Jeanne Nix

Unlikeable characters and unrealistic plot

Revisado: 09-04-18

Both the protagonist and the writing style irritated me all the way through. The protagonist just couldn't seem to learn; she keep rushing off making troublesome choices without thinking things through or listening to anyone's advice. Then, when others' advice turned out to be right, she hated them....for example, her infant son gets really, really sick. There is an operation. Her doctor husband says not to go see the baby right after the surgery as it will be too upsetting to her to see him in ICU. Naturally, she runs down the hall and goes and then has a screaming fit thinking the baby is dead and blames her husband for the death.....both are wrong. She yells at God about why she lost her mother (she didn't) and why her child got sick (baby's do get sick). The writing is overblown and the metaphors try way too hard (too many baby babbling like strings of loose pearls kind of stuff). Plus, here is a new mother with post partum sadness/madness. All readers have heard about is how her nipples hurt from nursing, and the baby screams all hours, and how she's afraid to leave the house. When she does run off and doesn't see her baby for a bunch of months, there is no mention made of how her breasts must have really, really hurt to stop nursing all of a sudden....not to mention the leaking and dripping and other gooey stuff she does not like. The narration was okay, except, the book is set in Cambridge, Mass....the narrative couldn't pronounce Charlestown - she went with the South Carolina Charleston!

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An interesting and detailed biography

Revisado: 07-24-18

Wonderful biography by the same author who did a similarly detailed and interesting work on Benjamin Franklin. Did not know that da Vinci had gotten a bad rap by Kenneth Clark for getting distracted from his art by his interest in a variety of other topics such as geometry and optics or that he was an inveterate list maker (as I am). His lists, however, included such esoteric topics as "describing the woodpecker's tongue!"....my lists do not. Fascinating about the woodpecker's tongue, though....read the book to find out!

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So much detail

Revisado: 06-30-14

Is there anything you would change about this book?

There is a tremendous amount of detail in this novel.....and, I'm a Dickens fan! I just didn't get the point of all that detail unless it was to point out the mundaness of life in rural Iowa in the 1970's.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Have the grown women stop calling their father "daddy" every two paragraphs.

Could you see A Thousand Acres being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

It has been

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It takes a little getting used to...

Revisado: 05-16-14

Where does The Round House rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's most definitely a 4 out of 5 stars. At first, honestly, I was thinking 3 - the narrator's voice was flat, but it began to work with the story. The voice sounded Native American (I know - however that is "supposed" to sound).

What other book might you compare The Round House to and why?

As a coming-of-age novel, it compares to lots of novels - from Great Expectations to Catcher in the Rye, but given that it happens on a Native American reservation, it is a whole different experience.

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

No

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WOW and more WOW

Revisado: 04-30-14

Would you listen to The Goldfinch again? Why?

Absolutely! The reader was wonderful. Not only did he do a great Russian Boris, but was able to convey the sophisticated Hobie as well as the up-town Mrs. Barbour and the charming Pippa.

What did you like best about this story?

The diversity of characters was Dickensian, as was the plot twists. I - who read all the time - kept asking myself questions about "what's going to happen next?" and laughing aloud when my predictions came true ....or not.

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

The diversity of voices and. thereby, characters.

Any additional comments?

So good...haven't felt that connected with a work in a long time. Every time i finished reading, it was like resurfacing. The last day, all I wanted to do was read. Impatient with everything else. Can't remember feeling that way for many years! :)

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Is this really a person narrating?

Revisado: 11-22-13

What didn’t you like about Tim Campbell’s performance?

The narration totally bums this version out....it could almost be a computer reading this...is it?

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Elitists can be humorous

Revisado: 10-09-13

Any additional comments?

I have tried unsuccessfully several times to read "Remembrance of Things Past." It's on my list of books to tackle....again. Knowing that Virginia Woolf was (apparently) totally taken with this book (at least for a period of time) helps....but then, one would have to know who Virginia Woolf is/was. So, therein, in my mind, lies the problem. The author makes some really interesting connections between Proust, his novels and real life. Some are "tres amusant." I learned a lot about Proust's life. Like many geniuses, he was outside the range of "normal" (however one defines that). Notwithstanding, there are many allusions and references to people, places and things that many folks would not know (trust me; I'm not assuming. I teach high school...people don't know a lot). So, it's funny, but you have to have a really, really, really good liberal arts education (a bad word these days0 to get it.

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An Unlikely Fabulous Listening Experience

Revisado: 05-11-13

Would you listen to The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry again? Why?

The subtle humor and the unlikely visual image of this man walking to Berwick on Tweed could definitely entice me to read this again. It's

What about Jim Broadbent’s performance did you like?

Not only did I love the different voices the narrator used, but I loved the slightly slower pace and cadence which suited the main character totally. Being both a fast reader and a fast talker (albeit NOT in the negative way), at first, I was a little off-put by the slightly slower, almost hum-drum-ness of the Harold Fry character's voice (and of his wife's), but then, I realized, that is Harold (AND his wife). Then, again, as readers will know, there is uniqueness in every day life (Harold muses something to that effect around chapter 12.

If you could take any character from The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry out to dinner, who would it be and why?

The Slovakian doctor....although I would hate her word choices!

Any additional comments?

It's funny....and it's poignant....and it's heart-wringing. Pilgrimage....Harold....I was expecting something English and Canterbury Tale-ish and perhaps that's what I got. Loved it.

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