Exquisite Mariposa

A Novel

By: Fiona Alison Duncan

Narrated by: Natasha Soudek

Length: 5 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Given the initials F.A.D. at birth, Fiona Alison Duncan has always had an eye for observing the trends around her. But after years of trying to please others, looking for answers in books and astrological charts, and clocking endless hours as a celebrity journalist just to make rent, Fiona discovers another way of existing: in the Real, a phenomenological state few humans live in.

Fiona’s journey to the Real takes her to Koreatown, Los Angeles, where she sublets a room in La Mariposa. There she meets a cast of friends and lovers, like Amalia, an artist whose muse is her pet pigeon; Lucien, an infamous philanderer; and Morgan, whose anxiety keeps her from ever sitting still. When Fiona is offered the chance to turn her new household into a reality TV show, she jumps at the opportunity - but it isn’t long before she begins to question this new script.

In the midst of her Saturn Return, Fiona pulls the plug on the reality TV deal, heals a few addictions, and returns to writing with Exquisite Mariposa, a debut novel starring her housemates as they ask questions of survival, art, love, language, and the possibilities of rewriting one’s life.

©2019 Fiona Alison Duncan (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing

Narration is as bad as the story

Literally had to rage quit this- the level of insufferable drivel was giving me heart palpitations. Why does this person think her basic ass narcissism is worthy of a story? Most of the book explores her inner world and not the characters of Mariposa- which could have been interesting but then the focus wouldn’t have been on the author which she obviously cannot handle. Said inner world tries to present as philosophical and dreamy but it’s just so vain and cringe and gross that I seriously could deal with it past chapter 4.

And the performance of the narrator. Where to begin. It’s almost like the she had a secret vendetta against the author and decided to perform the material in a way that would just compound the loathsome irritating frivolous aspects over and over until I was yelling for it to stop. She has both vocal fry and upspeak non stop- but not in a youthful way I can appreciate- because she also somehow sounds 50 years old? It’s like a boomer liberal arts college professor larping as what she thinks a cool 20 something art ho sounds like. Incredible. Whew honestly it was simultaneously both one of the worst books and audio books I’ve ever tried to get through.

Loved it! Delicious!

Refreshing, quirky, new, transformative, insightful, touching, brilliant, quirky, different. Perfect narration. The narrator matched the ebb, flow, personality, and dynamics of the lead character’s transformative journey and growth in a way that went straight to my heart through my ear canal. Delicious audiobook!