Houston Turtle

Terrible second half ruined the book

Revisado: 03-03-23

I was looking forward to this book because it had won the Booker Prize.
The story is actually made up of 2 parts. The first half covers the background of the ship, its owners, and the crew and passengers as it makes its way to Africa and picks up slaves to be sold in the Caribbean. The second half covers what happens once they leave with their cargo and the subsequent events that occur.
The first half started slow, it took 13 chapters to develop enough attachment to the characters, after which I was invested and interested to hear about their fates. The scenes about the treatment of the slaves were well written and realistic but difficult to sit through. This was one of those instances where I wished I was reading a book instead of listening so I could skip the tough bits. The narration was good.
But everything fell apart in the second half of the book. The storyline became fantastical, jumping around, confusing. Lord of the Flies meets Pirates of the Caribbean. Any attachment or curiosity I had for the characters disappeared within the first two chapters (of the second half). The narration of the pidgin language that the group developed was awful, painful to listen to. Any goodwill the book had built in the 1st half was completely destroyed in the 2nd half.
I can't believe The English Patient had to share the Booker Prize with this!

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Riveting story set in the 1700s

Revisado: 02-14-23

Riveting story set in the 1700s, brings to life the reality of women's lives where they had limited rights and options, and where the poor had even less. The things you'd automatically assume one can do today were non existent or possible during that time. How does one prove that a child left at the foundling hospital is one's child without the benefit of DNA testing that we take for granted today?
And how does one retrieve the child when one has no understanding of the law nor the means to use it?
Made me wonder how long these conditions persisted into the 20th century....

The narration was very good, switching between the different characters and relaying their emotions.

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This should be a bestseller!

Revisado: 02-14-23

I picked this book while looking through past Booker Prize winners despite never having heard about it before. I'm so glad I did. Definitely worth an Audible credit.

Emma Stonex has written an amazing story with many layers. A mystery wrapped in beautiful story telling. Love, loss, sorrow, bitterness, hope, anger, it's all in there and draws you in with each chapter.
Superb character development and the wonderful narration bring the characters to life as you see the world through their individual perspectives. Everyone has their reasons, everyone has their secrets, in the end its what binds us all together.

Special kudos to Indira Varma and Tom Burke for the wonderful narration. They brought the characters to life, giving voice to their emotions and state of mind. The story is that much better as a result.

I hope they make a movie of this one day....

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Wish the story was longer

Revisado: 02-03-23

The book was over 12 hours but I wished it was longer. The writing is was excellent, ful of details that brought the Greek isles and gods to life. I really enjoyed the narration too, calm mesmerizing and soothing, I felt like I was listening to Scheherazade weave her 1001 tales.

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Full of insight, lovely narration

Revisado: 06-13-22

Lovely story with lots of life-lessons, insight and quotes. Will listen to it again to capture some of these quotes. I hope they make a movie of this one day…

Carey Mulligan brought the story to life. Her narration was calm (the better to sink into the story and absorb the messages) while also giving a lively voice to the different characters.
I’ll be on the lookout for more of her narration.

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Good narrator but long-winded book

Revisado: 01-09-22

I selected this book because I was interested in the content and because the narrator was British (I have a hard time following American narrators). Although the narration was very good, it couldn't salvage the listening experience from the monotony of the book itself. Too bad, as I liked the narrator.
The book is long-winded, repeating anecdotal examples over and over and over again. After barely an hour of listening (normal speed) I just wanted to scream "I got it. I got it. Just tell me what I need to do now!!!". The book could have been condensed into 4 or 5 chapters, and the overall listening time to 2 hours, and you'd still get the gist of it. If you're already sold on the need to control your blood sugar then you will find the repetition in the book simply annoying.
The audible comes with a link to 50 recipes, which I didn't find particularly helpful. It would have been better if they had included all the quizzes (at least 3 of them), and a 1-page summary of what the 8-week program should look like. The 50 recipes would be a nice bonus but not as important as the quizzes and summary.

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