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  • White Oleander

  • By: Janet Fitch
  • Narrated by: Oprah Winfrey
  • Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (1,107 ratings)

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White Oleander  By  cover art

White Oleander

By: Janet Fitch
Narrated by: Oprah Winfrey
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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.

©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)

What listeners say about White Oleander

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    597
  • 4 Stars
    260
  • 3 Stars
    150
  • 2 Stars
    52
  • 1 Stars
    48
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    490
  • 4 Stars
    164
  • 3 Stars
    82
  • 2 Stars
    20
  • 1 Stars
    24
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    474
  • 4 Stars
    159
  • 3 Stars
    89
  • 2 Stars
    34
  • 1 Stars
    22

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

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.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Janet Finch

First time coming across a Janet Finch book. Well-written. Oprah is amazing with the audio!!!!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Eh

The narration was great, but I was extremely disappointed that this was a shortened version of the book. They skipped key plot points in the story

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Read the book and watch the movie

Great book, tons of details to the movie. I highly recommend it. Get ready for your feelings to take a ride.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Narcissism and Fallout.

A young girl's survival story. Her mother is a dangerous narcissist and we follow the daughter as she navigates her teenage years in foster care. Hard topics shared with emotional depth. With Oprah as a narrator it feels more like poetry than prose.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Okay story, great narration

Sad story. Kept me interested because I wanted to know what happened to the main character. The book does not weave in and out of different people's lives or shift from character to character. It is all the main character is point of view. I feel the ending could have been a little more fulfilling or uplifting. But it was interesting. Poetic.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Why leave out parts from original?

I did not read original but from I’ve read, there were important components left out of the audible version. The story itself was very sad but happy to see Astrid was such a strong and determined woman. I wonder if anything in life for Astrid would ever be fulfilling though…

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