Mitzi

My fourth Gregory book

Revisado: 04-01-25

As a feminist, I cannot but cringe at the persistently unsympathetic portrayal of women that is a staple of Gregory's narratives. Ok, she is NOT a feminist writer at all. Must make peace with the idea.
However, she is an excellent writer and this book (like all the others by her I listened to) is truly well written. (Thank Gd, we know how the story ends, and that the better queen eventually won--so the drama and suspence are less powerful. . . but the knowledge of how history played out is comforting. LOL)
The three performers are superb!
George (Richard Armitage) may overdo the the old-fool tone a bit - but his voice and narrating skills are amazing.
I loved Alex Kingston!!! Oh my, what a discovery! Phenomenal voice, incredible performer.
Madeleine Leslay is also impeccable, and with a great French pronunciation: she tinges her English with just enough of a French/foreign accent to suit the part without overdoing it in a grotesque way. Bravissimi all three of them!!

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Good novel, but it didn't grab me

Revisado: 02-13-25

I can't put my finger on it, but the story didn't entirely grab me. I felt I could let go of this book at any point and wouldn't regret it. Sometimes I got distracted and missed entire chunks, and still it didn't matter.
The writer crafted his storytelling well, but the plot left me uninvolved as a reader.

The readers have wonderful voices and wonderful acting skills.
However, there is an obvious problem that publishing houses (even the really rich ones) don't care to address. When a story is told (as in this case) from two different perspectives, some audiobook companies decide to assign a different reader to each section. I understand that it would be expensive and potentially impractical to have the two readers together in the recording booth, but this is precisely what ought to be done. Or if one cannot do that, then one shouldn't hire two readers. The problem is that in the "Richard" sections of the book, read by (I think) Steve West, West also reads Philip's lines. In the "Philippe" sections, Ben Allen interprets Philippe but also reads Richard's lines. So there is no continuity! Richard's and Philippe's voices in the dialogues are not the same throughout AS IT SHOULD BE. This is the third book I listened to in the last few months that uses the trick of "each chapter from the perspective of each protagonist" and this same problem occurred with all of them. I believe that this adds to the difficulty of being drawn into the story entirely.

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Sequel to Tidelands

Revisado: 12-28-24

You need to read Tidelands first, in order to appreciate the story in Dark Tides.
Despite the title, this second book in the series is brighter than the first--in tone and atmospheres.
The reader is excellent.
I was disappointed by the very ending of the book, which felt rushed and, honestly, strangely disingenuous. I could think of at least two other ways to steer the story to its end that, while in keeping with the mood of this novel, would have also brought to an elegant, less banal, more satisfying resolution. I am referring here to the last 30 minutes at most of this very long book. So, never mind the ending, the whole experience is worth every moment!
Great audio book.

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Excellent novel

Revisado: 11-21-24

At first I was horrified to have gotten myself another corny story about women who love babies -- I generally detest children in literature and film, I abhor the platitude of motherly love that conquers all, etc. etc. However, thank goodness, it turned out that this was a far better story than the cookie-cutter chick lit plots out there, all so predictable and boring. This was a truly interesting novel.
The writing itself is not particularly beautiful (I mean, Gregory is no Julian Barnes or Ian McEwan... but on the other hand these two men, phenomenal writers, don't know how to imagine a plot). Sometimes I can overlook the lack of stylistic virtuosity, and this was one of those times. Philippa Gregory was able to come up with an engaging storyline and I loved listening to "The Little House." The end is particularly rewarding, and I laughed out loud. Brava!
Highly recommended.

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Predictable

Revisado: 08-31-24

You know where the plot is headed very (VERY) early on in the story. I kept on listening because I had a few long commutes and nothing better to do on the way. Not memorable, but enjoyable.
The reader, Melanie Crawley, does a decent job. Although she makes her voice a bit too tremulous in interpreting the elderly couple at the center of the novel.
All in all, I don't regret listening to this book, but I wouldn't buy the hard copy or the audible to give as a present to others.

The only truly sweet moment that moved me was the postscript by the author--a couple of sentences only, yet very touching.

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Excellent memoir

Revisado: 08-02-24

I am a scholar of women's autobiographies/memoirs: so this is an extremely MALE one. The tone, the focus, the authorial voice (obviously). Very different therefore from what I generally seek and love. However, "Growing Up" is an extremely pleasant story (despite the ugliness of life, sometimes) told by an exquisite writer. Great narration, great book. Highly recommended.

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Simple but lovely story

Revisado: 06-11-24

The story is told through two perspectives, Marnie's and Michael's. This creates a bit of a disconnect as Lydia Leonard lends a certain vibe to the character of Marnie which is very different from the way she's made to sound by Lee Ingleby. I don't know if this was intentional. The two readers ought to have consulted each other on how they were going to "voice" each character. For instance, Marnie, in Lydia Leonard's voice, sounds very London, a jaded city cat, a bit too working-class; when Lee Ingleby reads her parts in direct speeches, Marnie suddenly sounds very standard and different from the other version.
Having said this, the two readers are great each in his/her own right.

The story is cute. A bit predictable but so well written that you listen all the way to the last page not so much to hear "How does it end?!" as to listen to the phrases and descriptions used to tell a time-tested ending.

I recommend this audiobook.

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Couldn't go through with it

Revisado: 05-15-24

For some reason, I just couldn't go through with this book.
The reader is very good, the novel is humorous, but perhaps (and it's just a big perhaps) there are too many characters, too much "movement" in the story and too little time to fully enjoy a scene, a human or nonhuman landscape. One is never in the/any character's mind.
Most irritating of all: The presence of a child. I hate children in art. I can't stand the voice the narrator assign to the child (Tony) in the story, and the way the reader makes Tony sound is absolutely intolerable.

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Total lack of a story

Revisado: 03-11-24

No idea what the admiring reviews are all about. Were it not for the excellent reading Prebble gives, the book would be a return for me. Nothing really happens. There is humor, thank goodness, but very little of it. Too little to justify a plotless book.

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Note to self: Don't buy novels read by Mayes again

Revisado: 09-01-23

I really like Wilkie Collins (more than I like Dickens, for instance), but this was a silly silly story (worthless). I am sure even he knew it at the time! LOL However, it still has the satirical bite, the funny bits, the humorous insouciance of a great author's hand.
The absolute worst part was the reader! Bernard Mayes is good at reading the narrative parts, but when he makes the voices of the characters one wants to scream at Alexa, rip it off the wall and toss it out of the window! Unacceptable!! I wonder if my lack of enjoyment of the story is *also* partly due to my dreading the dialogues and the way Mayes botched them.

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