Mark J. O'Leary

Twi-Dimensional Portrayal

Revisado: 01-04-22

I wanted to like this book, but the narrator's method of characterization was so clunky, so stereotypical in creating the voices that it was like listening to an episode of Scooby-Doo. I quit after eight chapters of this junk

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Tiresome and Irritating

Revisado: 03-03-20

The tiresome part is the story, which follows the “more things in heaven and earth” view in a sophomoric and uninteresting way. The irritating part is the performance. Hokey accents, stilted delivery—as Audible says, “Not for me.”

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Terrible Two Ways

Revisado: 07-25-18

First, I cannot overlook Lovecraft's racism. It may have been acceptable in another age, but that age is long gone. And considering the way overt bigotry has become emboldened in recent times, I can't let it pass without comment or dismiss it as the sort of "soft" racism found in Mark Twain. Lovecraft was a horrible bigot. Listeners need to know.

For those (and I admit I am one) whose love of the "weird" genre overrules their liberal sensibilities enough to make them want to read the book anyway, I say steer clear of this particular narrator, Finn J.D. John. He is quite simply terrible. The occasional mispronunciation can be forgiven anyone who takes on such a huge body of work, but this performance goes way beyond that. His diction and tone are self-consciously precious, reminiscent of a toned-down Edgar Oliver. (Look him up.) But throughout the book, John resorts to pretentious (and incorrect) pronunciations. Maybe he thinks it makes him sound cultured or refined. In fact, it makes him silly and annoying.Take as an example the word, "hideous," a word heavily and appropriately favored by Lovecraft. Somehow in the mouth of this narrator it becomes a two-syllable word: "HIJ-us."

Some might object that this is simply a Britishism. Possibly so (though I doubt that as well), but neither the narrator nor most of the characters employing the word, nor the author himself, is British. All of this calls unwarranted attention to the performer and detracts from the story. It is the mark of the amateur.

But it doesn't stop there. John's oddball pronunciations of years is just plain wrong. Yes, I said years. It is "seventeen hundreds," not "seventin hundreds." 1630 becomes "sixtin thirty." And so on in that peculiar fashion, over and over again. He keeps swallowing the second syllable. Such idiosyncrasies are admissible in private. But they are another unforgivable mark of the amateur performer in an audiobook, and I resent having paid money for it. Publishers should employ professionals only, and Audible should insist that they do.

This is one book where paper and ink will reward the consumer far more.

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Odd Choices

Revisado: 05-22-18

Loved the story--vintage King.
Loved the characters--they're why King's conflicts are so alluring
The one weird thing is the vocal performance. Mostly it was excellent, with the glaring exception (mentioned by others, to be sure) if the choice of a southern accent for the bad-guy-in-chief. It makes no sense. The character is supposed to have lived his whole life in Maine, so why does he sound so obviously from south the Mason-Dixon? It's not as if the performer couldn't do a Maine accent--several other characters have them. It makes no sense, an unmotivated artistic choice that would detract less from the experience were the character not so central to the story.

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Enough with the dramatizations

Revisado: 04-20-18

I find the increasing popularity of "fully dramatized" audiobooks irritating and unnecessary. (I have imagination enough, thank you. No further assistance required.) My fault for not reading the description more carefully. I wish I could get back the credit I wasted on this piece of junk.

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Stop the music!

Revisado: 10-02-17

Highly engaging story, excellent vocal performance. I would recommend this book strongly. The only thing that mars it is the unnecessary music inserted (presumably for "dramatic effect") at various points. This is a trend I am noticing more and more in audiobook production. It is a trick TV producers use when they realize the story itself is weak and lacking in dramatic impact. Audiobook producers would do well to forbid the use of this cheap technique. If you have a good story and a good vocal performer, you don't need front else. It actually detracts from the listening experience.

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Pretty Good Book, Bad Performance

Revisado: 08-07-17

I want to like this book more than I do. I love the spiritual case the author makes for veganism. Prospective listeners should only buy this title for that reason. And I found his personal story interesting as well. But this audiobook has two major flaws, and they may (and should) dissuade the casual listener.

The lesser of the two flaws is Tuttle's characterization of science throughout the book, about which he has nothing good to say. He uses words like "materialistic" more than once, and dismisses any scientific examination of anything as shallow and malevolent. It's an argument that is so wrong I don't have space here to set it right.

By far the greater flaw in this book is the choice of the author as narrator. Tuttle is quite simply an abominable performer of his own work. His voice is deadpan. He mutters his way through the text, making this important topic sound dull and soporific. There are professionals out there who can bring this book to life, but I suppose that seemed like a good way to save a few bucks. And speaking of professionals, who did the engineering on this recording? The levels are ridiculously low, the tones don't match from one cut to the next (again, a professional narrator would have helped). Did Tuttle record this in the back of his RV while on the road? Because it sounds like a Radio Shack-quality job.

If you care about veganism and are interested in it as part of your spiritual practice, I say hold your nose, turn up the volume, and buy this one. Otherwise, there's nothing for you here.

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"A" For Content, "C" for Performance

Revisado: 12-12-15

Considering the number of technical terms in Buddhism, wouldn't it behoove a professional narrator to brush up on their pronunciations? This was embarrassing to listen to. Fortunately, the author knew his stuff. That makes up for a lot.

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God, Yes.

Revisado: 09-16-12

Typical Penn, which is generally good, with a bit of lost focus here and there. I got the feeling he occasionally forgot what the book was supposed to be about. But at his best, Penn is funny, smart, and heart-on-sleeve honest. I'm never sorry when I spend time on something Penn has produced.

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Disappointing

Revisado: 10-20-08

I'm sure the story is great, but I can't stand to listen to any more. The reader's inststence on performing all the characters' southern accents is too intrusive and annoying. I can't remember the last time I was this put off by an audiobook.

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