ARV

Narrator bungles pronunciations

Revisado: 09-23-23

A fine book worth reading in print or electronically--but if listened to on this audiobook is ruined by the narrator's annoying and constant mispronunciations of words and names. How distracting to hear Roosevelt's name wrongly pronounced a hundred times! Other persons' names he should know how to say but doesn't include W.E.B. DuBois, Fr. Coughlin, and Harold Stassen. Place names he butchers include Cairo, IL; Des Moines, IA; Pierre, SD; and Trieste, Italy. Other names he mangles include the Buchenwald and Majdanek concentration camps, Jacobins, and the Cunard Lines. He also hasn't a clue how to say aegis, armistice, bas relief, discomfit, dissimilating, ebullient, elementary, erudite, frieze, funereal, ignominy, interregnum, j'accuse, linotype, mayoralty, prelude, specious, and Wunderkind. Can't Audible find a narrator who hasn't been living his entire life under a rock?

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Excellent

Revisado: 06-25-20

Both the writing and the performances are excellent, not to mention the story. Highly recommended.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Good story, incompetent narrator

Revisado: 06-19-20

The story was of great interest to me, but the recording was marred by the narrator. Nothing wrong with his pace or voice, but more than half the story takes place in Germany, and he butchers nearly every German (and other nationality) name he encounters. Two characters are named Joachim, which is pronounced yo-A-kim in German, but he insists on pronouncing wa-KEEM! Literally hundreds of times he mispronounces Friedrichshafen, the Zeppelin headquarters. For some reason he has all non-English-speaking characters talk in an unrecognizable "foreign accent," even when they are speaking or writing fluently in their native language--and it's the same "foreign accent" for every character. If you can get past this and enjoy the history of aviation, you'll enjoy this title. If you can't get past it, read the book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 7 personas

Very poor narrator

Revisado: 03-15-18

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

You may want to read this in print or on Kindle, but do NOT get the audio version. For a best-selling author, you'd think they could hire a competent narrator. Pyle cannot do foreign accents, which is a problem since major characters have British, Australian, and Indonesian accents. All of these accents (and many more that he butchers) are ludicrous. Turow's characters are two-dimensional to begin with; with atrocious accents, it's almost impossible to take them seriously. Pyle also can't pronounce French, and he is under the impression that Nantes and Bruges are two-syllable words. It was excruciating to listen to this recording.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Captivating and witty

Revisado: 06-01-16

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

Patrick Allitt not only provides a fine comprehensive view of Victorian Britain, but also gives lectures that are interesting, informative, and witty.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona