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Not a book for audio listening

Revisado: 09-03-17

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

How is it possible to give the performance 5 stars and the story 3...but only 2 overall? This book is not intended to be experienced audibly, despite the producer's best effort. They have a stacked cast and the narrators are all top class. Certainly, it would have been worst without such excellent narrators. They did help to differentiate the many different characters, but it just wasn't enough, and through no fault of theirs. I might have enjoyed the story more had I read it on the page, which I may have to go back and do. Without this visual markers of text, it was very difficult to follow what is going on, and this is already a book that isn't especially linear and does a lot of jumping around the plot and between characters.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

No really sure, because I just didn't get it due to the audible format. There were some great bits and pieces that I loved, but I couldn't have a full and proper reaction due to the way listening to it affects the understanding of the novel.

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

Obviously David Sedaris is amazing! I've listened to all of his books, self-narrated and think the experience is far better than on page, simple because you get to experience the essays through his voice, tone and inflections.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Frustration! Don't listen to this on audible, I beg you! Get the hardcopy book and read it the old fashioned way. I'm a good listener and usually have no problem with slightly challenging audiobooks, but this one is an exception.

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Beautiful and touching

Revisado: 07-21-17

This story was a breath of fresh air! I was expecting to like it, I just wasn't expecting to like it this much. It's so original and well executed. The dialogue is fast paced and witty and the characters are all incredibly complex. To top it all off, the narration is superb. My father's family is from Glasgow and the beautiful accents reminded me of my grandparents, who have long since passed on. I didn't want the book to end. This is one of the few audiobooks I know already I'll be listening to again.

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Thandie Newton brings this classic life anew!

Revisado: 06-01-17

I've read (and listened to) Jane Eyre many times before, but Newton's new reading of the book is really incredible. She has an incredible pleasant voice and is also to do all the different voices and accents with perfect believability but none of the melodrama that so often plagues audiobooks. An absolute treat and highly recommended!

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So much smoking!

Revisado: 09-22-16

As usual, David Sedaris's wisdom and wit are spot-on and oh-so-refreshing compared to the kind of thing that is usually churned out. That said, I found the odd fixation on smoking a little much. That isn't to say the stories weren't excellent, they were just one after the other. Had each bit been mixed into a different collection of stories I would have thoroughly enjoyed them, but I felt a bit saturated by the time I finished the audiobook.

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Weak characterization

Revisado: 12-24-15

This book is severely handicapped by the flat characterization of the central figures. Writing then into a horrific time in history does not make up for their one-dimensional quality. I never felt like these characters were real people. Writing about things like this can be difficult. I for one feel taken advantage of as a reader when the characters themselves are uninteresting but because they are placed in an indescribably terrible time, I feel guilty for not being more moved by their plights. I felt moved thinking that such things have happened and continue to happen to real people, in the real world, but these characters felt artificial throughout the entire book for me. I often feel that writing about such sensitive subjects - subjects that have already been written about numerous times in literature and non-fiction, often by actual survivors - is gratuitous in a way. It is using a tragedy to create a novel and although good literature is often born of these circumstances, that's not always the case. The WWII setting and the heart-wrenching occurrences in real life and in the novel, are not enough to make the Nightingale a good book.

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Exceptional narration

Revisado: 04-02-15

I try not to review classic literature in Audible as there are plenty of reviews out their for potential readers to peruse. I do think it's important to review the narration as that can make or break even the most wonderful novel.

David Horovitch is one of the best! His voice is measured without being monotonous and he infuses just the right amount of emotion into the text, without falling prey to melodrama. He only narrates a few novels on Audible and most of them are classics so it is my intention to immediately download and listen to all of these books. After nearly 40 hours with his voice in my head, I would sorely miss his company.

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Who is reading what?

Revisado: 03-24-15

Any additional comments?

My biggest issue with this audio version of the KJV Bible is not with the actual narration itself; I enjoyed the multiple narrators, each of whom brought something unique and interesting to the table. I was mostly annoyed by the fact that I never knew who was reading what book in the Bible! As far as I can see, the PDF only tells you what books are being read in what parts (which IS helpful, by the way, although it doesn't include a reference to the exact chapter/minute each book can be found at). Unless I've missed something, we know the narrators' various identities, but we have to guess who is reading what. A minor issue overall, but still irritating.

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Little Fan's voicing is the stuff of nightmares

Revisado: 12-10-14

What didn’t you like about Charlton Griffin’s performance?

I listen to the audio version of this classic Dicken's tale every year. Usually I listen to Simon Prebble's version but I had a copy of Grifin's version I hadn't listened to in years and thought I'd switch things up. Griffin's voice is generally quite good, BUT he unfortunately does the most horrendous, artificial little girl's voice for Scrooge's little sister Fran that I had to stop listening. I've listened to this version several years ago and somehow had forgotten how terrifying Griffin's children's voices are. Simon Prebble's version is significantly better.

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Passionless narration a real buzz kill

Revisado: 12-10-14

What would have made The Awakening better?

Is Kim Basinger hadn't read it. She has a soothing voice, but she's so fridges and bland and timeless I felt like I was instantly going to fall asleep whenever she spoke. Also, I never read this as a young woman in my teens or early twenties and I really think that's when this book would be most relevant. For a book hailed as a classic and a key piece of feminist literature, I felt the characters were boring and underdeveloped. It was difficult for me to relate to or care about any of them.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Listening to A Christmas Carol now.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Kim Basinger?

Anyone but. It seems terribly ironic that a book that's called the Awakening and is about female passion, sexuality and desire could be narrated in such a dreary, monotone fashion.

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Alex Jennings is one of my new favourite narrators

Revisado: 04-04-14

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

This is the first recording I have heard by Mr. Jennings and I will absolutely listen to more if I have the chance! He was absolutely perfect for this role. I really appreciated how his voicing of Hwin and Bree was very humanized, which is how I believe Lewis intended the characters to be. He didn't give them ridiculous "horsey sounding" voices which would have been especially tiresome to listen to for 4 or 5 hours! Really just a perfect voicing of all the characters and a soothing and enjoyable listen overall.

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esto le resultó útil a 6 personas