Tampa

By: Alissa Nutting

Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney

Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Celeste Price is an eighth-grade English teacher in suburban Tampa. She's undeniably attractive. She drives a red Corvette with tinted windows. Her husband, Ford, is rich, square-jawed, and devoted to her.

But Celeste's devotion lies elsewhere. She has a singular sexual obsession: 14-year-old boys. Celeste pursues her craving with sociopathic meticulousness and forethought; her sole purpose in becoming a teacher is to fulfill her passion and provide her access to her compulsion. As the novel opens, fall semester at Jefferson Jr. High is beginning.

In mere weeks, Celeste has chosen and lured the lusciously naive Jack Patrick into her web. Jack is enthralled and in awe of his teacher, and, most important, willing to accept Celeste's terms for a secret relationship - car rides after school; rendezvous at Jack's house while his single father works late; body-slamming encounters in Celeste's empty classroom between periods.

Ever mindful of the danger - the perpetual risk of exposure, Jack's father's own attraction to her, and the ticking clock as Jack leaves innocent boyhood behind - the hyperbolically insatiable Celeste bypasses each hurdle with swift thinking and shameless determination, even when the solutions involve greater misdeeds than the affair itself. In slaking her sexual thirst, Celeste Price is remorseless and deviously free of hesitation, a monstress driven by pure motivation. She deceives everyone, and cares nothing for anyone or anything but her own pleasure.

With crackling, rampantly unadulterated prose, Tampa is a grand, uncompromising, seriocomic examination of want and a scorching literary debut.

©2013 Alissa Nutting (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

Disturbing book

Greag Narrator,but a dark book and very disturbing ,very gutsy of the Author fro writing this book.

Go Inside the Mind of a Female Sexual Predator

This book narrates the thoughts that display the psychological & emotional motivations that lie behind the aggressive sexuality of a female sexual predator of teenage boys. These urges lead to perilous situations that threaten the lives of all those involved. It’s a psychological high-wire balancing act of cravings and danger for those involved in these emotional & sexual situations.

woah

this is such a crazy story. although it describes some disgusting images.. it also brings to light that anyone can be a pedo in disguise.

American Psycho for the 21st Century

Oddly enough, the first book that I gave five stars to this year was My Dark Vanessa. Therefore, there is an odd bit of symmetry to giving five stars to Tampa, which stands as a sort of spiritual foe to the victim narrative. Tampa gives you the first-person perspective of a sexual predator, which may make the reader feel a sense of complicity in Celeste's transgressions, if they dare to push through the novel. Nonetheless, I am so glad that I gave this novel a chance.
Some things to know about Tampa, if you are tempted to give it a shot:
1) Like American Psycho, Tampa is a satire, and it is a damn funny novel, too. That said, like American Psycho, there is some content that may be tough for some readers to get through. Tampa is full of graphic sexual scenes between a 27-year-old woman and several 14-year-old boys, so if that is triggering for you, you might want to give this one a pass.
2) Celeste is truly a horrible human being with NO redeemable qualities. She is also a fascinating character with a wry sense of humor. If you are not offended by the novel's subject matter and enjoy dark comedies, Tampa might be right up your alley. Props to Alissa Nutting for making me laugh more than I wanted to while reading this novel.
3) This is not an action-packed thriller. That said, I was never bored by Tampa. This is a narrative about a sexual predator who is constantly manipulating everyone around her to get what she wants, giving the novel a confessional quality to it.
Tampa was brilliant, funny, and never boring. It was a breath of fresh air after reading so many slow-burn thrillers of late.

Wonderfully messed up

Perfect for people who aren't disturbed easily and find feeling disgusting to be fascinating.

Great book

The author really gets in the head of Celeste, making her seem real. She’s not a likable character, but there are times I almost root for her. The narrator did a fantastic job as well.

It had potential

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The ending... to start with.
The first half of the book you think that Celest is a highly intelligent female willing to do anything to satisfy her obsession: teenage males. Her wishes are crazy, but very enthralling as well. She's an interesting character to say the least.
Second half of the book she becomes stupid and arrogant and other people like her even more for that. It was annoying and it didn't fit with the character created in the first half. Is like the author wanted us to hate her. And that's cheating.
I would have enjoyed the rational, pervert feminist much more than the beautiful sheltered pedophile. Also, the idea that beautiful people have it easy... don't really dig it. I've seen lots of beautiful people get bullied and ugly ones as well. It's about character. That is what brings you to the top of the chain. And by the end of the story our character completely looses that side and just plays the damsel in distress. And people actually believe her? We're talking about adults here, right? I can't accept that people can be that stupid.

Has Tampa turned you off from other books in this genre?

Not really. A good book will be a good book regardless of the genre. I was never really into this type of books, but I heard this one was better so I decided to give it a try. Not sure how soon I'll return to this genre though, based on my friend's recommendations I guess.

Have you listened to any of Kathleen McInerney’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I did, in Night Road and Just One Day. She's into character and she's good at what she does. If I wouldn't have looked at the list with the books she read I would have never guessed the 3 books have the same reader. They are all 3 very different genres.

Was Tampa worth the listening time?

To be honest, I don't think so. Second half bored me to death.

Any additional comments?

It's a good book for an erotica lover, but not a moralist.

Glossy mag story

Any additional comments?

Celeste Price became a teacher with the sole purpose of seducing teenage students. I usually roll my eyes when I hear people complaining that a book is controversial just for the sake of controversy, but found myself thinking something similar with this. It was just a bit too shallow and frivolous. Had it’s moments, but at times, it reminded me of a story you might come across in a bad waiting-room magazine. I still love the cover (though I made the classic mistake of judging a...). And I was amused by the ever present subtext that if this book was about a male teacher, there would probably be book burnings across the States.

A sick and yet inthralling topic, well written

This book has been a hot topic for sometime now. It's storyline is morbid, and sadly true. Yet, I couldn't tear myself from listening to it. Nutting's allusions are astounding. She really makes you want to keep listening. I ate this book up! Get past the it all and dive in, you won't regret it.

Masterful narration and excellent writing.

A difficult subject presented in a wonderfully crafted novel. Inspired by a real life court drama, Nutting creates a fictional sexually obsessed protagonist and shares insights into possible motivations and complexities. McInerney provides a peerless narration and I will be listening to more of her work. Highly recommended.