This book, perfectly suited for narration, is supercharged by a full cast of award-winning voice actors, each, for the most part, voicing several characters. All are well matched to their multiple roles. The story is a contemporary reimagining of Theodore Dreiser’s AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY. Author L.R. Dorn is the pen name of Matt Dorf and Suzanne Dunn, two accomplished screenwriters who present the plot as a video docuseries consisting entirely of the characters speaking as if on camera. Listeners will find themselves bingeing on one episode after another. After finishing this truly compelling work, they can check out podcasts based on the episodes on L.R. Dorn’s website. Is this the start of a new form of entertainment that combines book, podcast, and audiobook? E.Q. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2022 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
The Anatomy of Desire: A Novel
Narrated by Santino Fontana, Shelby Young, Marin Ireland, JD Jackson, Dan Bittner, Vikas Adam, Gabra Zackman, Fred Berman, Darrell Dennis, Oliver Wyman, Jonathan Davis, Hillary Huber, Lisa Flanagan, Sharahn LaRue
L. R. DornUnabridged — 8 hours, 12 minutes
The Anatomy of Desire: A Novel
Narrated by Santino Fontana, Shelby Young, Marin Ireland, JD Jackson, Dan Bittner, Vikas Adam, Gabra Zackman, Fred Berman, Darrell Dennis, Oliver Wyman, Jonathan Davis, Hillary Huber, Lisa Flanagan, Sharahn LaRue
L. R. DornUnabridged — 8 hours, 12 minutes
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Overview
Audie Award finalist for Multi-Voice Performance!
Performed docuseries style by a star-studded full cast including Santino Fontana, Shelby Young , Marin Ireland, JD Jackson, Dan Bittner, Vikas Adam, Gabra Zackman, Fred Berman, Darrell Dennis, Oliver Wyman, Jonathan Davis, Hilary Huber, and Lisa Flanagan
For fans of riveting true crime docuseries a la*Serial*and*Making a Murderer,*The Anatomy of Desire*is a modern tale of crime and punishment exploring unbridled ambition, blinding passion, and the dark side of desire
Claire Griffith has it all, a thriving career, a gorgeous boyfriend, glamorous friends. She always knew she was destined for more than the life her conservative parents preached to her. Arriving in Los Angeles flat broke, she has risen to become a popular fitness coach and social media influencer. Having rebranded herself as Cleo Ray, she stands at the threshold of realizing her biggest dreams.
One summer day, Cleo and a woman named Beck Alden set off in a canoe on a serene mountain lake. An hour later, Beck is found dead in the water and Cleo is missing. Authorities suspect foul play, and news of Cleo's involvement goes viral. Who was Beck? An infatuated follower? Were she and Cleo friends or lovers? Was Beck's death an accident . . . or murder?
Told in the form of an immersive investigative docuseries, L. R. Dorn's brilliant reimagining of Theodore Dreiser's classic crime drama,*An American Tragedy, captures the urgency and poignance of the original and rekindles it as a very contemporary and utterly mesmerizing page-turner.
Editorial Reviews
★ 03/29/2021
Centered on the world of social media influencers, the pseudonymous Dorn’s remarkable debut takes the form of a true crime docuseries. Cleo Ray, who’s bisexual and has risen from a humble background to become a successful fitness coach and social media influencer, and her lesbian girlfriend, Beck Alden, row their rented canoe to a secluded cove on Serene Lake near Bishop, Calif. The canoe is later found overturned, with Beck’s bruised body floating nearby. Cleo flees to the town of Mammoth Lakes to rendezvous with her YouTube star boyfriend for a camping trip, never mentioning Beck or the canoe incident. Before long, the sheriff investigating the drowning finds and arrests Cleo. Cleo’s uncle, the owner of a talent management agency, hires a high-powered L.A. defense attorney to represent her. The riveting trial, during which Cleo constantly changes her story, comes down to circumstantial evidence. The prosecutor even brings the canoe into the courtroom to reenact the crime. With no witnesses to the murder, readers will breathlessly await the verdict. Dorn, the pen name of husband-and-wife team Matt Dorff and Suzanne Dunn, is definitely a writer to watch. (May)
"A truly innovative, fantastic book. Emphatically recommended. Reads like your favorite podcast, the hit crime doc you'll want to binge. A brilliant brewing of progressive internet influencers, with smaller town police doing their best to keep up. Structurally fresh, these talking heads will enchant you.” — Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box
“Centered on the world of social media influencers, the pseudonymous Dorn’s remarkable debut takes the form of a true crime docuseries… The riveting trial, during which Cleo constantly changes her story, comes down to circumstantial evidence… With no witnesses to the murder, readers will breathlessly await the verdict.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“[A] modern reimagining of Theodore Dreiser’s 1925 novel, An American Tragedy… takes readers through the intimate details of a mysterious drowning and the sensational trial… This riveting mock podcast docudrama ratchets up the suspense as readers glimpse every angle of the story from a 360–degree view.” — Library Journal (starred review)
"In podcast style, the mystery gives us a range of voices and perspectives, from the boathouse attendants on, held together by the narrator. The advantage of this format is its great immediacy.” — Booklist
“Ingenious and brilliantly executed... Contemporary in setting and cast, but also in narrative style: the desperate social climber is a young woman “influencer,” and the form is as a series of true-crime podcasts—it reads like the transcripts of interviews—and it works stunningly well, clear, fast-moving and deeply engrossing.” — Sullivan Co. Democrat
"L.R. Dorn’s spicy update of Theodore Dreiser’s 1925 classic, An American Tragedy... is written in the form of a docuseries like “Serial,” and like that cool potboiler, “The Anatomy of Desire” cruises along with nary a bump in the road." — The Washington Post
