Reader

An engaging tale, especially if you know the bar.

Revisado: 07-21-24

This is a good, entertaining memoir of an extraordinary guy running an extraordinary bar. And the book brings some nice context and background about the history of Red Hook, Brooklyn.

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Classic dark story, narrated brilliantly.

Revisado: 07-21-24

Superb narration, with distinctive voices. And excellent on the dialect of the servants.
The story itself is pretty dark, but certainly engaging.

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Great story, beautifully narrated.

Revisado: 07-03-24

This murder mystery was so much fun. A great, fast-moving plot. A real page turner. And an excellent job of narration, with multiple recognizable voices.

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A page-turner, of a boy becoming a man.

Revisado: 03-13-23

I loved listening to this audiobook, and raced through it as a highly engaging page-turner. It does a superb job of capturing the world view of a 17-year-old and his circle. The story drives powerfully forward, and the narration is terrific.
That said, it does have a good bit of gore, and the female characters are largely props in a young man's story. But since I was once a 17-year-old boy, I really enjoyed it.

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Fabulous first 3/4

Revisado: 12-20-22

A delightful sense of the absurd most of the time. Toward the end, there are some places where pages are missing from the original manuscript, and he gets a little bit more listed. But the first 3/4 is an absolute delight.

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Extraordinary reading

Revisado: 09-03-22

I love this narration! I do not understand all the criticism. It was not so much a reading as a dramatization, and it really brought the book to life.

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Enormously inspiring story

Revisado: 11-19-20

A deeply impressive story of what Stevenson has built. But also a searing account of some deep flaws in the American system of justice, crushing the poor, the young, and the underprivileged, especially when they are black and their victims are white. A deeply moving book.
The narration is also excellent. This first-person book felt throughout as if Stevenson himself were reading. And excellent voicing in scenes of dialogue.

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Superb reading of a deeply engaging tale.

Revisado: 10-15-20

I don't understand the criticisms of Kingsolver as her own reader. I think she did a superb job of communicating the subtle personality traits of the diverse characters.
The story was richly engaging, covering such a diverse range of different, engaging experiences and slices of US and Mexican culture in the first half of the 20th century.

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Powerful social critic, of an era not so long ago

Revisado: 07-19-20

I have just finished listening to three volumes of James Baldwin's essays. In chronological order: "Notes of a Native Son," "Nobody Knows My Name," and "The Fire Next Time." I think I found this one the most powerful. It is less abstract than Fire.
Three essays in Notes are particular standouts: The Harlem Ghetto, Notes of a Native Son, and Stranger in the Village. In particular his essays on Harlem powerfully capture an era gone by (mostly the 1940s). What is most disturbing, I am sorry to say, is how little things have changed, particularly with respect to relations with police, white merchants, and the power structure..
I also found the listen enriched by also listening to Ralph Ellison's novel, "Invisible Man," also mostly set in Harlem in the 1940s.
The reader her brings real personality to his reading. He is really excellent.

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Powerful and Eye-Opening

Revisado: 07-19-20

I should have read Frederick Douglass years ago. Now I cannot get enough, and will go immediately on to listen to other volumes by Douglass. In paperback, I have also bought The Portable Frederick Douglass (Penguin Classics), which has excellent introductory essays by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and John Stauffer.
Douglass' powerful autobiography is even better if you precede or follow with W.E.B. Dubois and (though less powerful) Booker T. Washington. Their lives and audiences partly overlapped, and together give a great foundation on African American history in the second half of the 19th century. (and in Douglass case even earlier)..
The reader was ok, but could have been better.
Still a delightful listen

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