Thoughtful Reader

Riveting

Revisado: 01-07-19

Couldn’t put it down. Every word essential & intensely intelligent. I intend to recommend it to several friends.

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Must Be In Kornfield's Own Voice

Revisado: 08-18-17

I found the reader's voice very mellifluous but not authentic. The meaning behind the words felt empty. Some of the stories I had heard before but I never minded that when Jack Kornfield reiterated them. in the future, I will make special note of Audible downloads when the speaker is other than the author.

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esto le resultó útil a 13 personas

Too long--needs editor to reduce by half

Revisado: 04-17-16

S story interesting when leading characters took the stage. Otherwise the endless tedious descriptions of the landscape and indignities of war too tiring to listen. I skipped entire chapters just to avoid the romanticism and embroidery of the landscape and daily tasks.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Great Information. . . Annoying Narrator's Voice

Revisado: 03-05-16

Even though I have had dogs for decades, and worked with a professional trainer for much of the time training my dogs to accomplish their genetic gifts, I learned more from this collection of information than I ever knew before. In fact, it was so comprehensive that I stuck with it despite the somewhat high pitched nasal voice of the narrator. (CLMW)

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Adored this book!

Revisado: 02-26-16

Buy this book--NOW. It will knock you out & Im a tough literary critic. Every single word is a gem, not a wasted sentence from beginning to end.

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Enthralling Narrative; Very Poor Choice Narrator

Revisado: 10-29-15

How disappointing to have the author read his own work. Occasionally that is a good choice, but this time terrible. It was confusing as an audible book because all the character & gender changes but the voices remain flat & monotonous. I regret not reading it as words on the page. Then at least I could have made those voice and gender changes in my own mind.

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Knockout--must read

Revisado: 03-25-15

I recommend to everyone of my "smart reading" friends. One of the best I've read in a long time. O loved the audible version but it will be a good book in any format.

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Alluring Title, but Deceptive

Revisado: 08-14-12

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The audience for this scholarly work of literary criticism is the academic community. The title implies something perhaps more playful. I wish I could have the title myself--and am sorry I didn't think it up first!

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

Like everything Toibin writes, the style is masterful, the insights fresh and intelligent. It is not fiction; rather, it is a collection of essays about well-known literary works, their authors, and their characters. It is not "enjoyable" in the sense of easy-reading. This is highbrow prose for literary scholars.

Any additional comments?

Honestly, I purchased the book because I thought it would be about Toibin's personal analysis and his own mother's effect on his life & his writing. Although it wasn't what I expected, it's full of character analysis and the relationship of fictional mothers & fathers, aunts and stepmothers as well as the relationships of actual parents and their writer-children. Complex and engrossing.

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