“A fascinating courtroom drama…. This deliciously contemporary story… reveals a compelling, poignant portrait of sexual desire in our social media age.” — Daily Mail (UK)
“The genius of L. R. Dorn’s work here is in getting the reader to think about who societies punish and why and how our cultural sensibilities change around the concept of shame… A gripping, compelling read that does justice to its source material.” — CriminalElement.com
“The Anatomy of Desire… is at once a clever reworking of a classic American novel and a caustic commentary on contemporary American mores… [It is] compulsive reading.” — Anniston Star
“As the trial progresses, readers may find their preconceptions challenged and their feelings flip-flopping regarding Ceo's guilt and moral character. And when the ending comes, it's a surprisingly poignant one.” — ShelfAwareness.com
“A stunning debut novel that reimagines An American Tragedy as a marathon-worthy true crime series… An innovative and riveting read that ratchets up the suspense with every page.” — BookRiot.com
“It’s written as a true-crime documentary and reads like nothing else I’ve read recently. It’s told from the point of view of all the people involved in the case, step by step through the trial and aftermath. You won’t want to put it down.” — RedCarpetCrash.com
"A truly innovative, fantastic book. Emphatically recommended. Reads like your favorite podcast, the hit crime doc you'll want to binge. A brilliant brewing of progressive internet influencers, with smaller town police doing their best to keep up. Structurally fresh, these talking heads will enchant you.
A fascinating courtroom drama…. This deliciously contemporary story… reveals a compelling, poignant portrait of sexual desire in our social media age.”
The Anatomy of Desire… is at once a clever reworking of a classic American novel and a caustic commentary on contemporary American mores… [It is] compulsive reading.”
Ingenious and brilliantly executed... Contemporary in setting and cast, but also in narrative style: the desperate social climber is a young woman “influencer,” and the form is as a series of true-crime podcasts—it reads like the transcripts of interviews—and it works stunningly well, clear, fast-moving and deeply engrossing.
"L.R. Dorn’s spicy update of Theodore Dreiser’s 1925 classic, An American Tragedy... is written in the form of a docuseries like “Serial,” and like that cool potboiler, “The Anatomy of Desire” cruises along with nary a bump in the road."
As the trial progresses, readers may find their preconceptions challenged and their feelings flip-flopping regarding Ceo's guilt and moral character. And when the ending comes, it's a surprisingly poignant one.
The genius of L. R. Dorn’s work here is in getting the reader to think about who societies punish and why and how our cultural sensibilities change around the concept of shame… A gripping, compelling read that does justice to its source material.
"In podcast style, the mystery gives us a range of voices and perspectives, from the boathouse attendants on, held together by the narrator. The advantage of this format is its great immediacy.
"In podcast style, the mystery gives us a range of voices and perspectives, from the boathouse attendants on, held together by the narrator. The advantage of this format is its great immediacy.
It’s written as a true-crime documentary and reads like nothing else I’ve read recently. It’s told from the point of view of all the people involved in the case, step by step through the trial and aftermath. You won’t want to put it down.
A stunning debut novel that reimagines An American Tragedy as a marathon-worthy true crime series… An innovative and riveting read that ratchets up the suspense with every page.”
★ 04/02/2021
This modern reimagining of Theodore Dreiser's 1925 novel, An American Tragedy by Dorn (TV writers/producers Matt Dorff and Suzanne Dunn) takes readers through the intimate details of a mysterious drowning and the sensational trial that follows. A witness spots rising social media fitness influencer Cleo Ray fleeing the lake where a woman drowned. Beck Alden told her mother she thought Cleo would propose to her at the lake, but Cleo had other intentions. During the investigation before and after her arrest, and subsequent trial, both the prosecution and defense highlight Cleo's tough childhood, the foundation for her disastrous choices. Raised as Claire Griffith by her devout missionary parents, she fled her Midwestern life at 15 and reinvented herself in California. Cleo's desires behind her rise to fame and her ultimate unraveling are revealed as the trial unfolds. The novel is written in a docuseries format, jumping from testimony to inner thoughts to documentary statements of various participants in a fast-paced narrative. VERDICT For fans of true crime and podcasts such as Serial, this riveting mock podcast docudrama ratchets up the suspense as readers glimpse every angle of the story from a 360—degree view.—K.L. Romo, Duncanville, TX
This book, perfectly suited for narration, is supercharged by a full cast of award-winning voice actors, each, for the most part, voicing several characters. All are well matched to their multiple roles. The story is a contemporary reimagining of Theodore Dreiser’s AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY. Author L.R. Dorn is the pen name of Matt Dorf and Suzanne Dunn, two accomplished screenwriters who present the plot as a video docuseries consisting entirely of the characters speaking as if on camera. Listeners will find themselves bingeing on one episode after another. After finishing this truly compelling work, they can check out podcasts based on the episodes on L.R. Dorn’s website. Is this the start of a new form of entertainment that combines book, podcast, and audiobook? E.Q. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2022 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940173353597 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins Publishers |
| Publication date: | 05/11/2021 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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