Caitlín Mitchell

Hilarious

Revisado: 03-01-20

Just re-listened to this for the first time in at least five years and it’s as awesome as I remembered. It has just as much cussing in it as you would expect.

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Darkly fractured fairy tales

Revisado: 01-10-16

These fairy tales aren't just fractured, they're darkly twisted and nearly broken in places. But uniquely so, in a way not seen in other retold fairy tales. I couldn't stand The Hours, but this short story collection examines some of the same themes with far more interesting consequences. The narrators are appropriately expressive, and the GarageDogs' music is seamlessly integrated.

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Not quite Disney's Mary Poppins

Revisado: 10-23-15

Having now read the book, I can see why P.L. Travers was upset with the movie adaptation. Both versions are lovely, but this Mary Poppins is a slightly more realistic and human portrayal of a stern nanny.

And I do agree with the reviews that said it was sometimes hard to hear.

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Risky storytelling device pays off

Revisado: 04-18-15

As the book progressed, I became more impressed with how the author had structured and chosen to present his story. Initially it seems like he's jumping around between 3 stories about different points in the main character's life, which fits as this series isn't told in chronological order anyway. It's a structuring method that's hard to pull off well, but I think it's well applied here because anyone who's read the first three books in this series already knows the ultimate outcome of this book. The journey is really the entire point of this story.

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Simply art

Revisado: 07-03-13

...where "complete" apparently means double the length of the last audio version, but still abridged. Usually I'd knock off a star for such shenanigans, but as this is such a good book in every other respect, I'll let that slide.

I do love a good disaster story, but to my mind, the best sci-fi--and indeed the best fiction--examines some aspect of the human condition and questions it. This book delivers that by examining the very human condition itself. It's absolutely gripping, and oh, the audio production!

As if the story wasn't enough, the 40-strong cast is a who's who of vocal prowess. Some voices are instantly recognizable--Nathan Fillion, Alan Alda, René Auberjonois, Parminder Nagra, Masi Oka, John Turturro--and somehow this only adds to the power of their stories. Some voices, like those of Alfred Molina and Simon Pegg, tickle at the back of the brain. Many more are wonderfully unrecognizable. And then there's the incomparable Mark Hamill, who in one line manages to convey some of the rawest emotion in a book that's filled with no shortage of breath-taking moments. This book is, quite simply, art.

It's worth reading in any format, but if you've ever wondered what the audiobook fuss is all about, listen to this.

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Superbly Seussical

Revisado: 06-07-13

Geisel as read by John Lithgow? Yes please!

This isn't even close to being my favorite Dr. Seuss book, but the performance is simply outstanding. Lithgow's energy makes him an excellent narrative choice, and the backing musical track is perfectly, superbly Seussical. At 7 minutes, it was well worth my time.

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Dated and cliche-ridden

Revisado: 05-12-13

I want to begin by saying that this book really ought to come with trigger warnings for domestic violence, male & female rape, and animal abuse.

Now that that's out of the way...

This book was apparently first published in 1988, which surprised me because I'd only noted the mid-2000s audio publication date, but it feels even more dated than that. Just about every cliche from the late 70s/early 80s makes an appearance in this book, from the career woman epithet to the general dynastic drama. The author has a ton of subplots and spends a ridiculous amount of time building them up, and I frankly only kept listening to see how they would all tie together (predictably, as it turns out).

This cliche-ridden book is unfortunately made even worse by an atrocious narrator. I got used to his voice after a while, but I never came to like it or the fact that he occasionally used the same voice for multiple characters.

Apparently the author and narrator are both generally well-liked, but I will be actively avoiding them in the future.

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Earns its Audies

Revisado: 10-16-12

Rasovski's adaptation easily earns its 3 Audie awards. The cast - including Martin Jarvis, W. Morgan Sheppard, and Rosalind Ayres - is superb. The same is true of each musical performance from by Tony Barrand and John Roberts between scenes. I always enjoy the Halloween season, and this macabre story definitely got me in the holiday spirit.

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A Face Value Interpretation

Revisado: 10-03-12

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

No, because this audiobook is unfortunately (in my opinion) a face value reading of the play that omits the opening bit with Sly. The play within a play element is lost, which means the farcical setup is also lost.

I tend to come down on the side of the farcical, ironic or commedia dell'arte interpretations of the play. Given the reception of the play in its own time, the outrageous behavior of the two protagonists, and Shakespeare's approach to female characters in his other works (while not always kind, he never gets anywhere near this ridiculous anywhere else), this play simply doesn't make sense to me when taken at face value.

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Funny, but it didn't seem like Doyle

Revisado: 02-18-12

I could hear John de Lancie's writing far more in this edition than I could hear Arthur Conan Doyle. The production was funny, mostly, and definitely cheesy, but unfortunately it sometimes also seemed racist. I'm not sure if that was due to how Doyle wrote it, how de Lancie wrote his adaptation, or how the narrator chose to play the part of Gomez.

I now have a decent sense of the book, but I'm going to have to listen to another edition to actually hear it in Doyle's words.

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