Marlena, Julie Buntin
Marlena, Julie Buntin
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
Club: $9.97

Marlena

Author: Julie Buntin

Narrator: Emma Galvin

Unabridged: 9 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/18/2017

Synopsis

An electric debut novel about love, addiction, and loss; the story of two girls and the feral year that will cost one her life, and define the other’s for decadesEverything about fifteen-year-old Cat’s new town in rural Michigan is lonely and off-kilter, until she meets her neighbor, the manic, beautiful, pill-popping Marlena. Cat, inexperienced and desperate for connection, is quickly lured into Marlena’s orbit by little more than an arched eyebrow and a shake of white-blond hair. As the two girls turn the untamed landscape of their desolate small town into a kind of playground, Cat catalogues a litany of firsts—first drink, first cigarette, first kiss—while Marlena’s habits harden and calcify. Within the year, Marlena is dead, drowned in six inches of icy water in the woods nearby. Now, decades later, when a ghost from that pivotal year surfaces unexpectedly, Cat must try to forgive herself and move on, even as the memory of Marlena keeps her tangled in the past.Alive with an urgent, unshakable tenderness, Julie Buntin’s Marlena is an unforgettable look at the people who shape us beyond reason and the ways it might be possible to pull oneself back from the brink.

About Julie Buntin

Julie Buntin is an author whose debut novel, Marlena, earned high acclaim and was named a Best Book of the Year by major media, including Vogue, the Washington Post, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, NPR, Nylon, Huffington Post, Kirkus Reviews, and Barnes&Noble.com, among others. The book was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Leonard Prize and was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Her work has appeared in the Atlantic; Cosmopolitan; O, The Oprah Magazine; Slate; Electric Literature; and One Teen Story, among other publications. She teaches fiction writing at Marymount Manhattan College and is the director of writing programs at Catapult.

About Emma Galvin

Emma Galvin won the 2011 Audie Award for best fiction narration, was a finalist for the Audie Award in 2012, and won six AudioFile Earphones Awards for her narrations. A graduate of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, her film appearances include My Suicidal Sweetheart, A Perfect Fit, and The Big Bad Swim. She has performed in several regional theater productions, including Love Punky, The Power of Birds, and The Realm.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Emily May

Normally I start my reviews with a quote; a nice little taster of what to expect. But with Marlena it was impossible to isolate just a sentence or two. I copied down whole paragraphs that became extracts until it felt like I would be quoting the entire book. I kept thinking I was done and then reali......more

Goodreads review by Adam

Extraordinarily well-written book that tells the story of a doomed friendship between teenage girls. Shades of WHO WILL RUN THE FROG HOSPITAL? (less funny but significantly more wrenching and therefore better), the Neapolitan Novels, and, in its examination of the opoid crisis and resolutely mid-wes......more

Goodreads review by Always

Ok so I kept seeing everyone talking about netgalley and I am such an unrestrained glutton for books that I was obviously had to sign up to get to read books for free early, and so this was the first book I requested, so yay free books. Anyway I personally thought that though the idea and general st......more

Goodreads review by Matthew

Review of Marlena A poem by Matthew McLean Because of a book club, I did read you To join in discussion, I did need you A librarian did recommend On whose word I did depend Stream of consciousness I did find Through repetitious pages I did grind So-so and unlikable characters I did meet Drugs, alcohol, a......more

Quotes

“Narrator Emma Galvin brings a slightly gritty yet vulnerable-sounding voice to the main character in this audiobook…a haunting yet tender story of growing up.” AudioFile

“A novel of deep and exquisite intelligence, humor, and riveting sensitivity.” Lorrie Moore, New York Times bestselling author

“Captures that unique moment at the precipice of adulthood with emotional honesty and insight.” Jonathan Safran Foer, New York Times bestselling author

"[A] dark, gorgeously written story.” Entertainment Weekly

“In this icy and accomplished first novel, the intoxicating friendship between an inexperienced loner and her manic, wild-child neighbor continues to exert an irresistible pull on our narrator decades later.” O, The Oprah Magazine

“Perfectly capture[s] the thrill of what it’s like to become best friends with the beautiful girl from the wrong crowd…[and is] one of the most sensitive portrayals of a Midwestern town struggling with poverty, drugs, and restlessness.” Vogue

“The telling is so intimate that one can miss, at first, that Marlena is addicted to the pills she carries around…The book is ostensibly about friendship and the indelible mark the troubled Marlena left on Cat, but it is also a quiet, powerful look at addiction.” New York Times

“The kind of coming-of-age friendship that goes beyond camaraderie, into a deeper bond that forges identity.” New York Times Book Review

“A novel about youth―a time of splendor and squalor. Buntin make us see, hear, and feel both." San Francisco Chronicle

“Reads nearly as compulsively as a thriller…Viscerally captures the sensations and heartaches of adolescence.” Boston Globe

Awards

  • Elle Magazine Pick
  • Amazon Best Book of the Month
  • BookPage Book of the Day
  • Oprah’s Book Club Selection
  • Barnes & Noble Discover Award
  • Nylon Magazine Pick
  • Indie Next List
  • Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year
  • Esquire Magazine Best Book of the Year
  • Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books
  • Washington Post Notable Book
  • NPR Best Book
  • John Leonard Prize
  • Huffington Post Best Book
  • Vogue Best Book
  • Entertainment Weekly Best Book
  • Buzzfeed Best Books of the Year
  • Michigan Notable Book
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