Katherine

Don’t like the new narrator

Revisado: 03-17-25

I did not think this was Louise Penny’s best work. There were some pretty out of character behaviors (don’t want to spoil anything) and it ends in a blatant cliffhanger for the next book. But the real problem is the new narrator. It’s great that he’s from Quebec, and it’s nice to finally have the French pronounced properly, but the book is in fact in English, and we have been told many times that Gamache speaks English with a British accent, yet here we are listening to a French accent. Also, I realize this sounds incredibly picky, but a native French speaker uses a different rhythm than an English speaker, and this has the effect of wrecking all the funny bits. They just don’t come across as funny. I really tried to like him — to no avail. I think I might have to switch to reading the books.

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Very engaging

Revisado: 11-21-20

This is a compelling, engaging view of an overlooked part of American History. It does not read like a history text. By following the stories of 3 individuals, Wilkerson works in the relevant factual context in a way that is memorable and compelling. Highly recommend this book.

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Fantastic!

Revisado: 06-25-18

SUCH a good book! I wish Laura Hillenbrand would write more. I’d read anything by her. This is totally engaging from beginning to end. I’m tempted just to start over at the beginning again.

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Boring

Revisado: 11-19-17

I tend to like quiet, thinky books, but this one was too meandering and plaintive to be enjoyable. The narrator has no discernable growth arc; she hints at, but does not really reveal anything; there is nothing that makes you feel anything she writes about. I just felt annoyed by the end.

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What a beautiful book!

Revisado: 11-04-17

I’ve meant to read this for years— so glad I got to listen to this fantastic performance. Life is too short for mediocre books. This is not one. Enjoy!

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Total Garbage

Revisado: 04-24-17

What would have made Oil and Marble better?

What would have made it better is if it weren't full of repetitious, obvious cliches. A little skilled writing might have been nice, as well as if all the dialogue had not been read in ridiculous Italian accents.

Would you ever listen to anything by Stephanie Storey again?

No.

Would you be willing to try another one of P. J. Ochlan’s performances?

No.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Oil and Marble?

If I could play editor, it would have been a different book entirely.

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A gem of American literature!

Revisado: 11-17-15

If you could sum up Lolita in three words, what would they be?

Unbelievable literary genius.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Lolita?

The fascinating, loving, repulsive and hilarious way he describes her slightly bratty, self-centered behavior so that you see -- at the same time -- how absurdly in love he is, and what a typical American child she is.

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

No, but I will look for them. The performance was stunningly beautiful in its subtlety and texture.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I wouldn't want to make a film -- it would be a shame to lose the incredible richness of the language. To replace that by images would be to lose everything.

Any additional comments?

I cannot believe it took my my whole life to discover Lolita. It may have unseated To Kill A Mockingbird as my favorite American book. This one! Pick this one!

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Didn't quite live up to all the fuss

Revisado: 09-21-15

Would you consider the audio edition of All the Light We Cannot See to be better than the print version?

No, actually I would have liked it a little more had I just read it. The narrator did well with all the German in the book, but not so well with the French. There is a LOT of French in the book, and hearing things mispronounced was definitely grating and distracting.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character was Werner, because he was complicated; he allowed himself to be swept up in the tide for his own personal gain, but he was not completely blind to the bigger picture.

What three words best describe Zach Appelman’s performance?

Poor French accent.

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

No -- it was very well written, sometimes beautifully so, and the weaving together of the storylines was masterful. If I had just come across it on my own, I'm sure I would have thought it was a very good, even remarkable, book. But with all the hype, and everyone talking about it constantly, expectations were set high. I just didn't think it lived up to all that.

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A middle-school boy's delight

Revisado: 01-17-15

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

Seriously. Middle-school boys.

Would you ever listen to anything by Christopher Moore again?

No.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Lamb?

The entire hotel-room bit serves absolutely no purpose except as a vehicle for up-to-date toilet (and other sophomoric) humor.

Any additional comments?

Words cannot convey how much I hate this book, and it's not because I'm offended by it. The dialogue between Biff and Joshua (which is, let's face it, the majority of the book) reads like Pumbaa and Timon from the Lion King -- except they were funnier. The writing is so gimmicky and the humor so obvious, I half-expected the laugh track the whole time I was listening. There are too many good books out there to waste time on this.

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