White Oleander

By: Janet Fitch

Narrated by: Oprah Winfrey

Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

The unforgettable story of a young woman's odyssey through a series of Los Angeles foster homes on her journey to redemption.

Astrid is the only child of a single mother, Ingrid, a brilliant, obsessed poet who wields her luminous beauty to intimidate and manipulate men. Astrid worships her mother and cherishes their private world full of ritual and mystery - but their idyll is shattered when Astrid's mother falls apart over a lover. Deranged by rejection, Ingrid murders the man, and is sentenced to life in prison.

White Oleander is the unforgettable story of Astrid's journey through a series of foster homes and her efforts to find a place for herself in impossible circumstances. Each home is its own universe, with a new set of laws and lessons to be learned. With determination and humor, Astrid confronts the challenges of loneliness and poverty, and strives to learn who a motherless child in an indifferent world can become.

Oprah Winfrey enjoyed this gripping first novel so much that she not only made it her book club pick, she asked if she could narrate the audio release.

Check out more selections from Oprah's Book Club.

©1999 by Janet Fitch (P)16 9; 1999 Time Warner AudioBooks (Packaging Elements Only), A Division of Time Warner Trade Publishing

Critic reviews

• An Oprah Book Club selection

"...[an] impressive first novel.... her startlingly apt language relates a story that is both intelligent and gripping." (The New York Times Book Review)

This is my favorite book

I love this book. I’ve been reading it over and over since it came out when I was in middle school. I don’t prefer Oprah as the narrator. The southern drawl she uses throws off the the story for me. I’d prefer a lighter younger voice.

A thoroughly compelling novel

Brilliant narration a thoroughly compelling story and instant classic the moment because it was unleashed upon the world A thoroughly engaging narrative that sees young Astrid go from nightmarish scenario to nightmarish scenario as she makes her way through the foster system. A realistic depiction of what wife was probably like for a number of children that were yes sent through the foster system and this is just an example of where things can go wrong as Astrid has to overcome cataclysmic situation time and time again truly inspiring story that I’d recommend to basically anyone

Worth the listen

I have listned to the book twice... just to enjoy the richness of Oprah's voice and also because the characters in the book grips your heart.

Audio is Abridged

I enjoyed listening to the audio book, and the story well enough on its own. I did read the print book over a decade ago, though, and this is not the complete novel. Oprah's reading style is pretty good, but I found myself sometimes concentrating on all the stuff that was missed.

review

It was interesting book . I love listening to Oprah's way of reading it. I would recommend it.

What is a mother anyway?

This book calls into the deepest part of every human both male and female. What is our mother to us? What unseen, unbreakable bond tethers us to the woman who birthed us? The relationship between Ingrid and Astrid unfolds through the authors use of skillful language. I could feel the Santa Ana winds. Her description of Southern California was fantastic and the setting became a character of it's own. Oprah's performance of the abridged novel is great. Definitely a book club book.

Great book, dissappointed about it being Abriged.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The book, yes, this version, no. I felt there was a lot that was missed by having it abriged.

love this story but...

I own the hardcover and love this story. However, it sounded like there was some stuff left out and I don't understand why Ingrid kept having an accent

BEWARE,NOT FULL AUDIOBOOK

I thought this would be a great audio (correct me if I’m wrong but it’s the only one) to listen with this book, turns out there’s multiple parts cut out, definitely an edited version

Very enjoyable

Oprah's narrative was wonderful. I couldn't press the stop button on my mp3. The story carried you along and kept me captivated. Highly recommended.