Rebecca B

Rocks in the Road

Revisado: 02-08-25

I've barely begun this fascinating tale and already I'm wondering if I can get through it. The narration is unfortunate, to put it charitably. The narrator drones on until she gets to a quotation, then forces her voice into a tonal change and regional accent. It's like being on a hike where the scenery demands attention, then stumbling on unforeseen rocks. A major disservice to the flow of the book. Of the hundreds of books in my audio library, this forced narration is among the worst.

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Consider the time

Revisado: 10-16-22

one of my lifetime goals is to read all of Trollope -- and I am well on my way. This novel published posthumously in 1884 has a direct storyline and proceeds in touching way to map indecision, heartache, decency and kindness. The narrator brings every word to life, delineating the characters in unforgettable ways. Would that every book were so well read. But many listeners will be put off by use of the N-word in one section, and negative description of the Kimberly diamond fields South Africa. Please consider historical context when reading prose that uses language and points of view that are more than a century behind our current way of thinking. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published in the same year. The status of women in the novel -- male dominance and ownership -- reflects thinking of the times. I'm grateful to have such a fascinating historical experience within such a poignant novel.

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Deeply uneven

Revisado: 10-08-22

This novel contains moments of fine, heartfelt prose but is hampered by a decline into lazy writing. Saint desperately needs an editor to yank out every cliché, and there are many. For instance, characters announce emotions by "I swallowed," or "she swallowed" or "he swallowed" -- so often that I found it a game to predict when the word would appear. The myth is equally uneven, at times compelling in detail, then falling off into bored storytelling.

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Why oh why?

Revisado: 04-13-21

Can't imagine how Recorded Books released such an anticipated biography with such terrible narration. The narrator gulps air every few words, distracting from the excellent storyline, which is filled with solid detail and moves right along. But spent a great deal of time trying to figure out if the breathy presentation was meant to convey punctuation, or an unfortunate tic, or simply a problem of age and stamina. Perhaps in 20 hours or so when I reach Roth's later years I'll relax into it, but as a way of conveying writing about his youth it's bewildering. Poor Roth, he was so cautious and apprehensive choosing a biographer. Surely he never dreamed Blake Bailey's book could be made this unpleasant and difficult for listeners.

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Disappointed

Revisado: 11-08-15

Another Ann Patchett fan is disappointed. This book is a perfect storm of unpleasant characters -- who serve as unreliable narrators -- meeting a frustratingly bad reading. The plot, such as it is, has so many dull spots that many times I realized I had ceased listening to the sound in my headphones. The language was uncharacteristically studded with cliches. The reader drawled along, with several characters mooing in the same, slow tones, varied only by pitch. And the production seemed to be a holdover from an earlier CD, with music randomly signaling what I assume was the end of one disc and the beginning of the next, with no regard to logical literary pauses or endings. I would have given this book one star had I not such respect for the author.

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unknown horrors

Revisado: 06-18-14

For anyone interested in Africa, or in European history, this is an important read. Economics and politics -- along with the obsessions of the Belgian monarch -- give structure to relentless tales of torture and murder. This is not a book for the faint of heart. Alas, the flow comes to a stop every 40 minutes or so, and for that I downgraded the performance. Clearly Audible bought an earlier, taped audio book, which in the old way of listening repeated the last line of the previous tape to orient the reader to the next one. New technology makes this not only unnecessary, but annoying, and I hope Audible will edit out these repetitions..

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Disappointing but useful

Revisado: 02-19-13

I am a Dan Savage fan, having read his sex advice column for many years. He offers good information that other writers wouldn't dare publish. And like his columns, this book contains a core of thoughtful history and insights on marriage, gay and straight. I learned from him. But, alas, Savage's personal history and relationship with his husband wasn't one to which I could relate -- a series of argumentative, unpleasant encounters, especially when the two of them were on the road with their son. Since the memoir leads up to the decision of whether to get a tattoo or get married, Savage convinced me that they should have the right to the legal and social benefits of marriage, but I couldn't help feeling that perhaps marriage wasn't best for this couple, a feeling cemented by his description of the ceremony.

Perhaps my negativity was compounded by the reader, who read slowly and with overly clear diction. I found him unable to convey the narrative voice and humor of the book in the spoken voice.

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almost unbearable

Revisado: 04-21-12

In the first chapters of this book I thought this shallow, narcissistic writer must be presenting herself in a harsh light in order to show how the Peace Corps and developing world would change and strengthen her character. No such luck. Rarely has such a self-absorbed person set carelessly written, shabbily edited words on paper. As a returned Peace Corp Volunteer who worked for 3 years in Sierra Leone with my husband and 3 children, I am interested in the experience of other PCVs. Yes, I have had malaria and so have 2 of my children. Yes, as the "non-matrix spouse" I had challenges defining a job for myself. Yes, I have subsisted on a limited diet and pined for American food and physical comforts. But Ms. Waite's experience with deprevation is appallingly self-centered, and whatever growth she experiences happens off stage or is instantly erased by her needy, whiny attitude. Count me in among the Audible reviewers offended by her writing on perceived African body odor -- and it's not just a mention, it's a rant.

As for her signature chapter sign off, "I'll keep you posted," my response is, "No thanks, I've had enough."

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