Wednesday, October 21, 2009

White Oleander by Janet fitch

From the author's website: 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.


White Oleander was an Oprah book and I chose to listen to the audiobook which was read by...Oprah! It was a typical Oprah book in that every thing bad that could possibly happen to this poor girl happened. Whenever a new character was introduced, I was just waiting to see how they would further destroy this child and I was rarely let down. Oprah did a beautiful job reading the story and donated her proceeds to charity to help children in these dire circumstances. I may roll my eyes a bit at the stereotype of an Oprah book but I love an emotional read and this was no exception. Maybe I'll see about renting the movie.

2 comments:

bermudaonion said...

I read this book years ago and loved it. I haven't seen the movie, though. I didn't know Oprah read any books - I bet she does do a good job.

Anonymous said...

I have this book waiting on my bookshelves. That is interesting that Oprah read the book herself--I'm not sure whether I'd like that or not.