Prunella P.

Almost—but not quite—beyond my head!

Revisado: 12-17-16

My brain is still reeling! It's ironic because this book, about attention, made it painfully obvious to me that I need to put some attention into my listening and comprehension skills!

It's not beyond me intellectually, but there is so much information going by at a good clip that it doesn't all sink in in one listen. So I think what I need to do is buy it in print, so I can re-read certain sections more slowly.

The narrator did a fabulous job. (I have watched the author in interviews and his speaking is way less engaging than the narrator!) His and rhythm were perfect—naturalistic and expressive and inflected with humour in all the right places. So it is not his fault that my retention is poor; it is my own brain I blame, in this age of distraction.

This book is brilliant. And it's like a hybrid of Chomsky's "Manufacturing Consent" and something by Oliver Sacks. I hope that Matthew Crawford gets the accolades he deserves.

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"Coreyography" doesn't dance around the subject.

Revisado: 12-17-16

Memoir is my favourite genre, so I took a chance on this book, knowing very little about Feldman other than his having been a child star who'd gotten into drugs. But the good reviews convinced me, and I was not disappointed. I was expecting someone rough around the edges, and perhaps this is so, but his writing is very polished, and his narrating is very clear and expressive. This counts for a lot with me in an audio book. I am sometimes disappointed by authors reading their own work (obviously lacking in training or experience in voice work), but Feldman excels at this. I was highly entertained, considering the dark tone of much of his life, and I applaud him for coming out and sharing his difficult experiences with child abuse. This can't have been easy. You can hear the pain in his voice at times, but it never feels false or gratuitous, nor does it ever detract from the rhythm of the writing. One of the best memoirs I've ever listened to on Audible.

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My Idol, smashed and rebuilt!

Revisado: 11-27-15

Where does On the Move: A Life rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Amongst all the audiobooks I have listened to so far, this does not rate as one of the best. BUT, this is solely because of the narration. I picked it up in hardcover, though, and can honestly say it's one of my favourite reads of the year.

What was one of the most memorable moments of On the Move: A Life?

Oliver Sacks has been a hero of mine for decades. I have been so inspired by his writing in the past, his deep curiousity about the natural world and the human body, and his genuine love of people, despite what seemed like an awkward shyness. He was someone I could relate to. I always thought of him as a mild-mannered science geek in a grandfather's body. But I was amazed to learn that he'd been a bodybuilder as a young man, and had behaved quite recklessly in his youth. Shocked, actually. I don't want to give any spoilers. But at first I felt my idol being smashed, and then built up again as a more well-rounded human being, even more interesting than I'd previously thought!

Did Dan Woren do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

The narrator had a very clear voice and spoke at a good speed, but he was the strangest choice to narrate this book! In my head I had to almost translate his young, loud-ish American voice into the soft, older, British-inflected voice I know and love. I am sure I would have not been irritated if the author himself had been American, except he also mispronounced some scientific terms and words in German and French. If you don't know how to pronounce it, find out how.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I was moved many times by the author's detailed accounts of the patients he came to know and care for deeply.

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A Mixed Review

Revisado: 04-02-15

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

For several reasons I think I'd have preferred an old fashioned hard copy version of this book. First of all, the information is so dense, the lists of the divine hierarchies so long and detailed, that I got muddled and overwhelmed after a while. It's easier to repeat and refer back to sections in actual physical form. For the second reason, see below. I would not recommend the audio version.

Would you recommend Communing with the Divine to your friends? Why or why not?

I would recommend the book in general to friends. In the reading I have done on this subject matter so far, which is extensive but not exhaustive, this seems like one of the most comprehensive books.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Sometimes it's tricky when authors narrate their own work. I actually really liked the tone of his voice, and found his delivery flowed fairly well and was expressive. However, he is a lazy enunciator, and consistenty pronounced hierarchy "hiarchy", duty "doody" and even prostrate "prostate". This really bothered me.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes; it would be interesting to see visual interpretations of the material.

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Revealing, in many ways.

Revisado: 05-25-13

Would you try another book from Tatum O'Neal and/or Tatum O'Neal?

Yes, I would. I was attracted to her honesty, or at least what I perceive to be her honesty, her willingness to be real. I did not find her tone blaming, just truthful.

What did you like best about this story?

She paints a very clear picture of the genetics of addiction.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Her narration was very strange, as other readers have commented, but I got used to it. This in itself was revealing, I thought. It reveals the fact that these are not all Tatum's words; the book was cowritten. But it also reveals that Ms. O'Neal is not out to score points. I heard the little girl in her voice and it was earnest and endearing. I couldn't imagine anyone else narrating this book.

What else would you have wanted to know about Tatum O'Neal’s life?

What happened next? But I suppose I have to read the next book!

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