SusieH

WOW, WOW, WOW!!! Gripping! Addictive! Amazing!

Revisado: 09-11-18

What a great story! It is absolutely addictive. I could not stop listening. It's not just a great story, it's also well written. Ok, it might not be Nobel Prize winning literature but to tell a story like this takes a great deal of skill. The tale of a seven year old sociopath could so easily slip out of hand and become silly or ridiculous. But Stage never lets that happen. There are no eye-rolling moments, only creepy, haunting drama. Stage's demon seed is a textured, complex character. Stage deftly shows us how vicious and dangerous she is while at the same time reminding us of her seven year old's mind, filled with childish fantasies and fears. The child's favorite victim (her mother) is equally complicated and while not as extreme, still harbors an interesting mix of positive and negative traits. Stage's telling of this story is masterful, especially when one considers how easily it could have become farcical.
Meanwhile, similar credit is owed to the narrator. Even with Stage's thoughtful and disciplined narrative, reading in a child's voice lends itself to potential disaster. Again, it is easy to imagine things going off the rails: Zackman was tasked not only with giving voice to a seven year old psychopath, she also had to introduce us to the child's Swedish father without conjuring visions of the chef from the Muppets. Tall order but she nailed it: Zackman somehow manages to find a range of completely authentic voices for this unlikely cast of fascinating characters.
If every Audible book was like this one, I'd never take my ear buds out!
BRAVO!!!!!

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Lame!

Revisado: 08-10-18

I guessed the ending pretty much immediately. The "teen drama" was not at all appealing. I realize that the narrator was trying to differentiate between the twins for the reader's benefit but it was so extreme that it became almost comical. About halfway through, I couldn't take it anymore and skipped to the end. I guessed correctly. Story is too contrived and too obvious.

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Author’s Wonderful Performance and Fresh Prose Elevate a Stock Thriller into Something Special

Revisado: 07-10-18

I always like it when authors read their own stories and am usually prepared to forgive even annoying defects (a nasal voice, a sibilant “s” or even teeth sucking) but Catherine Steadman was so good, I had to go back and check twice to make sure I hadn’t made a mistake. In fact, her performance was so impressive (perfection is not overstating it), I googled her to see if she had a background in performance— turns out she’s a kind of big deal, semi-famous tv star. She has had recurring roles on several tv shows including Downton Abbey (she’s also gorgeous and only 30 so now I’m just jealous!) In any event, her reading was the best I’ve ever heard. She was truly outstanding.
As for the story, it was a little less satisfying. But happily, the brilliant prose made it all work. Steadman’s writing is hypnotic and completely addictive. I can’t quite place my finger on why but her narration is nothing less than riveting. The actual story, however, is, well, meh. It’s fine really, it’s a solid thriller or maybe you could call it a mystery. The thing is, the writing is so good it just feels like it deserves better subject matter.
I believe this is her first novel (she has no writing credits posted on IMBD but I thought I saw something about her writing for television when I googled her). Given her tv background, you’d think her writing would be extremely visual (and her ability to conjure strong visual imagery is quite good) but her real talent lies in drawing the reader into the inner world of the protagonist and the emotion of the moment. Every word feels authentic, even the far fetched bits. Her characters are extremely compelling, particularly the protagonist. Erin (the narrator) is easily relatable. You can slide into her world and see her point of view even while screaming at her in your head to make different choices. She is also a character easily aspired to— who wouldn’t want to be a young, intelligent, beautiful filmmaker with a gorgeous, charming, investment banker finance?Yet as glamorous as she is, she consistently remains accessible. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend “Something in the Water” and I can’t wait to hear Steadman’s next novel (especially if she performs it!)

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Fantastic idea but Mr. Auster needs a more aggressive editor

