The Descendants

By: Kaui Hart Hemmings

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Now a major motion picture starring George Clooney!

Matthew King was once considered one of the most fortunate men in Hawaii. His missionary ancestors who came to the islands were financially and culturally progressive - one even married a Hawaiian princess, making Matt a royal descendant and one of the state’s largest landowners. But now his luck has changed. His two daughters are out of control - 10-year-old Scottie has a smart-ass attitude and a desperate need for attention and 17-year-old Alex, a former model, is a recovering drug addict. His thrill-seeking and high-maintenance wife, Joanie, lies in a coma after a boat racing accident, and will soon be taken off life support.

The King family can hardly picture life without their charismatic mother, but as they come to terms with this tragedy, their sadness is mixed with a sense of freedom that shames them - and spurs them into surprising actions.

©2007 Kaui Hart Hemmings. All rights reserved. (P)2010 BBC America Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Matt's journey with his girls forms the emotional core of this sharply observed, frequently hilarious and intermittently heartbreaking look at a well-meaning but confused father trying to hold together his unconventional family." ( Publishers Weekly)

"[An] audaciously comic début novel.... Hemmings channels the voice of her befuddled middle-aged hero with virtuosity, as he teeters between acerbic and sentimental, scoffing at himself even as he grasps for redemption." ( The New Yorker)

Endearing story - No One Handle Death the Same

Death, cheating and love. What happens when a family has to deal with their personal world falling down, while the world moves forward.
Good book, I see why they made it into a movie. Sorry guys, no blood, gore, or gratuitous sex. This book just deals with a man trying to do the best he can, as he has to deal with emotions, and sometimes that is painful.

How did this make such a good movie?

There's something sadly missing here. The movie was sad, clunky and kind of neat because it contrasted so well with the outward lives of these people.You could feel the limits and the lacks in them.

It's really easy to hate the mean girl qualities in the adults as well as the children. And some how, without George Cluny's eyes, much harder to forgive.

I may or may not finish this book. So far, I want to do vile things to these very unredeemed and unredeemable brats in paradise.

Of Course, Better Than The Movie

This was interesting to listen to, even after having seen the movie. (Did I hear George Clooney being on a T-Shirt or something in the book?) Reading this one really gets all the nuances not portrayed in the movie.

I love the fact that this is written from the man's perspective. First, it is usually the man having the affair, not the reverse. It is also not surprising that the father is really clueless about what is really going on with his children, no less his daughters; but the mother is as well in this story. And so we hear what he is thinking about; his dawning recognition of how his wife has mishandled not only their marriage but also raising their children.

The narration was not demanding and therefore, fine. There is nothing spectacular about the performance, but it certainly was done without problems.

Even if you have seen the movie, but especially if you haven't, this is a great tale about families. The good parts, and the bad. Very enjoyable book.

Narrator sounds like George Clooney!

I really enjoyed this book. All of the characters helped drive the story. It has many layers, losing a parent, realizing they aren't perfect, mixed feelings with the grief process. It is much better than the movie. In the book the reader understands and sympathizes with each characters behavior

Great Treatment of a Difficult Subject

This story provides a touching glimpse into love, loss and responsibility. Matt King is the scion of old Hawaii money, it it appears that he has it all: a lovely wife, two daughters, a career, and the decision making power over a prime piece of Kauai'i real estate. But then he doesn't have it all: The wife has a disastrous accident, the daughters are troubled, and the responsibility of the decision seems to be coming at a difficult time for him personally. The narrator's tone is perfect, and captures the sense of the main character's emotional muddle. I had seen the movie, and started to skip the book, but while the movie is very faithful to the book, the book itself seems to suspend time while the family is living through its trauma.

It was alright, nothing special

Would you try another book from Kaui Hart Hemmings and/or Jonathan Davis?

Probably not. I didn't think this was particularly interesting. I didn't like how the story / internal monologue would hop around through time and in and out of the main characters mind, this made it hard to follow at times. The reader probably could have done a better job at differentiating the two, but maybe not. I thought the movie was actually better than the book.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Jonathan Davis?

He is not my favorite reader, but not the worst either.

Could you see The Descendants being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Yes, the movie is better than the novel in my opinion.

Any additional comments?

Only read it if you already like the author.

Great Listen. I keep on revisiting this.

Great story with great narration. I love the characters and the humor of their real world struggles. Audible 20

Great Story, Narrator Needs Some Work

Loved reading this book/story after having seen the film, but was dismayed to hear the narrator mispronounce several very common Hawaiian words, street names, and place names. He had a great voice, but the mistakes were so obvious and frequent that it significantly pulled one's focus away from the storyline. Very disappointing to hear a book by a Hawaiian author read so.

Great Story...

Not personally a fine of the narrator, but I got past it and loved the book.

Great story

I enjoyed this book from the beginning to the end. The story was fresh and engaging. It was well written and narrated.