The Ten-Year Nap

By: Meg Wolitzer

Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan

For a group of four New York friends, the past decade has been largely defined by marriage and motherhood. Educated and reared to believe that they would conquer the world, they then left prestigious jobs to stay home with their babies. What was meant to be a temporary leave of absence has lasted a decade. Now, at age 40, with the halcyon days of young motherhood behind them and without professions to define them, Amy, Jill, Roberta, and Karen face a life that is not what they were brought up to expect but seems to be the one they have chosen.

But when Amy meets someone who seems to have fulfilled the classic women's dream of having it all - work, love, family - without having to give anything up, a lifetime's worth of concerns, both practical and existential, opens up. As her obsession with this woman's bustling life grows, it forces the four friends to confront the choices they've made - until a series of startling events shatters the peace and, for some of them, changes the landscape entirely.

©2008 Meg Wolitzer (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks America

Critic reviews

"A perceptive, highly pleasurable novel that serves as Wolitzer's up-to-date answer to the old question: 'What do women want?'" ( Kirkus Reviews)
"Wolitzer's novel offers a hopeful, if not exactly optimistic, vision of women's (and men's) capacity for reinvention and the discovery of new purpose." ( Publishers Weekly)

Poor narration

I just started listening to this, and so far it seems like a terrific and compelling story, but the narrator really stinks. She's very staccato and abrupt, like a digital, almost robotic voice. I'm trying not to let her voice ruin it for me.

Reading it sort of felt like a 10 year nap

I loved the interesings. This was very difficult to get hooked. None of the characters were relatable.

A Good Beach Read

The book is a sort of chick-lit for 30 year olds. It was very enjoyable and easy to listen to.

My only gripe is the mispronunciation of the town of Naperville, IL, which is the home town of one of the characters. The narrator pronounces with a short "a," tho the actual pronunciation is with a long "a." You would think this would have been checked out by the editors.

Not the best

I kept waiting for something exciting to happen. The book was interesting, but that's about it.

Liked it

I liked this audiobook; yes, the characters are kind of shallow and unlikeable. Yes, the narrator's voice is staccato, but that quality worked well for the book. Yes, I noticed some mispronunciations. The ending made it worthwhile for me - it wraps up nicely - almost too nicely; but still, it works and gives you a lot to think about.