Martine Zilversmit

Great book, poor narration

Revisado: 05-12-21

David Foster Wallace is probably the best contemporary essayist there is, however this version of the audiobook is not the way to appreciate that. The narrator either did not read the material before performing it or somehow completely missed DFWs trademark humor and rhythm. He continues to put the wrong emphasis on words and in the wrong part of the sentence, i.e he will read most of the sentence flat and then go up on the last two or three words to make sound like a question when it isn’t. I’ve never heard narration this bad, he sometimes even gets the emphasis wrong on just the titles of the essays. He read the sentences like he doesn’t know what they mean. He is clearly trying to inject some acting and drama, and I have no problem with that idea, but he chose the wrong character and didn’t prepare his performance well. I feel bad for people who will only engage with this book this way, as they will miss the true genius of this book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Excellent listen/read, if a little uneven

Revisado: 04-06-14

Where does Far from the Tree rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the very best.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The sections on deafness and dwarfism are, by far, the strongest in the book.

Which character – as performed by Andrew Solomon – was your favorite?

Andrew Solomon was a peerless narrator for his own book because he could accurately reenact the dialogue from the interviews that make-up the book.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

True happiness can come from parenting any and every child, and it always comes from the same source: when the parent stops seeing the child as a narcissistic extension of him- or herself

Any additional comments?

The book is separated into subject sections and some are excellent and some are much weaker. The sections on deafness and dwarfism, for instance, were so interesting I didn't want to do anything else but stay home and listen to them. However, the sections on musical prodigies was so thin and repetitive that I was tempted to skip around just to make it move faster. I would also like to add that, as a geneticist, I was sincerely impressed with both the authors grasp of the concepts and his ability to convey them to a non-expert.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Excellent, entertaining reading of a naive story

Revisado: 04-15-09

This was a very entertaining "read" -- the acting for the different narrators was excellent, particularly for the Minnie character. The story itself seemed a bit naive to me, like a contemporary young woman's fantasy of what it would have been like to be the one white girl of privilege who stepped out of the mold to be an underground civil rights activist in the South of the 1960s. The central character is a young woman's ideal: bucking societal conventions by by being sympathetic to the down-trodden black underclass, not getting married right after college, and pursuing a career as a writer (all the while being courted by the incredibly handsome and wealthy son of a state senator). But the book's humor and entertainment value (full of "mysteries" that unfold as the book continues) go far to compensate for is lack of subtlety and sophistication.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 9 personas

Funny, unusual, insightful

Revisado: 04-28-07

A very interesting and unusual memoir. But not totally unique, as is bares a some resemblance to Angela's Ashes. The parents in this book, though, are portrayed as loving, highly intelligent, and clearly gifted individuals. Unfortunately, both parents are not mentally stable enough to raise children the way we often think they should be raised. This children first love the rootless, adventurous life, but as adolescents come to want more stability (and food to eat and clean clothes) and become rebellious -- even trying to stage some minor coups to take over the family themselves. Miraculously, all the children but one grow up to be both highly gifted and quite stable, without the illnesses of their parents. The opening story in which the author, a successful society writer in NYC, takes her mother out to lunch after finding her homeless (by choice) and digging through the garbage, says it all. A great listen.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Great subject, bad writing

Revisado: 04-21-07

This audiobook has a lot of good things going for it, but the writing is not one of them. It's a nonfiction book written by a visual artist, not a writer. He writes about how he began a adaptive arts program for disabled people to allow them to paint. He starts the careers of many talented artists some of whom had never spoken or been able to communicate much in their lives. The narrator is excellent, but the writing style is not very mature. The author doesn't use contractions, even when reproducing very informal dialog, and the narrative is frequently punctuated with thinly veiled self-congratualtory commentary. But the subject of his story, and it's narrative, are really very worthwhile -- if you can put up with a few imperfections.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona