JujubeNY

Meh

Revisado: 12-11-24

A torturous, complicated story that was a bit tedious to listen to. I kept falling asleep as I listened so maybe my review is not fair.

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Poignant story of love

Revisado: 09-20-24

Liked the story and the ending. Disliked the narrations, especially the woman’s halting reading and mispronunciations which drove me a little cuckoo. The man also kept saying “ash-fault” for asphalt, and that also irked me. Small complaints for an otherwise good audiobook.

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Glass artistry and commerce

Revisado: 07-08-24

I was excited to read this because I am a glass artist (warm glass) so hearing all about the hot glass techniques, including lampwork, was exciting. And I loved the characters. But stretching the story over 500 years with the same people in it barely aging (like a skipping stone, “a la Veneziana”) was completely unbelievable and very distracting. I’m all for magical realism when done well; this was not.

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Just ridiculous and over the top

Revisado: 03-20-24

Didn’t finish. Not interested. This was not Lehane’s best work. Pales in comparison to Small Mercies!

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Narration accents HORRIBLE!

Revisado: 09-13-23

Had to stop listening even though the story was interesting. Wish they’d found a better narrator.

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Terrrible Spanish pronunciation!

Revisado: 04-04-19

So bad it was distracting. I found the story intriguing but felt having a non-Spanish speaker read it was an insult to writer and readers alike.

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esto le resultó útil a 6 personas

Great except for Rutina Wesley’s narration

Revisado: 04-30-18

Listening to her is so distracting—she raises and lowers her voice, emphasizes the wrong word in a sentence, mispronounces important words....aaaarrgh! This should be Jesmyn Ward’s story, not a showcase for Rutina Wesley to “eat the scenery” so to speak. She reminds me of Jon Lovitz in the old SNL skits when he called himself a “thespian!”, not an actor.

The story is rich and the narrators well developed. I enjoyed the book very much and think maybe I should have read this one rather than listened to it.

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Another winner from Barbara Kingsolver!

Revisado: 02-11-13

What did you like about this audiobook?

Oh, to hear this read in Barbara's own soft Kentucky accent was a treat in itself. And the storytelling kept my interest despite it being a lot more preachy than her other novels. Not her best (Prodigal Summer is still my favorite), but a good read.

How has the book increased your interest in the subject matter?

Nope, I was already there.

Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does he achieve this?

Yes, because her writing is elegant, her metaphors so well-crafted and breathtaking.

What did you find wrong about the narrator's performance?

Not a thing!

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Sex, food, roses ad nauseum--A Persian Candide

Revisado: 02-11-13

What did you like best about The Blood of Flowers? What did you like least?

The setting (Persia in the 15th Century) and its descriptions were vivid and rich. The many traditional (I assume) Persian folk tales sprinkled throughout the story were enjoyable too. The plot, though engaging, was not as rich as the descriptions, but the heroine and other characters were well developed, and the feminist twist was nice.

What distracted and annoyed me were the number of things that were "like roses"--lips, cheeks, nipples, clothing, rugs--or had to do with rose petals--water, sharbet, a sex scene. Hey, we GET IT ALREADY, OKAY?-- was over the top. And although Shoreh Agdashloo is a terrific actress and emotes well, her tobacco-damaged voice sounds to me like rough sandpaper against brick. It got in the way of my enjoyment.

And I did really enjoy the book, because I am a historical fiction sap. It's an easy way for me to learn about the past, about other cultures and customs (assuming the book is well-researched and fact-checked).

Would you recommend The Blood of Flowers to your friends? Why or why not?

I would recommend this to people who don't know anything about Persia, not to people looking for a great read. As a summer read, absolutely!

What aspect of Shohreh Aghdashloo’s performance would you have changed?

Someone else reading it would have been better.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Great story, great performance, cliched writing

Revisado: 02-03-13

Would you try another book from Kate Morton and/or Caroline Lee?

Caroline Lee yes, Kate Morton no. Her effortful, hackneyed writing makes me grit my teeth. For example:. "...between a rock and a hard place...", "drawing too long a bow" (repeated twice at least), implausible situations (Someone who's lived in a house almost her whole life needs to feel for the light switches? A blind landlady who leaves her light on late into the night?), and generally poor metaphors like kisses that taste like strawberries. Morton's writing is the literary equivalent of bad acting.

What did you like best about this story?

The plot.

What does Caroline Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her voices, accents, and timing were perfection.

Was The Secret Keeper worth the listening time?

Yes, it kept me engaged for hours at a time!

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