Revisado: 07-01-18

I love the idea for this book and I couldn’t wait to read it. I eventually finished it but it was a colossal challenge. Fir starters, there is WAY too much detail. This often reads more like the diary of someone afflicted with OCD than a novel. I understand the author wrote the first draft out in longhand. Maybe it’s too heartbreaking to delete once you’ve put all that effort in. Who knows but good grief, enough with the minutiae! At one point he goes through an elaborate explanation of his finances and why he may not have enough money for school. Egads! I almost fell asleep! There are far too many lists-favourite actors, least favourite vegetables etc...
Aside from the minutiae, there is the possibly related problem of TMI, especially with respect to body fluids. I’m reading to escape the stress and drudgery of daily life. The last thing I want to hear about is an analysis of the pus from someone ‘s pimples. The semen descriptions literally made me nauseous.
Another problem I had was how falsely convenient the plot often became. I was absolutely prepared to suspend my disbelief to allow for the parallel universes or whatever but many of the plot developments struck me as a bit lazy: Archie is broke and suddenly money falls into his lap from highly unlikely sources. Or Archie is having trouble being admitted to school or finding a job but then, by some miraculous twist of fate, everything works out. Meh.
Finally, I figured out about halfway through the book that the four Archies (well 3 of them anyway) are fatty-haters. I don’t know if Mr. Auster has a prejudice or if that was just something with which he imbued his protagonists but it’s mean spirited and it comes through loud and clear. Mr. Auster writes admirably of the sixties, reminding us that the absence of racism was not always applauded but his fatty-hate—and I am by no means equating racism with obesity prejudice—is still troubling.
Spoiler Alert: the portion below contains spoilers. I wish, however, that I’d had this information before I purchased the book. I doubt I’d have selected it. But if you are intent on reading the book, you should probably stop reading now.
I almost abandoned the effort but having made it about two thirds of the way through by the time I was sure about the fatty-hate, I felt as though I were giving up. So I did finish it. The very, very end of the book (what I’m guessing in print would be the last couple of pages) were perhaps the best in the whole book. The author’s voice becomes clear and he explains the story. One could argue that this kind of internal self reflection is nothing more than navel-gazing but I loved it. It almost made listening to the preceding 37 hours worth it.
I chose this book because I thought the idea was interesting and the structure unique. I did enjoy those aspects very much. But I thought I was about to hear the story of a person’s life (well 4 people’s lives.) (Here comes the spoiler-final warning) But none of the Archies makes it past his mid twenties. I don’t want to spoil it too much so suffice it to say these are the stories of boys. If you are interested in listening to almost 40 hours of extremely detailed descriptions of four iterations of a boy’s life from early childhood to early twenties, then this is the book for you. Personally, I’m more interested in hearing the stories of people who have lived long enough to have some adventures and learn a thing or two.
As for the narration, I love authors who do their own readings and I actually thought Mr Auster had a very nice voice. True, it is not as slick and smooth, not as capable of flawless enunciation as many “professionals” but I thought his voice was very pleasing and his performance authentic.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

These were the ten BEST, really?

Revisado: 06-26-18

The narrators were fine but the stories were just lame. Some of them made no sense. Most of them were boring and not especially well written. Maybe my bar is set too high but when I read science fiction, I’m looking for interesting and imaginative ideas. I didn’t see much of either here. Several stories were very confusing and I discovered that they are instalments in various series—if you are familiar with the Great Ship stories, the Revelation Space tales or Yoon Ha Lee’s hexarchate universe, you’re all set. Otherwise, you might want to study up before selecting this audiobook. “My English Name” initially seemed to hold some promise but ultimately went no where and revealed nothing. The rest felt formulaic and stale. The narrators were pretty good but the authors really phoned these stories in.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

Slurpy Narrator Distracts from Otherwise Excellent Storybat

Revisado: 06-11-18

This story within a story within a story is tantalizingly teased out in startling prose. Atwood is not a master, she is THE master. Unfortunately, the narrator has a painfully annoying slurping habit (she sucks in loudly to take a breath in a manner that leaves you with the feeling she has the microphone lodged inside her mouth— it made me want to throw my phone in the river) her voice is nice, although her “character” voices are a bit affectatious: deep voices for men, high pitched one for young girls, hard to take seriously—she did well with the “plain folk” accents for Reenie and Myra though). Also I’m pretty sure she mispronounced Spadina.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Brilliant! So sweet!

Revisado: 03-24-18

This is the sweetest, loveliest bunny book ever. I would highly recommend this story to listeners of all ages.

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Brilliant, Riveting & Entertaining—you MUST read/ listen to this book!!!

Revisado: 12-30-17

Andrew Davidson’s “The Gargoyle” is a masterpiece. The prose is flawless. Davidson weaves his prose like a surgeon who has somehow managed to repack an intestine into an abdominal cavity with the same exacting precision with which it had appeared in the patient before the surgery. His prose is incredibly elegant, both lean and sumptuous at once. His main story, as well as all the smaller stories with which he has peppered the central narrative, are strikingly imaginative. I wanted this book to go on forever. Best thing I’ve listened to in ages. Oh and the narrator is quite good too. Try it, you won’t be sorry!

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Classic Tales Read in Ham-ese

Revisado: 10-14-17

These classic short stories are the sort of fare that ought to be included as foundational materials in any liberal arts education. If you've never read them, they are more than worth the effort and even if you have read them, this collection is an excellent refresher. However, that said, the narrator is unbearable. I normally appreciate a British accent but this particular reader's exaggerated phonation is like something out of a 19th century melodrama full of moustache twirling villains. For many, such grandiose affect may be just the thing to give voice to spine-tingling authors like Edgar Allen Poe. Personally, I found the pretentious enunciation distracting (and extremely annoying).Too much ham for me.

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Complete Nonsense!

Revisado: 07-23-17

I am utterly baffled as to how this piece of nonsense got published. It makes no sense. It is a colossal waste of time and money. It was so. Ad that there were moments when I wondered whether it was supposed to be some kind of odd joke. It is probably the worst "book" (I hesitate to even call it a book) I have ever read. The narrator did a nice job but I'm afraid no one , not James Earl Jones, not Morgan Freeman, not Dame Judi Dench could save this hopeless pile of incoherence.

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