Whidbey

A Novel

De: T Kira Madden

Narrado por: Eunice Wong, Christina Moore, Mia Hutchinson-Shaw, Rebecca Lowman

“Epic in its scope, intimate in its evocation, Whidbey reads like a thriller, compels like a mystery and regarding the human condition, converses with the classics. This is the book everyone will be talking about.” — Adam Johnson, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winning author of The Orphan Master’s Son and Fortune Smiles

A portrait of three women connected through one man in the aftermath of his murder—a stunning literary achievement and the explosive and highly anticipated debut novel from beloved award-winning memoirist T Kira Madden. Presented as a multicast recording, this production brings each voice vividly to life, deepening the novel’s exploration of varied perspectives and interconnected lives.

Birdie Chang didn’t know anything about Whidbey Island when she chose it, only that it was about as far away as she could get from her own life. She’s a woman on the run, desperate for an escape from the headlines back home and the look of concern in her girlfriend’s eyes—and from Calvin Boyer, the man who abused her as a child and who’s now resurfaced. On her way, she has an unnerving encounter with a stranger on the ferry who offers her a proposition, a sinister solution and plan for revenge.

But Birdie isn’t the only girl Calvin harmed back then. There’s also Linzie King, a former reality TV star who recently wrote all about it in her bestselling memoir. Though the two women have never met, their stories intertwine. Once Birdie arrives on Whidbey, she finally cracks the book’s spine, only to find too much she recognizes in its pages. Soon after, on the other side of the country, Calvin’s loving mother, Mary-Beth, receives a shocking phone call from the police: her only son has been murdered.

Calvin’s death sets into motion a series of events that sends each woman on a desperate search for answers. A complex whodunit told from alternating points of view, Whidbey is searingly perceptive and astonishingly original. Exploring the long reach of violence and our flawed systems of incarceration and rehabilitation, this is a tense and provocative debut that’s sure to incite crucial questions about the pursuit of justice and who has real power over a story: the one who lives it, or the one who tells it?

Excellent

Incredible story, I was riveted! Really glad I listened. Not like anything else I’ve read. Excellent narration as well!

Stories of multigenerational abuse.

Multiple narrators tell their stories about sexual abuse and their ways of attempting to deal with memories that persist and distort their lives and relationships. These characters suffer: some lash out, others passively hide and suffer internally. I’m most disturbed by the mother of the main abuser whose love destroyed her own life and could not save her son’s.

Heartbreaking, sickening, empathetic, compellingly written

This was a difficult read (listen), difficult because of the subject matter and the aptitude and potency with which it was handled. I felt this so deeply. The picture was created so richly and viscerally. I am grateful that this book was written, and I am so grateful for the cast that read it. I feel a rare sense of camaraderie and companionship in these painful experiences that are usually so solitary.

Epic

This book has everything. Delicious writing- epic plot. I wish I could read it for the first time again & again. T Kira is one of the greatest writers of our time

Brilliance

I loved the story and the rich language in this beautiful novel! I can’t wait to read more from T Kira Madden!