Photophyte

It wouldn't let me go

Revisado: 03-04-19

Virgil Wander--two perfect names for the title character, both describing aspects his journey through the book. The words the story is wrapped in are perfect and surprising, strong and clean, and darting through the book like a kite through the air currents near the top of the sky. This is a book in which very little seems to happen, but everything happens. I am surprised to find how much I liked it, and I'm wondering how long I can wait before I read and listen to it again. I'm not from that part of the country, so, unlike some listeners, I had no trouble with the nuances of the regional accent used by MacLeod Andrews. His reading brought the characters to life for me, and I will gladly listen to any book he narrates in the future. I'm also eager to start reading more of Lief Enger's work. Although this isn't a book about fishing and as far as I know there's no connection between the two works, if you liked the 2003 film "Big Fish", I think you'll like this book.

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The second half of the story gets better

Revisado: 06-17-18

Octavia Butler is a legend. She was one of the first to bring some literary style to science fiction, and for that, she deserves to be lionized. Her lovely writing is the reason to read this book. There are events, but the story just feels very slow. But hang in there--if you can make it through the first half, you'll find yourself really engaged in the second. Hard-core science fiction fans should be warned, however, that this only just barely squeezes under the flap of the SF tent. There's not much science fiction in this dystopian novel aside from one small fantasy element, and the story doesn't so much end as set us up for the other book in the series.

Lynne Thigpen is consistently excellent as the narrator and turns in a flawless performance that enhances the story line. She creates a thousand pictures with her words.

Even though I couldn't give 5's across the board, I'm really glad I stuck with this book and look forward to the other one in this series.

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Good story, flawed performance

Revisado: 10-06-17

Both the story and the male narrators were excellent and kept me listening long past bedtime. One of the female narrators, however, inserted so many inappropriate pauses and distracting emphases, that it kept me from getting on the ride when she was reading. Two names (Bangor and Minot) were also jarringly mispronounced several times, pulling me out of the story and sending my mind off to wonder why someone didn't do enough prep for this production. If the story hadn't been so good, the mispronunciations and bad reading wouldn't have been so annoying. If that kind of thing bothers you, therefore, you should be prepared to ignore it when you listen to this book. Overall, it was a good listen and I would recommend it to friends who aren't bothered by what are for me annoyances sufficient to withhold a star.

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I wanted more

Revisado: 09-23-17

Any additional comments?

A good, but frightening, account of one side of a political campaign we don't know much about. I wish the book could have included similar information on what happened after the election and another on what happened after the inauguration, but I'm not faulting the reporter for not being given the same level of access. It was a really good listen, I just wanted more.

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Whoopi does it again

Revisado: 09-23-17

Any additional comments?

Whoopi's advice on relationships is sound for people of any age, from teens to seniors, straight to gay, single to partnered, and everyone in between, all without being preachy or judgmental. I wish I'd heard this book decades ago.

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One thing spoils this recording

Revisado: 10-22-16

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

No.

What aspect of the narrators’s performance would you have changed?

This is a recording of a performance. The actors were all excellent and the familiar story, of course, was outstanding. The audience seemed to think they were viewing a comedy, however, and their laughter throughout the performance was intrusive and really distracted from my ability to immerse myself in the recording. The ugliness of bigotry and hatred doesn't deserve laughter. It's not funny. If the laughter is on a separate track and can be removed, I will gladly change my rating. I didn't listen to the interview with the author's wife at the end.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did.

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