The Days of Abandonment

By: Elena Ferrante

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's Summary

An IndiBound best seller, The Days of Abandonment shocked and captivated its Italian public when first published. It is the gripping story of a woman's descent into devastating emptiness after being abandoned by her husband, with two young children to care for. When she finds herself literally trapped within the four walls of their high-rise apartment, she is forced to confront her ghosts, the potential loss of her own identity, and the possibility that life may never return to normal.

©2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.; 2015 Blackstone Audio (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Quick (not bad) listen ....

To be brief, this novel is not about chains of events or mystery of any kind. Rather it is a swirls of deep emotions and self pity and literally decomposition of a human soul.

monotone narrator and monotonous story

This isn't worth $1, and certainly not worth a credit. I've skipped from chapter to chapter hoping to find good character development, some sort of joy in being alive, or something worth listening to. I haven't found it yet.

How Disturbing!

Not only disturbing but depressing and disappointing as well! I would hate for anyone that is already in the depths of depression to read this story. I would fear for their safety. The only redeeming quality I found is in the actual writing. The writing was so well done, as was the delivery, that it just made me sad.

Maybe it's you

Divorce is terrible. I've played its victim in various roles. That's why I was interested in this book. But this lady's complete lack of rationality is indefensible. Sickening in fact. (Spoiler alert.) To turn on your children and dog like that just means you're a bad person. I don't care what you're going through. To victimize the innocent is never justifiable. What your husband did is despicable. But you're no better.

great book

fabulous book Elana Ferrante is genius and I love the way Hillary reads her novels. captivating from beginning to end. I appreciated the vulgarness writing that matched the story being told

Strange story!

Almost stopped listening, but forced myself to listen to the end. Seemed like a very weak female character.

Sleepy narration with slow depressing story...

Good literature, just not enjoyable. Don't listen to this while driving. If it doesn't put you to sleep, you may be tempted to drive into oncoming traffic. Unlike the other Ferrante books, I had a hard time getting through it.

Woman goes crazy when husband leaves her

The main character, Olga, disgusted me. I wanted to stop listening halfway through but plowed through hoping that some great insight would emerge. It didn't. I was sick of listening to her meaningless, self-pitying introspection. Sure her husband did her wrong....so why was two-thirds of the book devoted to pining after him? The narrator was the only redeeming factor in this audiobook.

D.I.V.O.R.C.E.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Days of Abandonment to be better than the print version?

The audio edition is better because of the subject matter. The silence of divorce is hard to take. Likely many who are drawn to this book could stand to hear a sympathetic voice. The audio version delivers that.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Days of Abandonment?

The line when the narrator says after the husband left, she and her children lived with a permanent sense of danger . With that Ferrante got to the bone chilling truth. I say without irony it hit me like Tammy Wynnette's record DIVORCE which I consider one of greatest artistic treatments of the subject.

Which character – as performed by Hillary Huber – was your favorite?

Olga of course.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The film your ex will never watch.

Almost gave up.

Writing was concise but it seemed to really drag on too long. Story was too predictable but accurate in how someone feels that’s been betrayed.

Brutal but beautiful.

I found this such a tough read but only because it so reflected the depth and sometimes horror of a life falling apart and coming back together. It was refreshingly female a and beautifully crafted.

Dark, troubling and thought provoking

I listened to this following blistering reviews on Mariella Fostrup's book review. The women reviewing it said it was fantastic and closely resembled some of the thoughts and feelings that one has following a break up and infidelity

I enjoyed it. It is darkly funny at points and the writing is such that it reflects the absence of time and interaction that is happening with the protagonist.

The troubling parts are how the children are left to fend for themselves and I think it mirrors what happens in real life very accurately although I have no experience of such.

Definitely worth a credit. Possibly not the type of book for many fantasy readers so only if you fancy something a little more thought provoking

Narration not memorable which, given the story may or may not be a good thing

Awful voice

Had to turn it off after a minute because the narrator sounds like a robot.

rich narrative expertly written

I was was fully immersed in this book from beginning to end and exhausted by the end following the story.
Sadly, for me, the performance felt like it was digitised speech; others might not be as bothered.

Are women really this crazy?

How did the narrator detract from the book?

American accent.

Any additional comments?

It is a book that will make you want to punch the protagonist in the head to bring her to her senses. Agony.

depressing in every way

narrator sounds like a machine
heroine is a nasty character
character development unlikely
Terrible choice

Worst book ever.

This is the worst book I have ever read. The unnecessary crudeness and the selfishness of the main character is just unbelievable.

missed out most of the second half

I found the story too slow. The style of listing and repetition became tedious. Sometime I'll listen to the gap. After the Neapolitan Quartet this was a bit disappointing.

Boring

I found this book to be very boring and difficult to listen to therefore wouldn't recommend it.

superba

A fost o carte superba, o adevarata radiografie a sufletului femeiesc.
inca o capodopera literara.