The Cows

By: Dawn O'Porter

Narrated by: Dawn O'Porter, Karen Cass, Laura Kirman

Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's Summary

Shortlisted for best audiobook in the Specsavers National Book Awards 2018.

The Sunday Times best seller.

Fearlessly frank and funny, the debut adult novel from Dawn O’Porter needs to be talked about. 

This audiobook contains an audio exclusive Q&A with author Dawn O’Porter.

COW [n.] /kaʊ/ A piece of meat; born to breed; past its sell-by-date; one of the herd.

Women don’t have to fall into a stereotype.

The Cows is a powerful novel about three women. In all the noise of modern life, each needs to find their own voice.

It’s about friendship and being female.

It’s bold and brilliant.

It’s searingly perceptive.

It's about never following the herd.

And everyone is going to be talking about it.

©2017 Dawn O'Porter (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic Reviews

"A funny, smart, kind, incredibly truthful book about women...all the shame, judgement, envy and love that being alive and female entails." (Polly Vernon)

"Smart and insightful." (RED)   

"Dawn's writing is addictive - fearless, beyond feisty and seriously funny." (Mel Giedroyc)   

"Funny and excruciating. You'll think about it for weeks!" (Kristen Wiig)   

"I loved it. Funny, moving, twisty.... Wow! I couldn't stop reading it." (Jill Mansell) 

Smart, funny, feminist

I learned about this one after the author was on The Guilty Feminist podcast. Like that show, the book is smart and funny and examines the hypocrisies and insecurities that undermine efforts to be feminist. The writing operates in the vicinity of “Bridget Jones” and Liane Moriarty. The book revolves mostly around the idea of whether society allows 42-year-old moms to be sexual beings, after a main character’s private moment is caught on video and becomes a viral sensation. I’d read some reviews that things went too far, and I'll admit I was yelling “no, no, no!” when one of the characters did something seemingly unforgivable. But the power-of-sisterhood ending was perfect. Grade: A-

P.S. The audio version has three different narrators, including the author, and all are great.

3 people found this helpful

I listened to it anyway...

One of the reviews I read for this book said "cringe-worthy", and shortly into the story I realized it absolutely IS cringe-worthy... but I am SO glad I listened to it anyway! This book is unlike any I have ever read or listened to, and I am so glad that I didn't miss out. I cringed, I laughed out loud more than once, I found myself almost in tears at one point, and now I'm sad that it's over, but happy that I read it. Easily 5 stars

2 people found this helpful

Don't judge a book by the title!

This book is enlightening and interesting. The characters are incredibly deep and their intersectionality is subtle and well done. This is a story of feminism thru and thru. The title is explained in the beginning, but not necessarily does the theme come to fruition. I highly recommend you get it despite the title. Oh, and I usually don't like authors narrating, but in this case I couldn't tell you which character was hers -- they were all of high caliber and talented!

1 person found this helpful

So much love and resonance I have goose flesh!

Such a wonderfully current reflection on feminism, media, judgement, life.. I am a big fan of surprises, so I won't say anything about the plot because it's full of little twists and turns that kept me gasping, laughing, and crying "no!" The narrators are all fantastic. I can't believe I had never heard of this book before. I will be sure to make sure my loved ones aren't left in the dark - this is a must read! I feel entertained, uplifted, and empowered.

1 person found this helpful

Absolutely Loved it!!!

Really fantastic writing! Witty, relatable and totally engaging.
The narration was stellar by all three characters as well.
Will definitely be looking forward to more from this author!

1 person found this helpful

Disappointing

I had high hopes for this book and found the first number of chapters very good. Sadly I felt that it went down hill from there, with an storyline that was trying too hard to be shock factor. Really wasn't for me.

On a positive note, the narration was very good and clear, knowing each time what character was speaking.

Great read for women

Brilliant feminist humour. So well written. Dawn O'Porter is a thoroughly modern novelist, I highly recommend it

LOVING THIS AUTHOR. LIANE MORIARTY STYLE..

Great story. It's my second book by her, and cant wait for another. Yea. y

haha some really funny parts

A cute and funny book! Loved the characters, the storyline, and the ending! So glad I got it!!

