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Horrible narration

Revisado: 10-14-20

I found it very difficult to tolerate the overwrought, emotional tone and expression that characterizes every single sentence. I believe I would rate the story much more favorably had I read it rather than enduring the Audible narrator. I did learn a great deal about the history of Chile, though I never got any flavor of the culture or sense of place. I wish I had returned it once I realized that the florid narration wouldn’t improve.

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Fell flat

Revisado: 08-07-20

I had hoped for more information on the hurricane, and maybe some tension in the build-up to the storm. The book was sadly lacking in both. It also lacked descriptive power and atmosphere, and the characters —especially the women—were annoying, pathetic, cliched, and uninteresting. It was all beyond predictable. And, of course, a woman’s world runs to bliss when a man comes along to save her. Please. As for the narration, the “men’s” voices were awful — like cartoon characters. Only the voice of Helen, among the women, was tolerable, however rendered in a “poor me” tone. Sorry I bought this one.

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Inane

Revisado: 01-10-20

What did I dislike most about this book? 1. Totally unlikeable characters dealing with their excessive first-world lifestyle issues and wealth. 2. The worst narration of any audio book I have ever experienced— read like a spoiled, screaming 10 year old whose every utterance requires an exclamation mark. 3. Totally inane situations and “humor” that is stupid, not funny. 4. Worst of all, excessive, incessant blabbering. I really, really should have returned this after the first five minutes.

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Disappointed

Revisado: 09-05-19

I pre-ordered this audiobook and eagerly awaited its release, so I am disappointed that it failed in so many ways. Both the story and the writing are weak, and I nearly (should have) returned it several times. It reminds me so much of the stories spun by teens who fancy themselves writers, and it might actually appeal more to a young adult cozy mystery audience than to mature readers. Its reliance on a ghost boy and unexplainable intuition, second-sight, and archtypical, one dimensional characters is amateurish. Lucy is neither cute nor appealing, Jess’s untethered existence is just plain unrealistic, and the portrayal of Star as a street kid is stereotypical and simple. The narration is not exceptional, but adequate to the task.

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Weak

Revisado: 05-23-19

In spite of skilled writing, this Audible selection suffers from inept narration (mispronunciations abound) and an author who seems self-absorbed and entitled. Schlyer’s descriptions of the wildlife, flora, and natural elements found in our national parks is soaring and beautiful, but it takes a backseat to her whining self-pity and immature perspectives. This manifests in occasional crude phrasing, depiction of childish behavior, and use of the F word, Most people who have suffered grief will relate to her experience, but not to her privilege in being able to take a year off of life to travel the country in search of solace. I would like to read this author in 30 years, when she has come to a more serene understanding that life is filled with pain.

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Overplayed

Revisado: 04-18-19

There’s an interesting story here, but there is lots of filler, this production is over-dramatized, and the drama is overstated. How welcome it would have been just to hear the background and the story without the sound effects and hyperbole and author taking center stage. I had hoped to hear more of Johnny Cash, but there is very little of his actual voice. Could have been good, but ended up just reaching for a story.

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Repulsive

Revisado: 04-11-19

I should have returned this book after the first couple chapters, but as it was the only book I had downloaded for a flight from Australia to the US , I kept listening. After a while I was listening solely to see how many times an adult author would use the F word. It’s exactly what some of my high school students do to demonstrate their “maturity”. I was repulsed by the language, repulsed by the female protagonists’ extreme neediness of male attention right up to the end, repulsed by the graphic violence and by the reliance on the Patty Hearst fiasco to supply a plot, and insulted by the author’s lack of research about Chicago, my home. And do adults in our society still refer to law enforcement as “pigs”? The one star is for the narrator, who did a nice job with an awful book. I felt bad for her.

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Glad it is finished

Revisado: 01-10-19

This is a very different book from what I anticipated from the plot summary and cover, and I am disappointed in the story that unfolded. The disjointed progression of the storyline and the instability of the four main characters tempted me many times to give it up. I endured without enjoyment the wretched accents of the narrators and the constant flipping between four different points of view and numerous settings (present day 1945 and various dates and locations in the years leading to and during WWII). After a while it just became disorienting. The story dragged on and on, and I put it down many times before pushing through. Unfortunately, the only sympathetic characters are under the age of five. And really, a four year old boy who is too traumatized to speak and is unfamiliar with the area is sent from a farmhouse into town to deliver life or death secret messages to someone he’s never met?? I am usually keen to read WWII historical fiction, but this fell short. As for the narration, we know the characters are not speaking English so why do we need to endure creepy foreign accents? And does anyone else think the male narrator sounds like Rod Serling about to send us off to the Twilight Zone?

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Doesn’t hold up

Revisado: 12-31-18

I had read Heart of Darkness many years ago while an English major in college. Needless to say, we analyzed it thoroughly back then. I’ve come back to it years later to see, if after living a full life, I would feel it to be worthy of the admiration of my long-ago professor. Unfortunately, the world and passing time relegate it to an era of different values and sensibilities. Although this may have been a great novel once, it is just a curiosity now, best read as an insight into not only imperialism but lingering attitudes and perceptions .

This Audible version is poor, I think. Although I know the story, I found the narration confusing, and though the narrato’s voice was pleasant enough, after a while my sole purpose in continuing was in waiting for his next egregious mispronunciation. I urge anyone reading this book for the first time to get the actual book, read it at your own speed, go back and reread those passages that seem relevant to you. This Audible version is worth skipping.

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Way too much

Revisado: 12-10-18

This could have been good. The narration is superb— no fault there. The story was a bit too much romance for my taste, but the experience of Italian Jews in World War II is a worthy topic, and Italy as a setting is always appealing. However, this author needs to learn restraint or to find an editor who will cut the overblown sentiment, silly symbolism, rampant stereotypes, and cliched metaphors. If half the text had been edited out, the story would have been much stronger. I don’t know what to say about the ending— it just stretches the bounds of credulity. Also, though the narrator’s accents are consistent and well performed, does an Italian speaking Italian need an Italian accent in a book written and narrated in English?

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