Elizabeth Frey-Thomas

So predictable

Revisado: 04-27-23

As soon as she starts writing about Celia, the reader knows where this is going. Unfortunately it takes forever to get there. The writing is decent, but the story drags, and the main characters (both Monique and Evelyn) are not particularly likeable. No amount of describing clothes, coffee, chopped salad or eyebrows is going to change that.

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Ugh

Revisado: 03-21-23

If I said “Hey, write in the voice of a different generation than yours in one abjectly annoying main character, and make all her cultural references 25 years too old” you’d write this book.

If I said “Tell me you have never taught anyone to competently drive a stick shift”, you’d write that scene.

If I said write the dumbest romance scenes ever, you’d spend a chapter telling readers the couple is so mismatched size-wise that she cant reach his shoulders while dancing, and then spend the next chapter saying that he can dip his head to kiss her belly while she’s on his lap. What kind of elephant trunk neck does this dude have? Or is she suddenly levitating?

Excrutiating. If it wasn’t a book group read, I’d have returned it.

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Kept my attention for the entire time

Revisado: 01-18-20

Glad I downloaded this! The imagery is really evocative... the listener can definitely feel like they are walking with Mr. Dommek, as he retraces the event. If you are interested in true crime as well as cultural/spiritual aspects you may not have encountered, I think this story will grab your attention.

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Meh

Revisado: 05-02-19

There were full portions of the story that had no use, in progressing the tale. The writing is relatively pedestrian, and the length is easily padded by at least 50%.

Speaking of things that padded the story needlessly... you guys did not need to torture listeners with actors trying to emote through mouthfuls of food, or making sad smacking noises to convey drinking or kissing. Learn a few great lessons by listening to radio dramas. Or perhaps the needless chestnut scene was just you all working through the actors’ lunchbreaks? Good lord, it was foul.

To conclude: this is about 2 1/2 hours of passable storytelling, wrapped up in a 6+ hour almost-travesty of squelching noises and needless dialogue.

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Wonderful

Revisado: 01-16-19

Loved getting a glimpse inside Mrs. Obama’s life, in her own words. Sad to say that the flippancy and un-intellectual standard kept by the current administration makes the reading of this poignant. We as a nation were so fortunate that Michelle and Barack Obama shared their family and their many gifts with us.

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This author needs a better editor

Revisado: 08-22-18

The stories of the daughter of Sherlock Holmes are decently written in general. Goldberg tries to script them in a similar fashion to the originals by Arthur Conan Doyle. However, his editor does him no justice by allowing the word “elucidated” to be used so many times (8? 12? We get it. You have a thesaurus.) nor the overuse of the Holmesian tropes like “the game is afoot”, “do you have your service revolver”, etc. Goldberg is a decent writer. He should rely more on his own skill, and less on these tired phrases.

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Eyerollingly bad

Revisado: 07-03-16

"Something caught Quinn's eye. A shadow? A sound?"

This is indicative of the edit quality and writing contained in the book. The author seems to have no grasp of the park system's protocols, the level to which grad students would be upset to be pulled off track during an internship by the whim of their advisor, or the ability of readers to be annoyed by the number of coincidences that occur in one piece of fiction.

Give it a pass. Seriously.

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Very Clever

Revisado: 08-27-15

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The only caveat I would extend, prior to recommending this book is that it is quease-inducingly gross, pretty often. Now, that is not to say that it isn't necessary to the telling of the tale, it just means that you may not want to be eating, while reading. Honestly, though, I would totally recommend the book, for its intelligent word-play, and its in-your-face storyline. I found the messianic overtones really interesting.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Sloughing Off the Rot?

Oh my, there are plenty! I think when you realize that there are more layers to the tale than what the protagonist understands, it's a pretty memorable moment. Some of the memorable scenes need to be experienced first hand by the reader, and not projected ahead of time. Much of the novel defies description.

Have you listened to any of Michael Vasicek’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to another book he's narrated. I admire Vasicek's "clean" reading of a novel - he doesn't telegraph that an event is about to happen, in a way that ruins the suspense. He is pleasant to listen to. With this particular book, there are scenes that would have caused an audible cringe, from many narrators, and he didn't do that. Admirably, he has a range of character voices that make listening to dialogue from the novel easy to follow, as well.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I'm pretty sure the blumpkins make this an unmarketable movie... the CGI costs would be astronomical, and they'd have to ditch the bestiality, to get an MPAA rating

Any additional comments?

I want to reiterate how insanely clever this story was. The author works song lyrics and other quotable soundbites into the dialogue in a really amusing way. It is both humorous and frightening. There are echoes of messiah fables, Wizard of Oz, Heart of Darkness, all with a very fresh (and at the same time fetid) voice. Quite well done.

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