Audio Review : You by Caroline Kepnes
You by Caroline Kepnes
Narrated by : Santino Fontana
Pages/Time : 422/11h06
Genre : Thriller
Series : You, book 1
My Rating : 5/5
About the Book :
There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting.
As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.
My Thoughts :
There are occurrences in a reader’s life, few and rare, when a book is met that defies all expectations; it creates a clear cut in time, where there is a before and an after, and your reading life is forever changed.
You is definitely, for me, one of these books.
Would I appreciate it enough had I read it on paper? I honestly don’t know. I believe I would have enjoyed it, yes. I would have been properly amused and horrified in turns, and been willing to read the coming sequel. I would have recommended it to readers looking for something different, something dark. Yes, I would have enjoyed it, and enjoyed it a lot.
But definitely not as much as the audiobook.
When I first listened to an excerpt, I wasn’t sure I really liked it – but clearly I must have been crazy at the time, because it ended up being the best narration I’ve ever listened to. I’ve been listening to audiobooks for some years now, and never have I ever been witness to such a perfect pairing of author and narrator.
Yes, Santino Fontana was completely insane as a narrator. He was perfect for the voice of Joe, and a month later when I think of You, I still hear the ghost of his voice. He was so likable and charming yet crazy that it made me seriously uncomfortable at times; he would make a joke and I’d laugh with him, then I’d remember he’s actually a really bad guy and feel super guilty about it. That’s the thing; Joe, when not stalking and killing, is a surprisingly somewhat likable guy and his thoughts mirror a lot of ours. He’s also extremely unaware of his situation, which is both hilarious and extremely scary at once, if possible.
(Also, Guinevere is kind of bland and not really likable, which creates such a big contrast to Joe’s obsession.)
All this being said, this is not a book for everyone. There’s a lot of sex and talk about it, which I’m fine with; but I found You to be extremely, and surprisingly violent. I say surprisingly because I read and watch a lot of crime shows, as well as horror, but few have had me as unsettled as You. Having the criminal tell the story instead of the victim or the investigator made it all the more difficult; but on top of that, it’s very well written by Caroline Kepnes, and very well acted by Santino Fontana. It totally pulled me into Joe’s head and it made his violence really hard to witness, especially when the scenes are long. With my headphones snug on my ears I felt somewhat claustrophobic, yet unable to pull my ears away…
All in all, I found You to be a very unsettling but unique experience. There’s so much I wanted to say but this review is already getting long! I can’t imagine that any audiobook will ever top this. I had so many emotions while listening to it. It’s twisted and dark and funny and brilliant and scary. If Hidden Bodies is half as good (which it should be since I just checked on Twitter and Santino Fontana is doing the narration too!) then I am in for a treat!
I’m going to look if my library has the audio. I’m not sure I have the stomach for the violence – depends on what sort of visceral it is – but it sounds interesting enough to try.
Ha! I’d be curious to hear your thoughts if you give it a try, it feels a bit different from what I usually see you read I think – and while we’re there, it felt different from what I read too; it’s a book that’s difficult to classify, but it’s definitely more than just a thriller.)
I found the violence quite unpleasant. It wasn’t gory or anything, but it’s very unsettling to read about a woman being attacked when doing something as normal as jogging, and from this particular point of view. Very scary – visceral might be a good word for it.
This book was so creepy but I could not stop listening! I agree with you that Fontana nailed Joe with his narration. I sure hope this author writes more!
I know! I couldn’t stop either, I went through it really quickly. I can’t wait for the next one!