Preview
  • Katerina

  • By: James Frey
  • Narrated by: James Frey
  • Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (171 ratings)

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Katerina

By: James Frey
Narrated by: James Frey
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Publisher's summary

From the New York Times best-selling author of A Million Little Pieces and Bright Shiny Morning comes Katerina, James Frey’s highly anticipated new novel set in 1992 Paris and contemporary Los Angeles.

A kiss, a touch. A smile and a beating heart. Love and sex and dreams, art and drugs and the madness of youth. Betrayal and heartbreak, regret and pain, the melancholy of age. Katerina, the explosive new novel by America’s most controversial writer, is a sweeping love story alternating between 1992 Paris and Los Angeles in 2018.

At its center are a young writer and a young model on the verge of fame, both reckless, impulsive, addicted, and deeply in love. Twenty-five years later, the writer is rich, famous, and numb, and he wants to drive his car into a tree, when he receives an anonymous message that draws him back to the life, and possibly the love, he abandoned years prior. Written in the same percussive, propulsive, dazzling, breathtaking style as A Million Little Pieces, Katerina echoes and complements that most controversial of memoirs, and plays with the same issues of fiction and reality that created, nearly destroyed, and then recreated James Frey in the American imagination.

©2018 James Frey (P)2018 Simon & Schuster
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Editorial Review

Don't call it a comeback

Yes. This novel is a cliché. One where an aspiring young writer journeys to Paris, languishes as he struggles to write the "great American novel," falls for a beautiful model in the City of Love, and so on the story goes. But I happen to love a good cliché when told as well as James Frey does here. It gave me some serious The Sun Also Rises vibes, just with more phenomenal pacing that gets your heart rate up while listening, with the author’s voice driving. I don’t want to spoil this for anyone, so I’ll make this brief, but I also shed a few tears at the end. It’s that good. My advice? Make this your next listen. You don't have to call it a comeback, but this is the James Frey writing that captivated so many when A Million Little Pieces first came out. —Kyle S., Audible Editor

What listeners say about Katerina

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Great read about love, life and struggles

Another excellent piece of work by James Frey. Very enjoyable. Easy listening. My favorite book of all times- the Final Testament, the first book I read by James Frey since then I read all his books. One of my favorite author. Love his writing style, deep thought provoking excellent penship

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely loved!

I usually don't leave reviews but because I absolutely loved this story and can still feel my heart breaking I felt the need to leave one. I can't believe how caught up I got in this book and the characters and look forward to more from James Frey!

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

Sometimes authors shouldn't narrate...

...like this time.
Sentences run into each other often and the book is delivered in a monotone--flat and emotionless.
'A Million Little Pieces', 'My Friend Leonard' were great--narration was on track.
Use of a narrator/producer would be a good idea.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Heartbreaking & Beautiful

Wow!! Just plain wow!! I have not read or listened to A Million Little Pieces. This is the 1st book by James Frey I have read/listened to. I'm not even sure how to review it. This book really stopped my heart. It spoke to me. It burrowed into my soul. I think there are a few books in one's lifetime, that, for whatever the reason, change the reader. For me this is one of them. I can't really say why either. The story was so heartbreaking, breathtaking, soul crushing & beautiful. I could just imagine all the sights & sounds of Paris. I could smell the bars, the shops, the book store. I could see the art. I can't say I felt this way about a book since I read Catcher in the Rye or A Tale of Two Cities years ago. I love Jay. I love that he is flawed, that he wants to be something, but on his own terms. He maybe hadn't lived the way he always thought he would, but he did it. I could feel how sad, how lonely he was. His emptiness on the hurts he had caused became my own. Katerina just crushed me. I picked this up on a whim, thinking that it sounded okay. I listen to a lot of thrillers & mysteries. I thought this would be a good book to clear my head, something I wouldn't have to figure out, think to hard about, you know, a nice easy listen. Yeah, not at all. I ended up listening to only a couple of hours a day. It took me a few days to get through it. I needed time to process. This book is absolutely amazing! I'm glad Mr. Frey read it as well. I'm not sure another narrator could have brought the feelings Mr. Frey must have had while writing this. Thank you, Mr. Frey!! I am not & won't be the same after this one.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

breathtaking and beautiful

a million little pieces is my favorite book of all time and i have read it at least 10 times. i kept starting katerina and getting bored and not continuing, but this time i did. for whatever reason, the first half of the book is pretty bland to me but god it gets so good.
james frey has such an amazing way with words, and those complaining about his narration of the story don’t seem to understand his writing. i think the way he narrates is perfect and it’s exactly how i read his writing. it’s a stream of consciousness and the repetition always hammers whatever he’s saying into my brain. in my opinion, he read it perfectly and i assume the way it was meant to be read.
all that being said, this book is so beautiful. it is such an accurate and raw description of intense, love and unbelievable hurt. you feel their love so deeply. i really can’t say enough about this book, it is so good and will break your heart.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A masterpiece

However you might feel about James Frey the person, I find it impossible to deny his talent for writing. He is an absolute master of the craft and his ability to plunge you head and heart into his stories is nothing short of magical.

This is one of his finest yet. The places he takes you, the feelings he awakens. Absolutely beautiful and perfect. I want to read it through again, right away.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love his books!

Love hearing about his journey and what he finds interesting. I can’t get enough of Frey!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Criminally under-rated

Ignore the reviews given by major newspapers. He’s their whipping boy. They love to hate him.

The book is brilliant. He’s the Charles Bukowski of his generation, only he’s a better writer. Thank goodness I found this on the 2 for 1 list or I might have missed it entirely.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great read

Deep, raw, funny, sad, sex, love, and the rock and roll everything you would expect from James Frey.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Gritty yet beautiful

James Frey has done it again—I get pulled into his stories, knowing they will stay with me whether I want them to or not. Katerina does too. I didn’t want it to end. What better compliment can one give?

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