An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (Audiobook)

Author: John Green 

Narrator: Jeff Woodman

Title:  An Abundance of Katherines

Publication: September 1, 2006

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Genre: Young Adult

Pages: 272

Length: 6 hours and 48 minutes

Audience: 16 and up

Rating: 1 out of 5

Source: Public Library

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Katherine V thought boys were gross

Katherine X just wanted to be friends

Katherine XVIII dumped him in an e-mail

K-19 broke his heart

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun--but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.

My thoughts: I have heard a lot about John Green and I have purchased Fault in Our Stars, but it is currently on my bookshelf collecting dust while I’m reading six other books. So I thought I would go with an audiobook at the time because I had nothing else better to listen to and I really wanted to try a John Green book. I guess I should have not gone with An Abundance of Katherines, but our library is so underfunded, that this was my only John Green option. I kept listening to it, hoping it would get better. By the end of it I was tired of Colin Singleton, the term “fug” in any format, anagrams, and math terminology. At one point, I was almost certain that Colin had Asperger’s Syndrome. The book never mentioned it so I guess he didn't. This entire book was about him and his wants and obsessions. He never seemed to care about other people. It was annoying. However, his friend Hasan was the comedic relief, but even he got annoying at times. The other main characters were uncertain about what they wanted as well. So it was full of coming of age angst. The book was a good book about being yourself and coming of age novel. However, there was too much stupid love drama with the Katherines, whining from Colin, anagrams, and math for my taste. 

The narrator, Jeff Woodman does a great job. He does a different voice for each character. His southern accent for Hollis and Lindsay and the other residents of Gutshot is over the top, but it works. Some people really do sound the way he narrated them. I think he did a fantastic job. You can tell when Hasan is speaking or Colin or one of the many Katherines. He is a wonderful narrator, but the book was kind of poop for me. If you love John Green I suggest giving it a try, but if you are not a John Green fan, or have never read any of his books I was told to try Looking for Alaska.