Brilliant

Dawn O Porter manages to entertain while not alienating the many different types of women.

Awesome

Feminism how it should be, honest and gory in its detail ( but not in a horrid way!) it was really well written and (key) really well read by different actors and Dawn - I haven't been able to stop listening! I've enjoyed it immensely and cannot wait for more by Dawn. I loved her other books (though I'm definitely not a teenager) but this was more realistic and I felt really connected to the characters.Such a gem of a book I'd recommend it to women and men such a breathe a fresh air from chick lit. Go read it 😊

29 people found this helpful

Surprised I enjoyed this book!

This was not a promising book for me, as there is not a lot of modern fiction that impresses me, I do not like swearing, and probably due to my advanced age I do not particularly revel in discussing sexual matters. Having said all of which, I think this book was enjoyable, very well-written and communicated the dilemmas, feelings and lives of its main characters very well indeed. I forgave it the liberal use of bad language as I do appreciate that it has its place and the context carried it off. There were one or two elements that were a bit difficult to accept such as the public revelation of Camilla's condition, the use by Stella of her "public" work email address for her nefarious purposes and the forwarding of Stella's fatal email by Camilla - I found these slightly irritating as none of them is likely to have occurred, but then these things were all needed to knit the plot together and the story was otherwise beautifully constructed. Let's face it - the ending was what we all hoped which may be a bit cheesy but after you have suffered so much with these characters through the development of the plot you really do deserve the gift of a satisfying ending! I did not always admire the feminist outpourings as they were sometimes a little trite and less than fully thought out but since they fitted the character who was responsible for them I tried not to examine the quality of the philosophy too closely. The book did deal with some very genuine women's issues and some very human ones. I found the examination of female friendships particularly fascinating, touching and well done.

26 people found this helpful

Good all round.

Good book but a little long in places. I would recommend this book how ever it's a little to far fetched in places. But worth a read.

17 people found this helpful

Interesting but flawed

This book is really a long musing about women's issues and I can't criticise it for that. Some of the points are interesting and well made, but as a story I found it flawed. Overall I thought it struggled with trying to deliver some important and serious points but utilising Brigit Jones style characters in farcical situations. For example one of the main sub-plots involves preventing a male character seeing something on the internet. The whole idea was that his PA had complete control over his life. This was frankly unbelievable and silly. Another character is supposed to be shocked and surprised at seeing an embarrassing event on the internet even though the event happened the night before and she knew it had been filmed. Stella was a particularly good and intriguing character but her plot turns into an absurd comedy caused by her stupid and unnecessary lies. In short I think this story should either have been a drama or a comedy and it didn't really work as both.

9 people found this helpful

Fantastic book well done Dawn

Gripping and full of amazing insight , absolutely loved it and the honesty she writes with. Great female characters bring the story to life and tackle some very real issues facing all modern women today.

9 people found this helpful

Best book I've listened to for years!

This book had me gripped right from the start. The characters are all likeable and have their own very different stories which end up cleverly interwoven. Every woman should read this book - can't wait for her to write another!

12 people found this helpful

Totally fab, listen now!

Great, you'll love it. Readers/voices are excellent. Unexpected twists, very funny too. Definitely worth it.

3 people found this helpful

Unintelligent

I found this book quite an interesting read, not least as its content and lack of any intelligent input completely were not in accordance with the descriptions of it as a best seller.
I think I wrote something on an equally intellectual scale at the appx age of 14 for my English homework which my mother promptly tore up when she read it.
I think pizza smelling farts and masturbation just about sums it up!
I feel sad for the women this is supposed to appeal to as makes them look totally stupid!
Maybe I'm just getting old.

51 people found this helpful

Brilliant book, I couldn't turn it off

This is a great, funny intimate companion of a book. I'm recommending it to all my femal friends.

5 people found this helpful

Fantastic!

I have been telling everyone I know about this fantastic book! I laughed, I wept, and above all I thought: this book is a wonderful window into the idiosyncrasies of womanhood, and the complex relationships we have with each other and ourselves. One of the best books I've picked up in a very long time. Dawn O'Porter's writing is witty, moving, and thought-provoking, and the narration is perfectly suited to the story. If in doubt, definitely give this a listen.

8 people found this helpful