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  • White Oleander

  • Written by: Janet Fitch
  • Narrated by: Oprah Winfrey
  • Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (35 ratings)

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White Oleander cover art

White Oleander

Written 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

What the critics say

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

not full book

not the full original book, follows the movie more than anything. pretty good otherwise

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

half the story is missinv

I love this book, I've read it half a dozen times so I was excited that it was on audible, but find that more than half the book is missing from this read. where's the family she nannied for? or the dog attack? or the foster home with the locked fridge?? it's all missing. this seems like just a read of what happens in the movie.

great performance by opera but I'd like to hear the entire book and not just half of it.

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

Different parts of the book at different times

I have listened to this book, through the last month. When we're driving to see our friends, or back home, as we are college students. This book would be a lot easier to understand if it was listened to at all one point, also listening to Oprah read a sex scene was quite strange. All in all this book was very good, I quickly realized why it is a favourite of many people.

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

Captivating

LOVED this book!!! The only thing was that the editing of the audio had several errors. I'd have expected way more from something that Oprah put her name on...cause I LOVES ME SOME OPRAH!!! #Audible1

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

The messed up accent of one of the foster moms

Okay that was NOT a Russian accent...she made it sound like a bad Chinese accent or something haha

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

amazing book, terrible audio book

this audio book is missing a lot of the book! Highly disappointed. with my eyes getting kinda crappy, I rely heavily on audio books. I've already read this book and the audio book is disappointingly abridged. I thought maybe I had fallen asleep and missed something, but it's missing A LOT of the story 😕 very sad.

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

half the story is missing

story was abridged, it says nothing of that in details. wish there was a warning

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

Abridged

Very disappointed this is abridged. I love the movie and wanted to see what was missing in the book. I mean it was good. But just like listening to the movie.

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

Not the Original (Missing Chapters)

This Audible book is missing a ton of chapters from the actual novel. It basically narrates the movie only.

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