t all make for interesting books. Hearing the dull narrator read his song lyrics was depressing.