Kaki man

Detailed, cool-headed account of how things go wrong and right in people’s lives.

Revisado: 11-04-24

This is a classic for a reason: it’s insightful and well written. They had more time to kill in those days, so the pacing may be a bit slow…

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A Great Sea Tale

Revisado: 10-01-23

An amazing tale, told in an inimitable style. When Joshua Slocum set out to sail alone around the world it was not considered possible. He did the impossible, on many occasions narrowly escaping death thanks to his deep skill set, his pluck, and his luck. Then he again achieved the impossible by telling the tale beautifully, in an engaging, clear, and original style reminiscent of Mark Twain and Robert Louis Stevenson. He deserves to be celebrated for both achievements — the doing and the telling — as long as the English language is spoken. On top of this, it is a tale of rebirth, redemption, and the kindness of strangers. Slocum was on the junk heap of history, a captain of merchant sailing ships when the sail had been eclipsed by the steam engine. Almost accidentally he found himself building himself a beautiful little sloop, to the amusement of passers by, and then to their further amusement came up with an audacious and potentially suicidal idea of what to do with the boat. And he lived to tell the tale.

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Great book, bad reader.

Revisado: 10-11-22

The reader can make or break an audiobook. Sarah Bakewell’s celebrated telling of the life and afterlife of the great Montaigne is ill served by this prissy and aggravating reader. It was a reminder to me to always listen to a sample before buying an audiobook.

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A treasure

Revisado: 08-05-22

Author E.B. White’s reading of this classic works beautifully on many levels. White’s New England accent gives a tremendous sense of authenticity and “place,” and the language is intelligent and beautifully crafted without seeming fussy. This story is anything but generic, vividly evoking a specific place and time. The story is engaging and soothing while dealing with the painful subject of death, and was criticized in its day by some for its frankness. I find it refreshingly honest and realistic, dancing delicately in the golden realms of lost time and magical realism. I’ve listened to it at least ten times, and continue laugh, weep, and marvel at White’s deep artistry. This gives meaning to the term “classic,” belonging on the same shelf as Treasure Island and Peter Pan, classics which must be heard or read in the original language to understand why they continue to enchant generation after generation of all ages. The book contains a small, fully fleshed out world full of plausible characters, illuminated by beautiful prose poems on subjects ranging from barns to junk heaps to country fairs to the time when crickets sing. Charlotte the Spider is a peculiar hero, Wilbur the Pig an endearing naïf, and Templeton the Rat ranks alongside Long John Silver and Captain Hook in the pantheon of complex and unforgettable villains. I love this book.

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