Anonymous

Another from a great storyteller

Revisado: 03-15-25

I am a Patchett fan for her storytelling. She spins her yarns from characters so credible no matter how unusual. And she reminds me always of the value and foibles of love.
Beautifully read.

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Narrator reads too fast

Revisado: 03-10-25

For me, the narrator read too fast, as if she was in a hurry to get to the end. In doing so, she diminishes the allegorical power of the lake and river, and the deliciousness of language, of the woods and flowers and birds, sky and water.

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Saccharine

Revisado: 02-10-25

Despite the great reviews, the story is trite, with predictable turns of events and stereotypical characters.
Another reviewer noted the false historical events, like the German providing antibiotics before their invention. If it were only that, I could shrug it off because, hey, it is fiction.

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Might it be better in print?

Revisado: 09-02-24

I bought this Audible book because the author is highly considered, and my daughter is reading one of her books.
The narrator reads with lots of inflection and supposed meaning, and yet, somehow, the effect is of cool distance.
It took me a while to figure out that the book was going nowhere, that we were entreated to find, if not meaning, at least some interest in so many conversations.
I stuck it through to the end.

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Truly boring, grating voices.

Revisado: 07-26-23

I seldom give up on a book, but the pointless, boring unpleasantness of this book, coupled to the grating voices was just too much.
Wish I could return it, but I had bought it with cash, not a credit.
I bought it given its award and excellent reviews, but think twice. If you decide to go forward, buy it with a credit and listen right away so you have time to return it if your reaction is like mine.

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Fabulous

Revisado: 04-25-23

The narrator’s natural rendition coincides perfectly with Grant’s directness, humor and modesty. Had always heard the Memoirs were well written, but I had not anticipated,, knowing something of the general’s life, that he was a writer of such talent. Utterly fascinating and well worth it.

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Magnifico y magnifico

Revisado: 03-30-23

Libro revelador de lo que el viento se llevó, leído con gusto y cubanismo. Gracias.

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Me aburrió

Revisado: 09-18-22

No lo pude acabar. Puede ser que hubiera mejorado. Pero no podía más. A muchos les encantó desde el principio. Así que quizás sea yo quien no le engancharon ni el cuento ni los personajes principales.

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Perhaps

Revisado: 12-01-21

Perhaps it is just that this is a book one should read, and unsuitable for Audible.
The cast of characters is large, and their exchanges pointless during the few hours I devoted to listening.
Eventually, I gave it up, gratefully.

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Read it rather than listen

Revisado: 08-31-18

Ever since I read Cold Mountain so many years ago now, I look forward to anything C. Frazier writes.
I wish I had bought the book rather than this Audible version.
When listening, the author's words are inevitably intertwined with the expression and the pacing of the reader. A good reader, imbues passages with life, pauses, reveals, and inhabits the work.
Sadly, I did not find this in Varina.
The book is written in the first person, so that the reader's voice is Varina's, and therefore particularly important that the reader 'get' Varina. This reader's voice, at least here, is almost relentlessly mellifluous. It almost surprised me when I realized that Varina, the character, is independent, strong-willed, and profoundly perceptive.
I am not expert in late 19th century southern accents, but the voice was also not the voice of a Southern, well-read woman (at least not at all like the voices of the Southern women I know). While the lack of a regional accent is hardly essential, it might have helped, and would have added to the beauty of the narration.
OK, I had a hard time sticking with the book. Frazier is a great author, and I kept asking myself, who am I to criticize. Finally, during the latter fourth of the book, it occurred to me to disregard the reader, and to imagine the words on paper, springing off the page for me. It was only then that I sensed the lyrical beauty of its passages.
Bottom line--I wish I had read the book, rather than listened to it on Audible.

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