A Good Marriage

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Jessica Hecht

Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

What happens when, on a perfectly ordinary evening, all the things you believed in and took for granted are turned upside down?

When her husband of more than 20 years is away on one of his business trips, Darcy Anderson looks for batteries in the garage. Her toe knocks up against a box under a worktable and she discovers the stranger inside her husband. It’s a horrifying discovery, rendered with bristling intensity, and it definitively ends a good marriage.

©2010 Stephen King. All rights reserved. (P)2010 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Great story

Would you listen to A Good Marriage again? Why?

I read it previously in Full Dark, No Stars. I would read it again but not this audio version. The narration was worse than horrible. The sing-song fake sounding voice did not match the dark story. She actually sounded like a cartoon character when she spoke as Darcy. I've listened to at least 200 audio books This one was bad, bad, bad. It should be pulled and narrated by someone else, in my opinion.

another good one!

although the narrator could have been better, I loved the book. Stephen King is one of my favorite authors!

Didn't see that coming.

Good book. Not like any other book of Mr. King's. Take a listen. You won't be disappointed

So So

This story was kinda So So. Not a bad story, but not good either.

Excellent Narration!

Jessica Hecht narration of this Stephen King story is by far the best performance I have ever heard. As a 42-year fan of Stephen King novels and short stories, I believe Ms. Hecht, truly, did justice to an excellent King short story.

Did she know?

In 2000, I had a Palm III, a handheld computer a little larger and heavier than today's iPhone 5. It had a stylus a special way to synchronize and write, and (available for separate purchase) a camera and a keyboard. It also had the world's first mass-market ebook, Stephen King's "Riding the Bullet". The eerily floating gray-green words on a black screen; sentences and paragraphs scrolling automatically at my exact reading speed; and a late evening with the lights off and a glass of good red wine made that novella mean more to me than it ever did on actual paper.

"A Good Marriage" was originally published in Stephen King's 2010 novella collection, "Full Dark, No Stars". The book sold well - all of King's books do - but I thought the stories were lackluster, or tried too hard to shock, or both. When I finished the read, I put the hardback on my bookshelf, and so thoroughly forgot it I didn't remember reading about the 27 year marriage of Darcy and Bob Anderson when I clicked "purchase" on Audible.

The turned out to be a fortunate mistake. "A Good Marriage" (2014 Audible copyright) works very well as an audio narration because of the excellent performance by Jessica Hecht. Hecht becomes the credulous, complacent and self-satisfied Darcy who literally stumbles across her husband Bob's secret. Hecht's about the same age as the fictional homemaker, and plays the sweet, even tempered woman unwittingly married to a man who bears a physical and avocational resemblance to Dennis Rader, the BTK killer. King imagines an answer to a question we've all asked, "Did Paula Rader know? Did Green River Killer Gary Ridgeway's wives Marcia or Judith know? Did they?"

Hecht's performance makes a so-so story chilling and memorable, just as delivering "Riding the Bullet" electronically made that story frightening and unforgettable.

The Audible release must be timed to coincide with the October 3, 2014 release of the film adaptation of "A Good Marriage" starring Anthony LaPaglia and Joan Allen. I haven't seen it, so I don't know how the movie compares to the book compares to the Audible.

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Great book , corny voiceover

The book is excellent. Very entertaining and captivating. However the woman reading it sounds very unnatural even when using the woman's voice, and sounds absolutely ridiculous when trying to use a man's voice

But the narrator.....

Good story but I couldn't get past the a
Narrators annoying voice Ughhhh. She's sounds pathetic

Soap Opera

Yes, this story has a modicum of horror in it and the question of what would a normal person do when faced with this kind of horror. The characters aren't really fleshed out enough for you to care - Stephen King is no Ann Rule. This book seems to be more of a novella or short story which was stretched into a book. It was OK, but nothing I'll read or listen to again.

In addition, the narration on this almost drove me mad. She was awful. Had that been the voice of his wife it would have been completely understandable that he has problems!

Decent!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, good story, and it flowed well!

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Good Marriage?

Two things: When Darcy pushed Bob down the stairs (esp since he knew it was intentional)..Buh-bye Bob! And when Holt told Darcy she did the right thing. Classic!

What about Jessica Hecht’s performance did you like?

How about what I didn't like? I cannot stand female readers doing male voices. It grates on my last nerve. To me, it makes the men sound like young boys trying to sound like men. Make any sense? Men, on the other hand, usually can do female voices just fine (loved the reader of "The Book Thief" and thought he performed all voices incredibly well!!!!!)

If you could rename A Good Marriage, what would you call it?

I wouldn't. I think the title is appropriate.

Any additional comments?

I'm looking forward to the movie. I LOVE Anthony LaPaglia!!!