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The Stolen Child  By  cover art

The Stolen Child

By: Keith Donohue
Narrated by: Andy Paris, Jeff Woodman
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Publisher's summary

This critically acclaimed debut by breakout author Keith Donohue flawlessly blends fantasy and realism into an utterly unique fable, inspired by a W.B. Yeats poem, that has been described as a bedtime story for adults.

Seven-year-old Henry Day is kidnapped and renamed "Aniday" by changelings, ageless beings who inhabit the woods near his home. The changelings also leave behind one of their own, who flawlessly impersonates Henry except for one noteworthy detail: the new Henry is a prodigiously talented pianist. Both Aniday and Henry settle comfortably enough into their new existences, but both are haunted by vague memories of their former lives.

A fresh take on the search for identity that will appeal to fans of J.R.R. Tolkien and J.M. Barrie, The Stolen Child triumphantly announces Donohue as a fresh voice in contemporary fiction.

©2006 Keith Donohue (P)2006 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

  • Winner of Audio Publishers Association 2007 Audie Award, Science Fiction

"An impressive novel of outsiders whose feelings of alienation are more natural than supernatural." (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Stolen Child

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    185
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
    49
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Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    96
  • 4 Stars
    45
  • 3 Stars
    23
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    83
  • 4 Stars
    42
  • 3 Stars
    34
  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Not Anything Close to the Hype

Boo! This book was bad. I listened to it in a straight shot during a 14-hour drive across 4 states. My biggest problem was the main story-telling device of the book -- one story would plod along in one person's perspective and then, we'd have to hear essentially the same story told again from a different person's perspective. This would be interesting if there were more going on and there were perspectives being told by more than two people. But it felt so redundant and in turn I just didn't care at all for these characters. The writer clearly understands description, but really fell apart in his interactions between people. These people felt more like caricatures more than characters. As a result, the book REALLY didn't work for me. There's a better book out there that uses a very similar story-telling device, but is much more successful in its iteration. It's called "The History of Love", by Nicole Krauss. I'd urge you to read that book instead. Sorry, Mr. Donohue. Two stars from me.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Unique

A very unique story, I'm glad that I chose it. I found it to be captivating and easy to visualize while I was sewing. I only gave it 4 stars because I usually like to purchase 30-40 hour long unabridged tales. Sorry this one stopped, I could have listened to it all week.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

agonizing listen

I am a big fan of the fantasy genre. The publisher's comparison to Tolkien was wishful thinking. I found the plot an interesting concept, but listening was arduous. I did want to know how the story ended, but each additional chapter caused me to groan anew, "Will it never end?"

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

best book ever

I loved the book it was so good I hope that a second book is made I liked aniday he was varey good

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

The Stolen Fantasy

Fantasy, once a genre all its own, has so encroached on Sci-Fi they are often counted as one. As a traditional Sci-Fi fan, I am not at all sure this is a good thing. In my now distant youth (alas!) the best Sci-Fi was packed with with both adventure and meaning. The latter could take the form of alegory, or philosophy, or social commentary, or show the unsuspecting where science and technology were taking us. Today, it seems I always feel cheated. What is this book about other than the fantastic events of the story? There is nothing except, perhaps, a tad of titillation with the fantasy, and I cannot help but association that with the fantastic, which in my day was virtually synonymous with absurd.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Good (not great) story

I am only giving this story three stars because I did not love it and I did not hate it, I was sort of in the middle. I love fantasy books and was really excited to listen to this book, but it did not live up to my expectations. For me, the story of the changelings living in the forest and the power struggles that existed in their community was the most interesting part of the story. Henry Day's story was rather dull and got more interesting as he began to explore his history (pre-changeling). I thought the narrators were good, even though it was hard to distinguish their voices.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointed

The idea of the book was very intrigueing. This is the type of story I like - fantasy. Unfortunately, the book was disappointing. I got bored. I am not sure if anything actually happened in the book.....

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Will steal you away!

The story follows the interconnected lives of the main characters by alternating between each of their versions of events. It's very interesting to get to see the same story from two viewpoints. The author had me hooked immediately, and this is one of the few books I couldn't just listen to in the car only.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

But do I care for them?

I can't say I do. I tried to listen - to involve myself in the story, but it was slow... and plodding... and ultimately, I really didnt care about either character.

I suppose if you really like character studies this would work for you, but if you really want a story... with a plot and some feeling, I would find something else. This seems to be a book you either love or really dont have the stomach to finish.

Out of all the audio books I have ever listened to, this one was only one of two I just couldn''t bring myself to complete.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Dreary

I found this listen to be dark and dreary. I don't mind the dark part. It was the dreary part that got to me. I was very depressed listening to it. Nothing about it had me on the edge of my seat, excited to find out what would happen next. There wasn't much goodness in this book's world. And it was hard to find someone to like. I thought the story might help me escape the pressures of the real world, but when I finished it only confirmed that the real world is much better.

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2 people found this helpful