Mrs. Fletcher

By: Tom Perrotta, Alex Allwine, JD Jackson, Nicky Maindiratta, Jen Richards, Sarah Steele, Aaron Tveit

Narrated by: Finn Wittrock, Carrie Coon

Now an HBO series starring Kathryn Hahn!

“Light, zingy, and laugh-out-loud funny” (People), the New York Times bestselling novel about sex, love, and identity as seen through the eyes of a middle-aged woman and her college freshman son.

A forty-six-year-old divorcee whose beloved only child has just left for college, Eve Fletcher is struggling to adjust to her empty nest. One night she receives a text from an anonymous number that says, “U R my MILF!” Over the months that follow, that message comes to obsess Eve. While leading her all-too-placid life—serving as Executive Director of the local senior center and taking a community college course on Gender and Society—Eve can’t curtail her own interest in a porn website that features the erotic exploits of ordinary, middle-aged women like herself. Before long, Eve’s online fixations begin to spill over into real life, revealing new romantic possibilities that threaten to upend her quiet suburban existence.

Meanwhile, miles away at the state college, Eve’s son Brendan—a jock and aspiring frat boy—discovers that his new campus isn’t nearly as welcoming to his hard-partying lifestyle as he had imagined. Only a few weeks into his freshman year, Brendan is floundering in a college environment that challenges his white-dude privilege and shames him for his outmoded, chauvinistic ideas of sex. As the New England autumn turns cold, both mother and son find themselves enmeshed in morally fraught situations that come to a head on one fateful November night.

“The sweetest and most charming novel about pornography addiction and the harrowing issues of sexual consent that you will probably ever read” (The New York Times Book Review), Mrs. Fletcher is a timeless examination of sexuality, identity, parenthood, and the big clarifying mistakes people can make when they’re no longer sure of who they are or where they belong. “Tom Perrotta’s latest might just be his best” (NPR).

As usual for Tom Perrotta, very entertaining!

This novel is a bit cringe worthy since I’m a middle aged woman, but touches on many timely topics. Beautifully written, great narrators. Loved it.

Simple and nice

This is an excellent and a engaging story of middle class suburban life. The narrators do an excellent job. I never even zoned out while listening.

Disappointed...nothing happened

There was so much potential here for rich characters and themes to go in unexpected directions, but it was all so repetitive and boring. Not surprising. Not moving. Not funny. Not sexy. Just middling and tedious. And why is Brendan read with non-stop contempt in his voice? That drove me crazy and seemed so one-dimensional. I finished the book, but was glad for it to be over.

Poorly chosen vocal performance

The voice reading Brendan's part was distractingly inarticulate, monotone and hypo nasal... Did not complement the books' other voices.

Ending not satisfying

The middle aged woman getting into MILF porn seemed a stretch for me. Not great.